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Sibley Smith House

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1942, Rockwell du Moulin. 2358 Post Rd. (not visible)

Another, slightly earlier, version of Breueresque modernism, this flat-roofed house, shaped as a splayed L, uses the granite blocks of an old barn foundation for a huge chimney off one end and terrace walling. It is mostly closed toward the entrance side, with a porte-cochere on pipe supports to shelter the front door. The opposite side, mostly glazed, overlooks a bowl-like slope down to a pond. Wartime shortages are reflected inside in walls and cabinetry of cleanly detailed plywood, which shows its age. Such houses are especially vulnerable to renovation. This one deserves preservation as a handsomely modest example of its type—a hopeful image for a time which strove to incorporate the best of what was modern with the best of a regional vernacular.

Writing Credits

Author: 
William H. Jordy et al.
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Citation

William H. Jordy et al., "Sibley Smith House", [South Kingstown, Rhode Island], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/RI-01-SK50.

Print Source

Buildings of Rhode Island, William H. Jordy, with Ronald J. Onorato and William McKenzie Woodward. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, 396-396.

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