Glynn Mansion Architecture

 I am still obsessed with the Glynn Mansion at Cedar Hill.
(Seen above in a photo I took last summer)

The entry way facing River Road has bothered me since I first saw it in 1998 when it looked something like this

But then recently I saw this picture from the early 1900s and had an epiphany.

The doorway facing River Road was never intended to be an entrance at all.  In 1907 Martin Glynn instructed architect Marcus Reynolds to build him an Italian villa for his summer home at Cedar Hill. Reynolds created an elegant U shape building with a breezeway connecting the smoking room and the billiards room.  A summer breeze could sweep up the lawn, between the columns and swirl into the inner courtyard.

Here are a couple of aerial views from Bing maps to orient you.

It wasn't until the Elks took over in 1962 that the breezeway was changed to an entrance.

The Elks are also responsible for enclosing the courtyard between the two wings of the building.

Here's a couple of pictures from the early Elks club era showing the courtyard and the west facade before it was turned into an entrance.