Antechamber and Bell Closet

The Antechamber has a venerable history in architecture; it provides a space for visitors to wait while the residents of Alexander House prepare themselves to receive their guests. As you enter from the obscure street frontage door, during the day, the room is streaming with sunlight from the large windows on the east and south sides of the room. In the center of the room is a round 1920s drum table with brass lion’s feet legs, where you sign the guest book.

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To the north are the grand Beaux Arts Stained glass doors. The chamber seating is from the Eastlake movement from the 19th century and embodies a much simpler design motif of sturdy construction, superb craftsmanship, and minimal ornamentation. The set in Alexander House is from 1870 and was made for receiving guests with its burled walnut wood furnishings and green velvet fabric. The antechamber décor was designed to give guests a sample of what lay ahead in the inner sanctum of the cottage. In the southwest corner, sitting on a pedestal is a spelter statue from 1890 of Diana, the Roman goddess of wild animals and the hunt. Across from her, on another walnut pedestal, is a bust. 

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