CHARLES LEWIS BOWMAN Lewis Bowman was a widely respected local architect who created architecturally grand and extravagant houses. Born in New York City in 1890, he came of age in Mount Vernon, went away to Ithaca where he determined his life's work at the Cornell University School of Architecture and eventually returned to Bronxville to reside, practice and raise a family. With his passion for Westchester County's rocky terrain and ancient woods, Bowman profoundly influenced Bronxville during the decade of its greatest growth. Although his earliest work was in Mount Vernon, and his grandest houses were constructed elsewhere, Bowman is most closely associated with Bronxville. His presence made a big difference for this small village, for Lewis Bowman conjured up the elegant atmosphere of some of its loveliest streets and landscapes. He nestled half-timbered estates between granite precipices, where they could be glimpsed just beyond boxwood hedges and pillars. His stately Georgian edifices of luminous Belgian brick arose among stands of tall oaks and tulip trees, and his perfectly proportioned Colonial mansions stood back from winding roads across broad lawns. A stroll through Bronxville neighborhoods reveals his English architectural roots with Jacobean designs displaying steep slate roofs, rich with stone or brickwork, timbering, leaded glass windows and clustered chimneys. His Cotswald Cottages boasted stone construction, usually quarried from the site, clay tile roofs, asymmetry, and somewhat austere aspects. One might come upon a stockbroker Tudor with its multi-layered planes of facade and complex rooflines usually broken by two strong vertical lines of the chimneys. A master at his craft, Bowman also was known to design his homes in accordance with the wishes of it's proposed owner. He created a French style home with unusual rich white painted textured brick and classic limestone surrounding the door. In addition, he designed Mediterraneans which displayed Spanish tile roofs, arched entrances and stucco exteriors. If you venture into a Bowman house you see interiors with a stylistic mix of design depending upon the layout of the home. His vast living rooms often display oak paneling, exposed structural timbers, textured stucco and limestone fireplaces. Stair halls often contained these fireplaces as well as oak paneled walls and rough-adzed beams and massive balusters. Walls are adorned with carved crown and doorway moldings and ceilings often contain elaborate plaster reliefs. Bowman left his mark on Bronxville, designing 53 homes, all but one of which survive today. He was a suburban architect whose work was prominently featured in architectural journals of the time. He was masterful in his use of building materials and his houses are an architectural wonder whether you view them from the street or the yard. The homes he designed feel, not merely important but abiding, a gift which remains with Bronxville today. <<Previous • Chapter List • Next>>