| Architectural Description: The Rice/Gates House is the only example of a residence in the Second Empire Baroque style of architecture in Hillsboro. It is a two-story balloon frame house, “L-shaped” in plan, which rests on a high basement. The basement has approximately 2/3 of its height above ground. The house is oriented toward the north, with the asymmetrical front elevation being formed by the inner angle of the “L.” The foundation and basement are of strecher-bond brick; the first floor and the lower part of the second floor are covered with horizontal shiplap siding; and the house has a straight-sided mansard roof with dormers, the lower slopes of which encompass approximately ¾ of the height of the second floor. The house has three porches. The first, on the north elevation, extends from the inner angle of the “L” across the main entry to the house, and is reached by steps. It rests on a shingled and arcaded wooden base, has a shingled balustrade, and a shallow mansard roof supported by scroll-sawn bracketed posts. The second porch runs the entire length of the west elevation, and is accessible only from the inside. It is similar in construction to the front porch, with the shingled and arcaded base, shingled balustrade, and mansard roof supported by bracketed posts. The third porch is a narrow, glassed-in sun porch on the south elevation, reached by stairs from the outside and from the inside. It is again similar to the other porches, except that it has lost its original base and now rests on plain posts. The basement windows in the north elevation are single-pane casement windows. The first-floor windows, both single and paired, are round arched, double-hung sash windows with one-over-one lights. All first and second story window openings have pedimented architraves. Paired windows appear on the north and south elevations; single windows on the west. The dormer windows are also arched and pedimented, one-over-one sash windows; there are two dormers each on the north, west, and east elevations, and three on the south elevation. The main entry has a round-arched transom and pedimented architrave, as does the surround of the door opening onto the west porch. The latter is centered between two single window openings. The House has two interior brick chimneys, the corbelled caps of which are in need of restoration. The roof is covered with lozenge shaped wooden shingles. The mansard roof is the most imposing element of the house. It has a boxed cornice at its lower edge which is supported by paired brackets, small pairs alternating with large. The brackets, in turn, rest on a dentilled frieze. The smaller mansard roofs of the three porches have similar features—boxed cornices, paired brackets, dentilled friezes, and the same lozenge pattern of imbricated shingles. Other decorative elements are the window and door surrounds which have saw-cut scrolls at the imposts. The brackets of the posts and corner boards are jig-saw cut in a fancy profile with pierced scroll work. The original steps leading to the front porch are no longer extant, but the current owner is in the process of replacing them. The wood cresting on the main roof and the roofs of the porches was lost in intervening years, but will be replaced on the basis of fragments and historic views. The garage on the east side of the house, reached by a covered walkway from the east basement entry, was incorporated into the lot next door with the house was sold in later years. The garage is no longer part of the property on which the Rice/Gates House stands and is not proposed for inclusion in the Inventory. |
