Eola House
George Krug, Architect
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Building Name:Eola House
Address:512 East Washington Street, Orlando, Florida 32801
Link to location on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/fs368CKwV2mhP6MP7
Year Built:1924
Architect of Record:George Krug
Design Architect (if different):Same as above
General Contractor:not known
Other Contributors:None
Noteworthy Architectural Features:This 1920s family home on the shore of Orlando’s centerpiece Lake Eola, follows Central Florida’s then-prevailing Mediterranean Revival style. The parchment color stucco exterior, columned front porch, flamboyant exterior staircase, quatrefoil and grouped windows, Juliet balcony, and red tile roofs achieve a design that is at one time both welcoming and eye-catching. The design consists of the moderate-sized residence, and is set amid old growth trees, on a large lawn of recent origin on one side, and Lake Eola on another. The building was designed by Orlando’s first architect with what might be called an international presence and practice.
How to Visit:Exterior, during daylight hours. Interior by appointment only. Eola House is owned by the city of Orlando.
Architectural Style:Mediterranean Revival
Related Links:
George Krug Wikipedia Article
Description:
Eola House, Orlando, Florida, was built for Anna Eleanor (nee Herold) and George Smith Marsh and their daughter Anna, in 1924. The estimated cost of the residence was $9,500. The style of the house is a simplified Mediterranean Revival that was championed by the Orlando Group of architects with the name “Spaniflora”. Due to the shared interest of these architects this style became quite popular in the boom years in Florida. The porch showcases columns and blind arches, stylized Corinthian capitals, as well as the decorative quatrefoil window over the entry. The house is constructed of clay tile block with a finish of rough stucco, and barrel tile terracotta hip roofs.
The house has a gracious but not imposing presence. Best viewed from the large lawn that was created by the removal of four other houses at the time of its restoration by the city of Orlando in 2013, the house exterior is entirely accessible for viewing on all sides.
The modified pinwheel floor plan is best understood from outside the building. This, and the grouped windows and low slung hip roof, all speak to affinities with the prairie school style, then becoming obsolete in the minds of the public and architects, in favor of newer architectural idioms. The architect used the Spanish / Mediterranean elements effectively and with restraint, including terracotta vents for the atticgable ends, the aforementioned quatrefoil windows, a tiled pent eaveroof over the living room widows, and a scrolled decorative element at the end of the porch parapet. Several second floor exterior terraces take advantage of the pleasing Florida climate.
The house is notable not only for its contribution to the 1920s built environment in Central Florida, but also for its discreet use of the Spanish / Mediterranean design idioms. In most respects the architect chose subtle rather than flashy features, but this does not detract from the overall effect of the house. Indeed, it may help to make the house have its long-lasting appeal. The most flamboyant feature is the exterior stair, which has so pure a design it could almost be called timeless. The supporting arches are elegant and artful.
The client, George Marsh (1874-February 10, 1964) was an important figure in Florida's citrus industry. Marsh is believed to have created the “Marsh Seedless Grapefruit”. This home was placed on the register of Orlando's historic sites in 1991. Anna died in 1954. George Marsh lived here a decade longer, until the age of 90. Beginning in 2013, the house has been beautifully restored and meticulously maintained by the City of Orlando and plays host to wedding receptions, corporate retreats, and similar functions. The Marshes are buried in Orlando’s historic Greenwood Cemetery.
George Edward Krug (also known as Jorge Krug) was a Brazilian- American architect. Krug was born in Brazil, but raised and educated in the United States. Thereafter his architectural practice had an international reach - Krug practiced in the USA and in Brazil including Greater New York City (from Orange, New Jersey), São Paulo, Brazil and Orlando, Florida.
George Edward Krug was born in 1869 in Brazil, to a German-Brazilian family. His parents were Jean Krug and Ida B. Krug. His father Jean Krug was a commission merchant of Prussian ancestry; he was born in Brazil in 1842. Krug’s mother Ida was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1846, and died on May 4, 1904.
Krug was raised and educated in the USA. In his childhood years, Krug lived in New York City. The family was prosperous enough to employ a governess for George, as well as other live-in servants, according to census records.
George Krug furthered his education at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, graduating in the class of 1884. He went on to study architecture at the Fine Arts Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia,
Thereafter he spent more than twelve years in São Paulo, Brazil, starting in 1889. There, he collaborated with other architects including, Maximiliano Emilio Hehl. A number of noteworthy buildings from this period remain today.
After returning to the United States, Krug worked as a draughtman in the Building Department of the Board of Education in New York City. Not long afterward, he inaugurated his own US practice designing buildings in the greater New York City area. He had offices at 320 Fifth Avenue and on Broadway in Manhattan as well as in Orange, New Jersey, Krug was the architect of the Hyde Park Club House and many residential properties in East Orange, NJ. For ’Livingston Manor’’ in Highland Park, NJ,. Krug was also one of a select group of architects who designed buildings for the planned suburban community. These were architect-designed residences in various styles: Queen Anne, Foursquare, Bungalow, and Colonial Revival houses with Craftsman era embellishments and philosophy, which emphasized the craftsmanship of skilled artisans who took pride in their accomplishments.
George E. Krug relocated to Central Florida by 1919. In the report of the Florida Office of the Secretary of State of that year, he is listed as an architect in Orlando, Florida,
In Florida, Krug designed many grand houses and mansions in the late-revival styles. Fine examples of Krug's Late-revival styles like Federal, Georgian, Greek, and American Tudor are still evident throughout the city of Orlando, notably in the Lake Copeland and Lake Cherokee historic districts, as well as in Winter Park. Brick facades, Ionic fluted columns, Gothic Revival and Palladian style windows and doors are often found among the characteristics of the homes of Krug's designs. One of Krug’s signature devices was to position his houses at a slightly offset angle to their site plan. Krug was among a collegial group of architects in Orlando in the 1920s. The others include: Frank L. Bodine, Fred E. Field, David Hyer, Murry S. King, Howard M. Reynolds, Frederick H. Trimble, Ryan and Roberts (Ida Annah Ryan and Isabel Roberts) and Percy P. Turner.
In their personal lives, George E. Krug and his wife Clara L. Krug. were associated with the St. John's Episcopal Church in Kissimmee, Florida, where Mrs. Krug was for some time the superintendent of the church school. George E. Krug died in Orlando, Florida in 1939.
In addition to Eola House, selected works by Georg Krug include:
•Igreja Bom Jesus do Bras, São Paulo, Brazil - 1896-1903
•"Asylo de Meninas Orphans e Desemparadas N.S. Auxiliadora do Ipiranga" São Paulo, Brazil− - 1896
•E,. D. Clary Residence, Orange, New Jersey, 1898
•Andrew Murray store building, East Orange, New Jersey - 1902
•Hyde Park Club House, East Orange, NJ – circa 1905
•Watchung Heights, West Orange, NJ
•Livingston Manor, houses, Highland Park, New Jersey - 1906
•Roosevelt Park development in South Orange, NJ (now Maplewood, NJ) 1913, 1916
•(Sylvan) McElroy Apartments, Northwest Corner of Orange Avenue and Anderson Street, Orlando Florida – 1921 (demolished)
•Dr. and Mrs. McEwan Mansion, 705 Delaney Avenue, Orlando, Florida- 1922 Late-Greek Revival style
•Phillip Slemons House, 339 Cherokee Drive, Orlando, Florida- 1924 Late-American Tudor Revival style
•Howard House, 502 Palmer Street House, Orlando, Florida- 1924 Late-Georgian Revival style
•Winter Park Masonic Temple, 120 Comstock Avenue, Winter Park, Florida, 1925
•A.T. Carter House, 627 Cherokee Circle, Orlando, Florida- 1927 Late-Greek Revival style
•Municipal Auditorium (later expanded and renamed the Bob CarrPerforming Arts Center), 400 West Livingston Street, Orlando, Florida, 1927