United States of America -- Maine -- York County -- York -- York Harbor
Date:
circa 1926-1950
General:
In 1926, Mrs. Russell A. Alger, Jr. commissioned Ellen Shipman to design the gardens for Starboard Cottage in York Harbor, Maine. Shipman collaborated with Mrs. Alger years earlier on the Moorings and later on another home, both in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Starboard Cottage was the summer home of the Algers, and Shipman designed the gardens with this in mind. This vacation garden was nestled into the rocky hillside, out-of-sight from the house and contained within a picket fence, creating a world of its own. The oval garden was planted with trees, shrubs, and the beds were full of seed-packet summer garden flowers mixed with hardy heather. The colorful blooms of annuals, biennials, and perennials created a painterly composition. A small seating area with an uninterrupted view of the seas completed the escape. Dirt paths edged with stone meandered from the overlook area, through the flower beds, and wound back down the hill to the summer cottage.
Persons Associated: Mrs. Russell A. Alger, Jr. (former owners); Ellen Biddle Shipman (landscape architect); William Platt (architect).
Related Materials:
Cornell University, Ellen Shipman Papers, Ithaca, New York.
Collection Restrictions:
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