The historic Read House and Gardens

The grand Read House and Garden, located in New Castle, Delaware at 42 The Strand, is an icon of history and architectural beauty. This historic house museum, built in 1797–1804, was built for George Read Jr, whose father, George Read, had signed the United States Declaration of Independence. At the time, it was the largest and most sophisticated residence in the state and serves as a significant example of high-style Federal period architecture.

With a side gable roof, a stone foundation, and a total area in excess of 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2), the 2+1⁄2-story brick building features four chimneys, two on each end wall, and a flat top section ringed by a low balustrade. The main facade is five bays wide, with sash windows set in rectangular openings and a grand entrance in the center, complete with flanking sidelight windows, pilasters, and a large half-round transom window above. On the second story above the entrance is a Palladian window, its sections flanked by narrow pilasters.

The adjacent formal gardens, laid out in the late 1840s by William Couper, the house’s third owner, are a peaceful addition to the grand Read House and Garden. The gardens feature brick walkways that wind between beds and two gazebos placed by the Delaware Historical Society at locations of similar structures seen in late 19th-century photographs.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons