bove the entrance
to Independence Hall on the Independence Square side is more like that
found in domestic architecture. All three of its lower sashes are
sliding. The central window consists of a twenty-four-paned lower sash
and an upper sash with twenty-one ornamental-shaped panes forming the
round top above twenty-four rectangular panes. The narrow side windows
have six-paned upper and twelve-paned lower sashes. Owing to its good
proportion, the chaste simplicity of the detail and the pleasing
combination of brick pilasters with wood trim, this has been referred to
by architects as the best Palladian window in America. The use of such a
window in the Ionic order above a Doric doorway adds another to the many
notable instances of free use of the orders by Colonial builders.

In domestic architecture Palladian windows were employed chiefly to
light the stairway landing, as at Whitby Hall; to light the upper hall,
as at Mount Pleasant; and rarely to light the principal rooms each side
of the front entrance, as at The Woodlands. They not only charm the eye
as interior features, but when viewed outdoors relieve the severity of
many ranging square-headed windows and provide a center of interest in
the fenestration, lending grace and distinction to the entire facade.
No Palladian windows in Philadelphia so thoroughly please the eye or so
convincingly indicate the delightful accord that may exist between gray
ledge-stone masonry and white woodwork as those set within recessed
arches at The Woodlands. The proportion and simple, clean-cut detail
throughout are exquisite. The engaged colonnettes of the mullions
contrast pleasingly with the pilasters of the frame, each of the two
supporting an entablature notable for its fine-scale dentil course, and
these two in turn supporting a keyed, molded arch. The central window
has twelve-paned upper and lower sliding sashes with an attractively
spaced fanlight above. The narrow ten-paned side windows are stationary.
Unusual as is the use of these Palladian windows, their charm is
undeniable, and they are among the chief distinctions of the house.

[Illustration: PLATE LXX.--Pedimental Doorway, First Floor, Mount
Pleasant; Pedimental Doorway, Second Floor, Mount Pleasant.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXI.--Doorways, Second Floor Hall, Mount Pleasant;
Doorway Detail, Whitby Hall.]

CHAPTER IX

HALLS AND STAIRCASES

The hall is of particular moment in the design of a house. There