Ernest Flagg constructed three remarkable small stone houses on the grounds of Stone Court, his country estate. Now known as the Todt Hill Cottages, they expressed his aesthetic theories, and Flagg considered them to be of no less importance than his Singer Tower, which was the world’s tallest building when it was completed in 1901.
The McCall Demonstration House was built for McCall’s magazine. In 1923, the publication asked the foremost architects of the country to design “a series of small houses planned not for the beauty of design alone, but for the convenience of the homemaker, as well.” Flagg wrote many articles discussing his proposed design. The house illustrates his experimentation with building technology, and incorporates such features as a combination slate/rubberoid roof and window frames flush with the walls, representing a pioneering example of passive solar design.
