The Teahouse

In 1922 Hugh Rodney Sharp traveled overseas to Italy. The next year, Marian Coffin would begin a second state of construction at Gibraltar: the addition of the Bald Cypress Allée, the Tea House, and the parallel Woodland Walk.  

The Tea House’s design underwent multiple variations before and after it’s construction. Coffin’s original design called  for an octagonal building surrounded by flower beds and small plazas., which as constructed. Then, influenced by their travel, the Sharp family requested an Italianate brick-and-stucco structure that was constructed in 1923., made to resemble an Italian Renaissance “Casino.”

Just like the Sharps, Coffin had traveled extensively in Italy before Gibraltar’s construction. Inspired by architect Charles Platt, the publisher of Italian Gardens, Coffin stayed true to a basis of classical principles that stayed firm throughout her career. To infuse the space with a mediterranean feeling, Coffin planted two southern European Black Pine behind the Italian Tea House, which succumbed years ago. 

Photo : The Sharps decorated the Tea House with potted plants , rugs, and furniture. As seen in this photo, there was once a spouting statue behind the marble  bowl.