Shadow House

---

The octagonal garden gazebo, known as Shadow House, sits between the Bishop’s Garden and Lawn. It was designed by Cathedral architects Frohman, Robb & Little. Construction took place in 1927, and it was dedicated on April 27, 1928. The funds to build Shadow House were donated by the Bishop’s Guild as their offering to the Bishop’s Garden.

Shadow House was built with stones and timber recovered from President Grover Cleveland’s nearby summer home. The house, known as Red Top, was located on Newark Street and was demolished in 1927. The pie-shaped bricks that form the floor came from “Ellerslie” plantation in Virginia.

Wrought-iron artist Samuel Yellin designed the weather vane that sits at the peak of the slate roof. Yellin’s work can be seen elsewhere in the Bishop’s Garden – the hinges and handles on the doors of the Norman Arch and the Yellin Gate entry to the Garden.

• 

• 

• 

A small bronze statue of baby Pan, sculpted by Edith Parsons, sits on pedestal at the entrance to Shadow House. The statue was purchased by Mrs. Avery Coonley for her Cleveland Park house, “Rosedale,” during the 1920s. In 1965 it was given to the Cathedral and was placed near the entrance to the Baptistry (during the period of time when it was the Herb Cottage Shop). In 2017 the statue was relocated to a pedestal carved in memory of stained glass artist Rowan LeCompte. Behind the Pan statue climbing roses bloom in spring and summer on both sides of the Shadow House entry.

• 

• 

Climbing roses bloom in spring and summer on either side of the entrance to Shadow House. Once inside, there are eight views of the Bishop’s Garden through the wood-framed Gothic arch openings. Wood benches line the interior of Shadow House making this iconic garden element a place for visitors to linger.

---