Triangle Modernist Houses - America's Largest Archive of Residential Modernist Design

 

"This is not a field in which one can make a comfortable living:  yet it is the field that affords the deepest satisfaction."  -- Edgar and Margaret Hunter, November 1953 Architectural Record

EDGAR HAYES "TED" HUNTER, JR., AIA
(1914-1995)

Edgar Hunter was a competitive Alpine skier in 1930s.  He received AB and M.Ed. degrees from Dartmouth College in 1938 and 1950. He also received BA and Masters of Architecture degrees from Harvard in 1941 and 1970. 

At Harvard, he met Peg Hunter and they would later marry.  Hunter was a professor for 20 years at Dartmouth College and Chapter President of both the New Hampshire and the Raleigh AIA.

The Hunters had two adopted children, Chris (died 2001) and Meg.

MARGARET KING "PEG" HUNTER, AIA
(1919-1997)

Margaret Hunter received a BA in Botany at Wheaton College and was a member of the first class of female architects at the Harvard School of Design in 1942.  See the full photo below of Hunter in the kitchen GE built from her design. 

She is the author of Your Own Kitchen and Garden Survival Book with Virginia W. Williams and The Indoor Garden with her husband.

The Hunters practiced in Hanover, New Hampshire from 1945-1966, both teaching at Dartmouth and designing several buildings on the campus.  They were featured in the 1950, 1953, and 1956 Architectural Record.  In 1957, they hired Roy Banwell as an associate. 

In 1966 they relocated to Raleigh primarily because the demand for architecture in VT and NH had faded. They left the practice to Roy Banwell.  Ted worked for a large firm in Raleigh and Peg taught at NCSU.  After a time, Ted left the firm and the pair opened up shop as EH and MK Hunter AIA.  Peg Hunter founded Heritage Antiques and in 1970 hired Virginia W. Williams to work in that store.  They would later co-author "Your Own Kitchen and Garden Survival Book."  Williams died in 1976. 

In Raleigh, the couple designed Ridgewood Shopping Center and the Meredith Woods Subdivision, among many other projects.  Their Raleigh house, no longer standing, was one of their best local works.

1941 - The Francis Drury House, location unknown.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1945 - The James F. Cusick House, Franconia NH. No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1946 - The Junius A. Brown House, Hanover NH. No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1946 - The Henry G. Williams House, 95 East Wheelock Street, Hanover NH. The current owner is Jim Jordan.  According to architect Roy Banwell, Jordan did a "serious and thoughtful" renovation, staying true to the original design. 

1946 - The Alexander Hiss House, Norwich CT. No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1947 - The John Murtagh House, Rip Road, Hanover NH.  Photos by Ezra Stoller/Esto.  Has been remodeled.   

1947 - The J. G. Blount House, Conway NH.   Located on Route 16 near Madison.  Still standing as of 2010.  Featured in Better Homes & Gardens in the early 1950s.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1948 - The R. W. Williams Ski Cabin, Stowe VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1948 - The Albert L. Keep House, Williamstown MA.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

  

1948 - The H. Wentworth Eldridge House, 328 Elm Street, Norwich VT.   Photos by Ezra Stoller/Esto.  Sold in 1984 to current owners David and Sarah Reeves.  Remodeled and updated in 1984 by architect V. Stuart (Stu) White.  Added a new garage in 1998 by architect Bernard (Bernie) Benn. 

 

 

 

1948 - The Ralph W. and Anne Hunter House, 17 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  Ralph Hunter was Ted Hunter's older brother.  Anne Hunter died about 1970 and Hunter remarried Betty Morrison. Sold in 2003 to current owners Norman N. Yanofsky and Kathy Crawford.

1949 - The Maude French Residence, 7 Lewin Road, Hanover NH.   Two bedrooms with the living floor raised over the entrance, garage, garden storage and "breezeway", to take maximum advantage of the view of the valley of the Connecticut River.  Pictured above, French (1900-1985) variously called it "Spinster's Rest," "El Rancho Bankrupto," and other names with great affection.  According to Jean Ranc, French had a vintage Thunderbird convertible she kept garaged and on blocks during the winter.  "If you saw Maude driving her Thunderbird," says Ranc, "you knew it was spring."  Sold in 1985 to George R. and Caroline Porter.  Sold in 1986 to current owners Jonathan and Ann Rose.

The Hunter House (photos above).

  

Peg Hunter, her son Christopher, and his friends in the GE demonstration Kitchen (not the Hunter House)

1949 - The Hunter's own home on 15 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  This remarkable glass, stone, and wood piece of sculpture was suspended like a tree house on the side of Balch Hill.  The stunningly beautiful house stair-steps down the hill on three levels with ledge stone foundations.  Inside, a see-through fireplace opened to the living room and the dining room on the other side.  The house was featured on the cover of the November 1953 Architectural Record.  It was the crown jewel of a community of Hunter-designed houses along Hemlock Road, each with 2-5 acres of woods.

Margaret Hunter was featured in the 1958 Time/Life Picture Cookbook for being "one of the few successful women architects."  General Electric was so impressed with her kitchen design they built it, although not at the Hunter house.  Stationed in the middle of the GE house, the kitchen is without walls to the dining room and motor-driven shades regulated light from the windows.  There was also a skylight over the kitchen area. Bottom color photos of the GE kitchen by Leslie Gill.

This jewel sat unsold for some four years after the Hunters had departed in 1966 for Raleigh.  Bought in 1970 for $58,500 by Jean Ranc and Nathan Geurkink Ranc loved the house but reality struck upon the first $500 oil bill for the radiant heating in the slate and concrete floor.  Later after refinancing the house to install thermopane throughout, they were only able to reduce the heating cost 25%, even keeping the thermostat at 65 degrees and dressing in layers.  Ranc and Geurkink sold in 1979 for $92,000 and two subsequent owners have made extensive renovations such as enlarging the tiny kitchen, adding decks and a separate guest house.  Interior designer Cheryl Boghosian is the current owner.

Here is a map of the neighborhood, originally known as "Pill Hill" because so many doctors lived there.


 

1948- The R. W. Williams Ski Cabin, Stowe VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1950's - The Bunting Morrell House, 11 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  Sold to John F. and Carol H. Kenfield who moved here from Raleigh.  Upon retirement in 1983, they had the Hunters design a coastal house for them back in North Carolina (see below).  Sold in 1982 to Charles R. and Elsa M. Luker who added a deck on the back.  Sold to current owners Martin (Marty) W. and Rebecca (Becky) H. Himmelstein in 2003.  Photos by Marty Himmelstein.

1950 - Built for current owners Oscar Sherwin Staples and Mable Staples, 14 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  Added on a library right behind the garage, a bathroom, a guest room, and a carport, also by the Hunters.  Bottom photo by John Sherman.

1950 - The Harrison Kimball House, Peterboro NH.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1950 - The John Rand House, Rip Road, near the Murtagh house in Hanover NH.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?  Has been remodeled. 

1950 - The Pennington Haile House, Union Village Road, Norwich VT.  Haile was one of the first openly gay citizens in the area.  The house is destroyed, according to Roy Banwell.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1950 - The Wendell Triller House, Kingsford Road, Hanover NH.  Has been renovated.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1951 - The Walter C. and Caroline R. Lobitz House, 25 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  The walls in the living room were burlap. Includes four bedrooms and a study.  Sold to R. Clinton and Caroline S. Fuller in 1961.  Sold in 1966 to Raymond Sid  and Alice O. Jackson.  Was sold in 2007 to their son and daughter.

1951 -The Francis F. Cary House, Greenfield MA.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1951 - The Charles G. Sheldon House, Woodstock VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1951 - The Richard B. Earle House, Hanover NH.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

 

1952 - The Ralph E. Langdell House, 1805 River Road, Manchester NH. Commissioned 1951.  Featured in New Hampshire Profiles Magazine in October 1961 and Architectural Record Houses of 1956.  When Langdell died in 1968, the house was sold.  The second owners altered the living room by removing a field stone feature, removing the built in bookcases, and removing and the glass screen which separated the dining room from the foyer.  Langdell's daughter Sarah recalls that "as you you walk into the house there is a beautiful "rock garden." Plants grow out of the ground all year long.  It is surrounded by glass. We had a large gardenia bush among other plants-but I loved the gardenia. The story is that the rock was meant to be much larger but in cutting it back some with dynamite it got cut back a lot.  Sold to current owner Robert F. Franceur.  Bottom photo by Sarah Langdell Lambdin. 

Early 1950's - The John G. and Jean A. Kemeny House, 7 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  Sold to Paul and Patricia Shannon in 1974.  Sold to Brantz and Ana M. Mayor in 1976.  Sold to Dawn Khan in 2000.  Current owners Dick and Stephanie Schellens.  Photos by Ana Mayor.

1952 - The Richard W. Moulton House, East Wheelock Street, Hanover NH.  When the house was finished, bank officer Moulton left town with lots of other people's money.  No address or photo.  Do you have one? 

1952 - The Noel T. Wellman House, North Conway NH.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1953 - The Andersen Ski Cabin, Stowe VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1953 - The Richard Stout House, Southington CT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1955 - The Mackenzie Hume House, Lloyd Harbor NY.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1955 - The Roy P. and Dorothy Forster House, 18 Hemlock Road, Hanover NH.  Transferred to joint ownership between Roy and their daughter, Peggy Forster Hyde, on the death of Dorothy in 1991.  Upon Roy's death, it was sold to the Thomas R. Eck Trust in 1999.  Sold to John J. McIntyre IV in 2000.  Sold in 2001 to current owners Robert and Lori Ann Harris. They cleared some of the land below the house for an outstanding view of the mountains.

1959 - The Roland Palmedo Vacation House, Mad River Glen, Waitsfield VT.  Palmedo was a famous skier in the early days of the ski industry.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1961 - The Roberts Residence, 154 Lyme Road, Hanover NH.
 Sold in 2006 to current owners Paul and Tom Schlenker. 

1962 - The Edward Janeway Ski Lodge, aka Birkenhaus, Stratton Mountain VT.  A founder of the ski industry in that area.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1962 -  The Powell Residence, VT.  A round house.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1963 - The John G. and Ruth Makechnie House, Hartland VT. 
No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1963 - The Thomas Roos House, Rayton Road, Hanover NH.  Four hyperbolic paraboloids.  Designed by Roy Banwell.  Built for current owner.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?  

 

1964 - The Kenneth Shopen House and Studio, 346 Goodrich 4 Corners Road, Norwich VT.  The main house has an unobstructed view of the Connecticut River Valley and New Hampshire hills.  Was sold several times.  Current owners William and Jenny Lamb.  Guest house, bottom two photos, is available for rent

1964 - The David Jackson House, Hanover NH.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1965 - The Roderick (Rod) Nash House, Rip Road, Hanover NH. 
No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1969 - Residence for Louis and Barbara O'Conner, 5009 North Hills Drive, Raleigh.  Sold in 1994 to Kristin Eldridge.  Sold in 2004 to current owners Michael and Kathleen Southern. 

1973 - Their own house at 3808 Tall Tree Place, Raleigh, destroyed.  This exceptional house was years ahead of its time.  According to Margaret Hunter's executor Charlie Fulton, the structure contained a small apartment where one of their parents lived for a few years.  The six acres with its own pond was sold to James Stewart Carr in 1997 after the death of Margaret Hunter.  Carr subdivided the property into many lots and the house was destroyed.  He did save these pictures, however, and generously donated them to TMH.

1974 - Residence for Mr. & Mrs. John V. Hunter III, East Lake Drive, Raleigh. 
Unbuilt, according to John Hunter.

1976 - The Robert E. Huse House, Carolina Trace, Sanford NC.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1979 - The Marjorie Smith and Harriet Ammann Residence, 3601 Marcom Street, Raleigh.  Ammann sold her interest to Smith in 1981.  Smith sold the house to current owner Lewis Deitz in 1984.  

1983 - The John F. and Carol Kenfield, Jr., Residence, Gloucester NC.  Sold when the Kenfields moved to the NC mountains.  The current owners built an addition.

1984 - The Peter and Barbara Baxter Residence, Cotuit MA.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1986 - The Joe Moore, Jr., House. location Unknown.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1990 - Residence for Sytse and Karen Polier Douna, Louisburg NC. 
Unbuilt, according to Ms. Douna.

1990 - The Tony Knox Residence, location unknown.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

Year unknown - The John French House, Woodstock VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

Year unknown - aka Residence for a Writer, Norwich VT.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

1960's - The Richard Wagner House, East Wheelock Streeet, Hanover NH.  Featured in Architectural Record, according to Roy Banwell.  1400 sf.  No address or photo.  Do you have one?

Year unknown - The Dewey House, Hanover NH.  Photos by Ezra Stoller/Esto.

Sources include:  Hunter Archives at NCSU; Your Own Kitchen and Garden Survival Book by Margaret King Hunter and Virginia W. Williams; The Indoor Garden by Margaret King Hunter and Edgar Hayes Hunter; November 1953 Architectural Record; Time/Life Picture Cookbook (1958); Architectural Forum April 1950 pages 174-5; Better Homes and Gardens June 1951 pages 68-9; Hanover's Hunter Houses, written by Jack Degrange, photography by John Sherman, from Here In Hanover Magazine 2005, volume 8 No.3 page 10.   Interviews: former clients John V. Hunter III and Karen Polier Douna, former Raleigh neighbor and book collaborator Paul Nelson, Margaret Hunter's sister Deborah King Jarvis, Margaret Hunter's co-executor Charlie Fulton, Maude French's nephew Allen Spalt, former Hanover neighbor Jean Ranc,  developer James Stuart Carr, former Hanover neighbor Ana Mayor, former Hanover neighbor Carol Kenfield, Robert Harris, Raymond Jackson, Roy Banwell AIA, William Lamb, Devin Colman, Sarah Langdell Lambdin.


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