Page17
Andre Cushing, the
original owner and builder of Keystone came to Saint John with his brother from
Maine in 1851. The two brothers formed the Andre Cushing & Co., and started
a lumber mill which was located at Union Point, on the West side of the city,
just above the Reversing Falls Rapids.
Keystone, one of the last houses to be decorated using trompe l'oeil and other
forms of decorative painting, actually consists of two separate structures, the
first one being very simple. It consists of two floors with the first being
made up of two rooms - a parlour and a kitchen. Located at the rear of the
building is a large winding staircase which leads to the attic. The rooms
located on this level are two bedrooms plus a large walk-in store room.
The second structure which was completed in 1872 is a 2 and 1/2 storey Second
Empire house from where we actually get the name Keystone. The first floor of
this house consists of triple parlours, a dining room, kitchen and a water
closet. The second floor is made up of a master bedroom with an adjoining
bathroom and dressing room. On this floor there is also one other bedroom. The
third floor consists of three bedrooms plus two smaller rooms that served as
store rooms.
Keystone's ceiling medallions have various trompe l'oeil designs, with the
medallion at the foot of the main stairs being the most elaborate. From the
floor it looks as if there is a gold chain woven within the plaster decoration.
Upon closer examination you will notice the finely crafted deception of a
painted shadow.
The only completely illusionistic ceiling painting is found on the first floor
in a room that is now used as a bathroom. This painting represents a plaster
medallion and light fixture. There is a window in this room and the painted
shadows are so fine that they give the feeling of depth. This painting does not
have the same range of colors as the others, and suffers because of it.
3 More
All pages © Heritage Resources and New
Brunswick Community College - Saint John.