Dr. E. L. Burton House - McKinney
THE BURTON HOUSE
McKinney Courier Gazette.
The Burton House has probably produced as many stiff necks, in proportion, as the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The urge to walk with head craned back to examine the oil paintings covering the ceilings is hard to resist, and they and the contents of the rooms they adorn have brought visitors from everywhere.
The house was build in 1908 and occupied thereafter by Dr. and Mrs. E. L. Burton. It was Mrs. Burton who commissioned Peter Plotkin of New York to paint the ceilings. The work took nine months and at its conclusion the reception hall, parlor, library, and dining room were vast canvases in various themes and rich colors, echoed by jewel-like oriental rugs.
The reception hall features a larger than life seraphic figure in roseate robes with cherubim in abundance. To the left is the parlor, to the right the library. A tall statue fashioned as a lamp graces the newel post of the stairway to the right beyond the double sliding doors that open into every room.
Straight ahead is the dining room flanked by twin antique wine cabinets of oak. The hunting theme is used in the dining room paintings - a dogs, ducks, outdoor scenes. The arched stained glass window at the end of the room is veiled with sheet curtains and a light green oriental rug covers the floor. The objects on and in the variety of servers, buffets, and cabinets send antique dealers into ecstasies, as do the mantels in each room, every one different. The one in the dining room has glass enclosed shelves for displaying delicate objects.
In addition to the rooms enumerated, the downstairs also has a breakfast room and kitchen, and upstairs there are four bedrooms and a solarium. Upon the death of the elder Burtons, Mr. and Mrs. Grover Burton continued to live in the home, which is listed as 132 S. Tennessee but has the main entrance on Davis, marked with a charming statue from Italy.
Mrs. Burton (Lucille) retired this year after 34 years as a special education teacher, 23 of them here. One of her favorite belongings is an elephant table made by a group of her students that is placed by a chair in the library.
With retirement the Burtons and Fluffy, the cat, can spend as much time as they wish, surrounded by beauty, and continue to note the involuntarily flung-back head and gasp of admiration from friend and stranger alike on entering their unique home.
McKinney Courier Gazette.
The Burton House has probably produced as many stiff necks, in proportion, as the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The urge to walk with head craned back to examine the oil paintings covering the ceilings is hard to resist, and they and the contents of the rooms they adorn have brought visitors from everywhere.
The house was build in 1908 and occupied thereafter by Dr. and Mrs. E. L. Burton. It was Mrs. Burton who commissioned Peter Plotkin of New York to paint the ceilings. The work took nine months and at its conclusion the reception hall, parlor, library, and dining room were vast canvases in various themes and rich colors, echoed by jewel-like oriental rugs.
The reception hall features a larger than life seraphic figure in roseate robes with cherubim in abundance. To the left is the parlor, to the right the library. A tall statue fashioned as a lamp graces the newel post of the stairway to the right beyond the double sliding doors that open into every room.
Straight ahead is the dining room flanked by twin antique wine cabinets of oak. The hunting theme is used in the dining room paintings - a dogs, ducks, outdoor scenes. The arched stained glass window at the end of the room is veiled with sheet curtains and a light green oriental rug covers the floor. The objects on and in the variety of servers, buffets, and cabinets send antique dealers into ecstasies, as do the mantels in each room, every one different. The one in the dining room has glass enclosed shelves for displaying delicate objects.
In addition to the rooms enumerated, the downstairs also has a breakfast room and kitchen, and upstairs there are four bedrooms and a solarium. Upon the death of the elder Burtons, Mr. and Mrs. Grover Burton continued to live in the home, which is listed as 132 S. Tennessee but has the main entrance on Davis, marked with a charming statue from Italy.
Mrs. Burton (Lucille) retired this year after 34 years as a special education teacher, 23 of them here. One of her favorite belongings is an elephant table made by a group of her students that is placed by a chair in the library.
With retirement the Burtons and Fluffy, the cat, can spend as much time as they wish, surrounded by beauty, and continue to note the involuntarily flung-back head and gasp of admiration from friend and stranger alike on entering their unique home.
