Right in front of you, the Matthews-Bradshaw House peeks out from behind the trees with its storybook cone-shaped turret in one corner, diamond-patterned windows, and a gabled entrance decorated with half-timbered stucco-just keep an eye out for a house that looks like it might have jumped out of a French fairy tale!
Picture it: the year is 1929, flapper dresses are in style, and the smell of fresh brick and stone fills the air as Justin Matthews Company sets out to create something truly special for Park Hill-a home unlike any other in the neighborhood. The Matthews-Bradshaw House is a rare bird, the only French Eclectic house that Matthews built in the whole area, and it’s got more charm than a bakery full of croissants! Frank Carmean, the architect behind the whimsical design, must’ve had fun with this one-just imagine him adding that conical turret, maybe daydreaming of castles in the French countryside while wiping dust from his plans. Through the years, generations have looked out from those diamond-pane windows, rain tapping on the brick and stone as families came and went. Whether passersby thought it was a secret hideout or a witch’s cottage, one thing was always certain: nobody forgot the house with the quirky turret on Skyline Drive. In 1992, its uniqueness was officially sealed by making it onto the National Register of Historic Places. Not bad for a house that could easily double as a movie set, right?
