The Main House

The home itself is a two-story custom house of stone and wood, with a large side porch.  It is best classified as Cotswold or Storybook Style, which is a subgroup of the Tudor Revival Style Architecture.  The roof is of a thatched effect using asphalt shingles cut in a wavy, undulating format terminating at both ends and sides in a unique large roll that conceals hidden gutters.  It is high pitched with multiple gables and eaves, as well as an eyebrow window on the second floor on the facade. Intricate stonework and a steeply pitched and curved roofline.

The home had been designed by Mr. Moore to include every modern convenience of the era, including many technological aspects, which were engineered by Moore himself.   During his lifetime, he devoted his inventive and mechanical ability to the improvement of his home.  There is is a master control panel with 28 pushbuttons at the South Hall entrance.   This panel remotely controlled and electrically locked all doors from within the house, front and back doors of the garage, lights, and also operated the waterfall in the back garden. Push one button and the doors to the South porch open to allow for visitors and then closed shut. In addition, there is also a burglar alarm that if set off by an intruder, lighted all the lights on the premises and automatically signalled the central telephone office, and in turn, the proper police officials. The interior floor plan of the house is simple and functional, with spaces for entertaining orientated toward the front and private family spaces arranged toward the rear and second-floor areas.  The styling reflects that of romantic English Tudor Revival with a mix of Gothic elements. It retains the original unpainted wood wainscoting, trim, window, and door surrounds of Cherry Wood and Oak, beautiful multi-paned leaded glass doors and windows, hand-carved oak furniture and built-in cabinetry, and custom-designed oak wood flooring.  The dining room displays the original hand-painted walls depicting landscape scenery by then local artist, Miss Florence Stader. The original first floor air conditioning equipment with humidity control is arranged for the living room, dining room, radio room, den and front hall. There is also an elevator which once carried wood for the fireplaces in a rubber-tired wagon from the basement to the living room on the main floor. The entire house is embedded with technological features that, in the early 20th century, were ahead of their time. By the 1930’s, the house had 23 telephone and 17 direct lines.   All five bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, dining room, den, kitchen, laundry, maids quarters and the garage had telephones and radio speakers, which operated from a central radio in the radio room. These advanced features worked together in making this a “smart home” of the era, and quite possibly the first of its kind. For decades, the Moore home was a showplace of the city, and is so unusual in design and surroundings that visitors to this day, frequently stop to inspect and admire it.