Shippen Home

James Gamble Rogers II's first major Winter Park house in the Spanish Eclectic style was that of Dr. Eugene R. Shippen, constructed in 1931 at 1290 North Park Avenue. The Shippens moved to Winter Park in 1930 when Dr. Shippen retired after a long and distinguished career as a Unitarian minister. Shippen and his wife Elizabeth often traveled abroad, and their intense interest in Spain inspired the design of their Winter Park home, which they dubbed "Casa Felice" ("House of Happiness"). The architecture of "Casa Felice" incorporates Spanish Mediterranean and Mission styles and boasts a U-shaped courtyard arrangement. The simulation of an old building by using textured stucco on thick walls and incorporating a deliberate sag into the ridge of the main gable roof is a technique that Rogers would later employ in the construction of "Casa Feliz" for the Barbours.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.