MacDowell thought that the fine arts were supplemental, each of the
other, and wished to include them all in his scheme, so well-built
rustic studios, equipped to suit the needs of the occupant, are being
placed at intervals on advantageous sites in the woods, tree-screened
and far enough apart to insure quiet and privacy, but sufficiently
near to give that comfortable sense of human comradeship and safety.
There is a common domicile at the foot of "Hill Crest," called "The
Lower House," presided over by a capable housekeeper, where the
workers sleep, breakfast, dine and recreate in the evening; but after
breakfast, provided with a simple lunch, each hies away happily to his
own studio to spend the day in alternate working and waiting on the
Muses in blissful solitude. This routine is broken sufficiently by
cups of tea with Mrs. MacDowell at "Hill Crest," rambles in garden and
wood, drives over the picturesque mountain roads and tramps to the
village, to prevent Jack from having any chance of becoming a dull
boy.
The departed musician's own log cabin, already referred to as the
place where most of his later works were composed, was the first of
the studios to be built, and it would be difficult to imagine a more
perfect retreat for his purpose.
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