Dorothy Stover was Phil’s art professor at Penn State. Since there was no art major as Phil desired, she encouraged him to consider architecture. Phil fell in love with the suggested major. Much thought went into the moderate-sized house that he designed for her out in the country. The house décor has been changed over the years, but the basic design remains.
In contrast to all the rest of Phil’s carefully organized records (which read as House for Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, a sign of the times), The Stover House (I) was listed as House for Dorothy Stover. Dorothy wanted to be near her unmarried sister, Edith, for which Phil then designed a house on a lot next door. Harney had a career in the military.
The house is a single story design with a full basement. It also has a two-stall carport, which was rather unusual for the period. The original roof was built-up tar and gravel, but it has been replaced with a rubber one. This was also true of many homes of the time, as the former is high maintenance.
There is covered access to the main entry from the carport as well as the front walkway.
The entrance hall provides access to all main areas of the house. Previously the stair walls were equal height, but the center one was cut down and now provides a handguide.
A patio to enjoy the outdoors is off of the dining area and has afternoon shade. The house has an open U-shaped floor plan, with the display wall separating teh living and kitchen areas.
The living area fireplace features Hallock's favorite design-style, a cantilevered hearth. The original tiled surface common in the period has been covered with marble.
The original recessed bult-in display area opposite the fireplace remains. but the former wooden shelves have been replaced with glass.
The original custon-built cabinets and Formica countertop are still in use. The vanity cabinet door is open to show the natural wood finish formerly used throughout the house.
The basement hallway paneling and doors still have their original finish.
A compact wing wall to the right of the carport enhances the apparent size of the house. To the left, sliding doors conceal a storage area for trash and tools inside the carport.
Inside the storage area teh original "patterns of squares" block wall design is revealed.
The chimney is Hallock's usual box shape, here on concrete blocks. The top of the chimney was later stuccoed for a more finished street appearance.
The west side of the house has a neat, modern look. Two bedrooms top a basement recreation room.
