Pictured here is the house built in 1898 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Spofford as their summer home. The son of Ainsworth Spofford, Librarian of Congress, Charles Spofford was an electrical engineer, who would be hired in 1902 to manage London’s underground railway system, converting it from steam to electricity. The Spoffords engaged the architect Ehrick K. Rossiter of Washington, Conn., to design their house, which they called The Alders. The Alders sat majestically on Maple Avenue with the treeless landscape providing a fine view of Haystack Mountain. With extraordinary architectural detail and interior finishes, it is the only Gilded Age mansion in Norfolk that has not been demolished or burned down.

-Ann Havemeyer