The Stone Fireplace

The great stone fireplace, located in the Great Hall of the Ranch House, is the center of the room. For centuries, the fireplace has been a place of heritage and family gathering.

Our interpretation of the fireplace triangulates a vernacular style unique to the Ranch, though not entirely uncommon in the architecture of the Southwest; The Arts and Crafts Movement, Mission Style Revival and Organic Architecture.

Household items should possess both beauty and utility, this was the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement of Victorian Britain. The Western Craftsman extension of this movement manifested in the Mission Style Revival that we see in the Great Hall. The fireplace is very much the focal point of this vernacular space.

The fireplace is a manifestation, although likely unintentional, of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture, which stipulates harmony between human habitation and nature. Wright, an architect known in part for his prolific design of these structures, said that the fireplace was of architectural as well as spiritual importance, with the use of mortared stone; irregular, local, in proportion, but possessing of a heartwarming nostalgia that is timeless. Big John’s artistic production fits Wright’s vision to a T.

The warmth and comfort offered by the fireside was enjoyed by both two-legged and four-legged inhabitents of the Ranch!

Clara Bow in front of the fireplace with a dog in the great room ca. 1930s.

The Great Room empitimizes the Western asthetic the Bells were so fond of. This space was frequently used for entertaining friends and family. 

Dinner party in the great room in the ranch house at Walking Box Ranch, ca. 1930s.

There are two long-handled implements in the collection, a poker and a shovel, with the Walking Box logo engraved on the handles which are made of bronze. The history of such items date back much earlier, but this particular manifestation is best attributed to the Victorian era, where brass embellishments on such tools was a matter of style that enhanced its utility. We have not yet determined precisely when or by whom these artifacts were made, but given the personalization, it is likely they were custom manufactured.