Torquilstone

This handsome stone mansion, built by former governor William MacCorkle for his son, illustrates the refinements in Georgian Revival design in the twenty years after MacCorkle built his own house, Sunrise ( CH50), in 1905. Sunrise is bombastic; Torquilstone is tasteful. Fenestration at Sunrise is frenetic, at Torquilstone almost painfully symmetrical. Although Torquilstone appears to face across Myrtle Road toward Sunrise, its actual front is the opposite facade. Inside, a handsome stairway and formal reception rooms are trimmed with appropriate Georgian moldings. In 1967 the Sunrise Foundation purchased the house and later adapted it for use as an art gallery and museum.