Lucknow's architectural and decorative design exemplifies the "craftsman" style, a variant theme in the "Arts and Crafts" architectural genre that was popular in the England and the United States from the 1880s to the 1920s. Inspired by John Ruskin, the nineteenth century English art historian and critic, Arts and Crafts philosophy stressed the importance of maintaining authentic relationships between natural building material and decorative style, and between function and form. Materials were supposed to look the part they played in a building. Beams carrying heavy weight should be massive and look strong. Industrial materials, such as steel and concrete were to be shunned. The craftsman style also called for open display of craft skills. Mass produced furnishings and decorations were to be avoided. Wood and stone were popular craftsman building materials. They took prominent structural and decorative roles at Lucknow. The two story home was built of dressed granite stream stone, cut into pentagonal shape for structural strength. The craftsman style symbolized the capability of the "Captains of American industry" to transcend the mass production industrial technology, with which they used to build their fortunes, and to embrace eternal aesthetic standards. Lucknow was built in 1912 - 1914.
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