# Please show me "a small limestone house", like the one the Angstroms bought in Rabbit Is Rich **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740 "2026-07-17T03:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/1 "2026-07-17T03:56:30Z")
Partway through _Rabbit Is Rich_, Harry and Janice buy a small two-story stone house with two bedrooms, presumably a servants’ house left over from the time when the entire neighborhood belonged to a single grand country estate. I’ve never been to Pennsylvania, at least not except for Pittsburgh Airport, so I can’t wrap my mind around rhw idea of a small stone house. Where I come from, small houses are built of framing, drywall, and stucco; or if they’re really old they might be all wood. Can anyone share a link? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/2 "2026-07-17T08:48:18Z")
okay - [https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/stories/samuel-fulton-stone-house](https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/stories/samuel-fulton-stone-house) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/3 "2026-07-17T09:23:53Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I can’t wrap my mind around rhw idea of a small stone house. I don’t understand. Small stone houses are not only common across the world, they are in loads of movies and TV series and documentaries, and all it would take is a google search. How can you not imagine what one looked like? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/4 "2026-07-17T11:05:38Z")
Limestone mid-century modern house: [![](https://www.compass.com/m/1429133c19060e554ea46d6d9002fe937ef87a7c_img_0_e1f11/origin.jpg) ](https://www.compass.com/m/1429133c19060e554ea46d6d9002fe937ef87a7c_img_0_e1f11/origin.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/5 "2026-07-17T12:08:39Z")
I tried to read Rabbit, Run decades ago. Is the book as depressing as I remember it, or was it just me? I generally like Updike. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/6 "2026-07-17T12:11:37Z")
Eh. I suspect that’s a standard wood 2x4 framing house with very thin decorative limestone strips glued to the exterior boarding. The late 50s early 60s were big on all sorts of stone cladding applied to the front face of a standard stick-built house. And usually only the front face. Or am I whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/7 "2026-07-17T12:19:16Z")
Small limestone houses are commonplace in the UK, although they are desirable places to live nowadays. This is one of the smallest. [![](https://ellesteer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8286-2.jpg) ](https://ellesteer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_8286-2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/8 "2026-07-17T13:07:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or am I whooshed? Wasn’t intended to be. I haven’t read the book in question - is there any indication in the story that he’s buying something out in the country, or in a suburb? Around here (Indiana, where limestone is plentiful), that house would be described as having stone exterior, even if the interior structure is standard wood studs. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/9 "2026-07-17T13:13:02Z")
Well, there’s this bit in the OP (bolding mine) > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Partway through _Rabbit Is Rich_, Harry and Janice buy a small two-story stone house with two bedrooms, **presumably a servants’ house left over from the time when the entire neighborhood belonged to a single grand country estate.** Which in Pennsylvania suggested to me something built in the 1800s-ish. If instead the story was set in e.g. the UK I’d bet more like 1500s-1800s. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/10 "2026-07-17T13:18:58Z")
Here’s a stone house in Cleveland Heights. it is the oldest structure in the city and one of the oldest in the Cleveland area. Built in 1825 out of locally quarried Berea Sandstone. [![](https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/a23413a9fa700b47c5fe354c6f604015.jpg) ](https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/a23413a9fa700b47c5fe354c6f604015.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/11 "2026-07-17T15:03:57Z")
This type of house is very common in South Texas. Many of them were built by German immigrants. [![](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2FY8RDT/marble-falls-texas-usa-april-10-2021-abandoned-brick-farm-house-in-the-texas-hill-country-2FY8RDT.jpg) ](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2FY8RDT/marble-falls-texas-usa-april-10-2021-abandoned-brick-farm-house-in-the-texas-hill-country-2FY8RDT.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/12 "2026-07-17T15:12:37Z")
Growing up in Milwaukee, I saw entire neighborhoods of “Lannon stone houses”, built with a type of dolomite from quarries in Lannon, WI. Take a drive along the Menominee River in Wauwatosa and you’ll see dozens, often five or six in a row. Here’s a pintrest page: > **[Lannon Stone House](https://www.pinterest.com/ideas/lannon-stone-house/917200266252/)** > > Find and save ideas about lannon stone house on Pinterest. Oh, here’s one more like what I grew up near. Notice many smaller stone houses in the same block. [![](https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/e99fe9eb9d1cb422c74e156d965d5c41-cc_ft_1536.webp) ](https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/e99fe9eb9d1cb422c74e156d965d5c41-cc_ft_1536.webp) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/13 "2026-07-19T05:52:20Z")
Thanks for all the replies and links. I think **digs** ’ example probably comes closest to how I imagine the house in the novel (I know, what I imagine has little value compared to actual facts, but it’s good enough for reading a novel). ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/14 "2026-07-19T06:22:24Z")
I’m genuinely curious, did you do a Google Image search before asking on the boards? If not, was the reason it didn’t occur to you or you wanted some kind of information from the boards that was qualitatively different from a Google Image search? This genuinely isn’t an attack, I’m open to all of these different possibilities but this seems like a strange post from my perspective. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/15 "2026-07-19T16:59:20Z")
I don’t care if the OP could’ve just googled. I got singled out, and I’m going to chalk this up as WINNING a thread today! > [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I think **digs** ’ example probably comes closest WooHOO! In your collective face, Dopers with multiple PhDs! You’ve just been pwn’ed by an off-brand BS degree. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/16 "2026-07-20T21:49:21Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I’m genuinely curious, did you do a Google Image search before asking on the boards? If not, was the reason it didn’t occur to you or you wanted some kind of information from the boards that was qualitatively different from a Google Image search? How the would I know how to frame my query? Even the novel itself described the house as a rare architectural survival, and that was published 45 years ago. It isn’t hard to write a query whose results _include_ what I was looking for, but it’s more difficult to make it _exclude_ irrelevant results. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/17 "2026-07-20T22:25:13Z")
And if you search for "A small limestone house _like the one the Angstroms bought"_… … Google shows you _really_ tiny houses. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-show-me-a-small-limestone-house-like-the-one-the-angstroms-bought-in-rabbit-is-rich/1031740/18 "2026-07-20T22:36:57Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > How the would I know how to frame my query? Even the novel itself described the house as a rare architectural survival, and that was published 45 years ago. It isn’t hard to write a query whose results _include_ what I was looking for, but it’s more difficult to make it _exclude_ irrelevant results. Fair enough at one level - a search on “Pennsylvania stone house” will find [Fallingwater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater)as well as the pic I posted. But you don’t have a three word limit on Google search these days either.