Location Information
(for the Villa Del Mare "Home by the Sea")
Name:Villa Del Mare ("Home by the Sea") [Green House]
Address:13801 Arbor Circle
Gulf Hills Neighborhood
City/County:Ocean Springs, Jackson County
Architectural Information
Construction Date:1927
Architectural Styles(s):Spanish, Mission
No. of Stories:1
Mississippi Landmark Information
Designated:05-08-2008
Recorded:10-03-2012
Book/Vol. No.:1688/497-498
Easement Information
Date Signed:03-14-2007
Easement Type:Preservation/Maintenance
Book/Vol. No.:Book 1502 Pg. 69
Brief Description
One-story Spanish Eclectic house of wood-frame construction. Multi-gable roof covered with clay tiles. House plan consists of partial-width veranda flanked by projecting gabled wings. Entries are recessed 10-light French doors in wood frames with fanlight transoms. Windows are paired six and eight-light casements, some with fanlight transoms, and 1 and 3-light picture windows. Decorative elements include a square tower, red-tile pents, exposed rafters and decorative iron railings on windows. The house has a continuous concrete foundation, stucco cladding, and a regular red tile roof with closed eaves. On the northeast elevation, there are two wings, a three-bay garage and living quarters, both of which project from the core block, and is connected by an inset walkway supported by wood posts incorporating decorative brackets. Connecting the ends of the rear wings is a stuccoed wall with decorative brick cap, wood and iron gate entries, and quoined corner posts, forming an enclosed courtyard.
Historic Information
This house is located in Gulf Hills, a recreational subdivision established in 1925 for the well-to-do.
13801 Arbor Circle was one of the only homes built in the initial phase of development of Gulf Hills. Gulf Hills was a residntial/resort property developed by the Branigars of Chicago, IL. 13801 Arbor Circle was completed in early 1927, and was built for Mr. George Lytton of Chicago. The Lytton family owned Henry C. Lytton Clothiers. In 1934 the house was purchased by Dr. Karl A. Meyer, a general surgeon who at the time was serving as Head Medical Director of Cooke County Hospital in IL. Both the Lyttons and the Meyers used the house as a temporary residence. The house remained under the ownership of the Meyer family until Oct. 2006.

This property, together with 13817 Arbor Circle, were the only two houses initially built in this area, which was known as Spanish Point. All of the architectural resources within Spanish Court were designed in the Spanish idiom, which was a popular revival style in the United States in the inter-war years.