--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found when I followed the driveway…" description: "\"“I found when I followed the driveway around to the back that behind its imposing front it was just another tract house, as if the architect had tried ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg" --- # I found when I followed the driveway around to the back… ![“I found when I followed the driveway around to the back that behind its imposing front it was just another tract house, as if the architect had tried to combine a southern plantation mansion with the slave quarters.” quote by Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg) > ““I found when I followed the driveway around to the back that behind its imposing front it was just another tract house, as if the architect had tried to combine a southern plantation mansion with the slave quarters.”” [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The house appears grand but hides a modest, ordinary reality, reflecting deceptive appearances. **In simple terms:** Appearances can be misleading. Key Takeaway Look beyond the façade. Themes architecture deception social class Mood reflective curious Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - real estate tours - historical preservation - neighborhood tours Key Concepts illusion status urban design Questions to Reflect On - What first impressions have you misjudged? - How do you verify a building’s true character? A Different Perspective Not all deception is intentional; some are due to perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Followed Driveway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/followed-driveway-6057848/) [Mansion Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mansion-slave-6057847/) [Plantation Mansion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plantation-mansion-6057846/) [Slave Quarters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-quarters-1931484/) [Southern Plantation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southern-plantation-4466611/) ## Related quotes > [“And while you’re sitting here taking up for him, no one will ever even know that he had a fling with the maid. That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latrivia-s-nelson/and-while-you-re-sitting-here-taking-up-for-him-no-one-will-ever-even/) [Latrivia S. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latrivia-s-nelson/) > [“From the hell of the slave quarters would come some of the Deep South’s great gifts to the continent: blues, jazz, gospel, and rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/from-the-hell-of-the-slave-quarters-would-come-some-of-the-deep-south/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [“We haven’t been strangers since I pulled you out of the slave quarters to train you as a soldier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/we-haven-t-been-strangers-since-i-pulled-you-out-of-the-slave/) [Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) ## More by Ross Macdonald > [Money costs too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/money-costs-too-much/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“The sea was surging among the pilings like the blithe mindless forces of dissolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-sea-was-surging-among-the-pilings-like-the-blithe-mindless-forces/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I knew how it was with drunks. They ran out of generosity, even for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-knew-how-it-was-with-drunks-they-ran-out-of-generosity-even-for/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“She didn't look like any motel manager I had ever seen. More likely an actress who hadn't quite made the grade down south, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/she-didn-t-look-like-any-motel-manager-i-had-ever-seen-more-likely-an/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“In wine was truth, perhaps, but in whisky, the way Hoffman sluiced it down, was an army of imaginary rats climbing your legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/in-wine-was-truth-perhaps-but-in-whisky-the-way-hoffman-sluiced-it/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“A cockroach stepped out from behind the ketchup, gave me a quick impassive once-over, decided that I was of the Brahmin faith, and walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-cockroach-stepped-out-from-behind-the-ketchup-gave-me-a-quick/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“No more guns for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/no-more-guns-for-you/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I have a secret passion for mercy. . . but justice is what keeps happening to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-have-a-secret-passion-for-mercy-but-justice-is-what-keeps-happening/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“I found myself wishing that we could live like the birds and move through nature without hurting it ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-myself-wishing-that-we-could-live-like-the-birds-and-move/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [An ugly woman with a gun is a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/an-ugly-woman-with-a-gun-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I like a little danger. Tame danger, controlled by me. It gives me a sense of power, I guess, to take my life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-like-a-little-danger-tame-danger-controlled-by-me-it-gives-me-a/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I had reached the point when I could not see anything clearly ahead, I needed help, and I got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-had-reached-the-point-when-i-could-not-see-anything-clearly-ahead-i/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [How can a man help breaking the law when he don't have money to live on?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/how-can-a-man-help-breaking-the-law-when-he-don-t-have-money-to-live/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [The smell of the sea, of kelp and fish and bitter moving water, rose stronger in my nostrils. It flooded my consciousness like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-smell-of-the-sea-of-kelp-and-fish-and-bitter-moving-water-rose/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) [Explore all 62 Ross Macdonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## More Architecture quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [It's not so much about form versus functionality. Rather, it's about doing both and doing them a lot and doing them well-and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/it-s-not-so-much-about-form-versus-functionality-rather-it-s-about/) [Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/) > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) [Browse all 3,013 Architecture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I found when I followed the driveway around to the back that behind its imposing front it was just another tract house, as if the architect had tried to combine a southern plantation mansion with the slave quarters.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Macdonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-around-to-the-back-that-behind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Architecture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-around-to-the-back-that-behind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/ross-macdonald-10904_architecture_i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-aro_2408869.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I found when I followed the driveway around to the back that behind its imposing front it was just another…” — Ross Macdonald", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ross Macdonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I found when I followed the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-around-to-the-back-that-behind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-when-i-followed-the-driveway-around-to-the-back-that-behind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```