Apparently, Father had a little inspiration from E.L. Doctorow's real house in New Rochelle, New York.
Almost two years after Ragtime opened on Broadway, The New York Times sat down with Doctorow, and learned all about the house that became the setting of Ragtime, and how Doctorow's gently tinted days of lavender, pink, lemon, and lime, influenced his writing of the 1975 novel.