HOUSE DESIGNShttp://www.uwec.edu/geography/ivogeler/w367/styles/

I-Style (1820s-80s)

This one-room deep, two-room wide, and two story structure looks like a capital "I"and is found in large numbers in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. The I houses are verycommon in working class neighborhoods and on farms in the Midwest.

These very skinny, tall houses almost always lack decorative details. Dating thesehouses within a couple of decades is difficult because so few clues exist. Most were builtin the late 19th century, which is indicated by scroll work on porches, tall verticalwindows, and narrow clapboard. I-style houses are very Midwestern, especially inIndiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

Two I-styles put together make an Upright-and-Wing, see below.

Most I-style houses have these features:

• skinny, tall houses that lack great detail• scroll work on porches• tall, vertical windows• narrow clapboard

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Gothic Revival (1830s-80s)

By the 1830s this romantic style, which developed in England, became popular in theU.S. and was widespread by the 1840s and 1850s and continued to be built after the CivilWar; hence, few examples of this style were built in Eau Claire. This cobblestone GothicRevival is probably the best example in the city.

These picturesque country cottages are distinguished by pointed archedwindows which are combined with towers, steep gable roofs, lacybargeboard, verandas, and bay and oriel windows. With the invention

of scroll saws, or jigsaws, wood trim was mass produced in elaborate forms -- resultingin the Carpenter Gothic. The example shown here has been modified several times: 1)the top 19th-century story was removed, 2) the exterior was stuccoed, probably in the1930s, and 3) new wooden clapboard was added in the 1980s -- only the chimney showsthe original stucco.

The Gothic style in the form of public buildings is called CollegiateGothic and it was popular well into the 20th century for churches and forschools, such as Central High school (1925) and Schofield Hall (1912) atUWEC.

Most Gothic Revival houses have these features:pointed arched windows combined with towerssteep, gable roofslacy bargeboardlarge verandasbay and oriel windows

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Greek Revival (1840s-90s)

Professionals in the mid-19th century saw the U.S., with its democratic principles, as thespiritual successor of ancient Greece. During the 1840s, ancient Greek culture inspiredarchitecture and place names, such as Athens, Sparta, and Ithaca, especially in UpstateNew York. Because Eau Claire was settled after the Greek Revival was popular, the cityhas few examples.

The example shown was built by a banker. The most easily identified features of Greektemple-front buildings are columns and pilasters, bold and simple moldings,pedimented gables, and heavy cornices with unadorned friezes.

Although an early 19th century style, the two-story high columns of the Greek Revivalcontinue to be used, as in this brick version from the late 1960s built by a dentist. MostGreek Revival houses have these features:

at least two -- more commonly four -- columns in the front, two-stories highcolumns and pilasterbold and simple moldingspedimented gablesheavy cornices with unadorned friezes

4Italianate (1840s-70s)

Inspired by rural Italy and introduced byway of England, the Italianate was anational style in the U.S. by the 1850sand immensely popular up to the CivilWar. Eau Claire has only a few verysimple Italianate houses, but ChippewaFalls has many very elaborate versionsof this style. This style was also verypopular in commercial architectureduring the Victorian era.

Architectural Distinctions

• 2-3.5 stories• low, hipped roofs• overhanging eaves• rounded-headed windows with

hood moldings• arched porches• balustraded balconies

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Two Pen (1850s-70s)

The Two-Pen is a one-story, two-unit(or -room), end-gable structure. Thisvery plain house style usually lacks frontporches, which are otherwise verycommon in 19th century houses. Thesehouses usually have had severaladditions added over the decades; hence,they have sometimes very irregularshapes. The original floor plan might betwo-rooms wide, only one-room deep,and one-story high. Versions with 1.5-stories also exist. In Eau Claire many ofthese houses are used as student rentals -- look for the old sofas, bikes, and pizzaboxes on the porches! This style is oneof five subtypes of Folk Victorian,which you should examine as well.

Two-penhouses

commonly have severaladditions:A is the original two-room unit;B might be another bedroom;andC could be a large new kitchenand family room.

Most Two-Pen houses have thesefeatures:

1 story

gable rooforiginally, two-rooms wide, one-room

deepusually has several additions added

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Upright & Wing (1860s-90s)

The Upright refers to the vertical part ofthe house and the Wing to the usuallylower side section. This very simple19th century house style is found in thecountryside and cities. It represents"non-stylistic" or vernaculararchitecture, which is constructed bybuilding trades rather than by ownersthemselves, as in tribal societies. It lacksaesthetic pretensions and individualvariations are minor.

Upright-and-Wing houses come inseveral variations: 1, 1.5, or 2 stories. In Eau Claire these houses are typicallyfound in working class neighborhoods,such as along Main and Birch streets. On the other hand, stylistic Victorianhouses are found in the affluent areas ofthe Third Ward and Randall Park.

Most Upright-and-Wing houses havethese features:

1.5-2 storiesgable roofUpright is the vertical part of the

house (usually 2 stories)Wing is the lower side section

(commonly only 1 story, but can be 1.5or even 2 stories)

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Second Empire (1870s-80)

The Second Empire style is an exampleof a roof style that identifies a housetype! Mansard roofs increase the headroom in the attic space; hence providingan additional story. Dormers in themansard roofs provide light and evenmore space on the upper floors.

The style reflects the picturesque andasymmetrical characteristic of other late19th century styles, such as the GothicRevival and Italianate.

This style was borrowed from France,where Napoleon III (1852-1870)undertook a major building campaignthat transformed Paris into a city ofgrand boulevards, monumental publicbuildings, and residential districts withthe distinctive mansard roofs.

The roof style continued to be popular,especially for apartments and offices.

Most Second Empire houses have thesefeatures:

2 storiestall, symmetrical housemansard roofsoften has a towerarched openingsbracketed eaves

Folk Victorian (1870s-1900)

Upright-and-Wing houses are one ofmany Folk Victorian house styles. Fiveprinciple subtypes occur, each illustratedbelow. These vernacular house stylesare less elaborate than the high Victorianstyles which they mimic. These plainhouse styles characterize working classareas in cities and farm houses in thecountryside.

Front-Gabled

Pyramidal

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Queen Anne (1880s-90s)

The Queen Anne is the most elaborate of all 19th century house styles. It reflects theeclecticism of the late 19th century. Queen Anne houses are very vertical, which isevident in their 2.5 to 3.5 stories.

Here are other versions of this style:

This is good example of a Queen Anne house. It has several porchesand gabled roofs for decoration. It also shows the elaborate corbellinon the large chimneys.

This house shows the concept of wooden relief decorations in thegabled ends very nicely. It also stresses the idea of large elaborateporches.

This is a prime example of a very elaborate Queen Anne style. It isvery vertical with 3.5 stories. It also has numerous balconies andporches that are emphasized with arches and pillars. Stained glassdecorates the living and dining areas and vertical windows are placedall rooms. It has numerous massive chimneys decorated with elaboracorbelling. The roof has many steep gables decorated with woodenfish scale shingles. This house sits on a massive cut stone foundatio

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commonly for all 19th century houses.

This house was in fact built in the 1980s which is evident by the absenof a massive cut stone foundation. This house is poured concretebasement.

Queen Anne houses have distinctive features that set them apart from other styles:steep gabled roofs decorated with half timbering or wooden relief decorations in the

gable ends. huge corbelled chimneysnumerous balconiesvertical windowsstained-glass windowslarge porches are numerous and importantmassive cut stone foundations

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New England Colonial (1890s-1930s)

The New England Colonial style simplified the picturesque Queen Anne and soappeared after the Queen Anne fell out of fashion. The New England Colonial was one ofmany revival styles which became popular by the early 20th century.

Another name for this style is the four-over-four because of its basic rectangular floorplan of four rooms on the lower and upper levels.

Since this house has remained popular over the decades, its date of construction can onlybe determined by minor details in the building materials, such as 1920s-1930s reddishbrick on the foundations, driveways with two cement lanes separated by grass, and thewidth and height of garages.

All New England Colonial style houses have these features:2 - 2.5 storiesgable roofsymmetrical placement of windows and doorsclassical details: columns, cornices, shuttered windowssimple, rectangular shape

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Cubic (1900s-20s)

This is a smaller and simpler variation of the New England Four-over-Four, or NewEngland Colonial Revival. The distinctive feature of this style is its squarish floor planand cubic volume.

Typical of the early 20th century, this style is very plain and has only simple frontporches, if any. The elaborate features of the Victorian era of the late 19th century aregone.

Most Cubic houses have these features:2 stories without or with dormers on the next storya small, front porch onlypyramidal roofcenter chimney for a furnace in the basement or an end chimney for a fireplace

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French Provincial (1900-30s)

This is another Revival style of the early 20th century. This formal looking style issimilar to the "rustic" French Normandy style.

Most French Provincial houses have these features:French windows or shuttershigh, steep hipped or gable roofbalanced appearance windowssecond-story windows break through the corniceexpensive materials used: copper, slate, brick

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Elizabethan Tudor (1900-30s)

This is another of the many Revival Style houses of the early 20th century. Half-timbering was characteristic of buildings in Medieval Europe (5th -14th centuries) whenbeams held up buildings and the spaces between the beams were filled with sticks andplaster or bricks.

In the U.S. however, half-timbering is only a decorative--albeit distinctive--covering offrame construction. Yet these were usually very expensive house with massivesculptured chimneys with chimney pots, reddish bricks and stucco, complicatedpeaked roofs, and small leaded glass windows.

Most Elizabethan, Half-Timbered, or Tudor Revival houses have these features:2-2.5 storiessteep gabled roofshalf-timbering and stuccosmall leaded glass windows

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French Normandy (1900s-30s)

This house style originated in Normandy of France where houses and barns wereattached. The central turret was used for the storage of grain or silage. But in the U.S., the French Normandy was an expensive Revival Style, characterizedby cut stone, elaborate roof lines, and in this case, a two-car built-in garage!

Most French Normandy houses have these features:2 or more storiesexterior wall of reddish bricks, cut stone, and/or stuccocentral turret with entrance and staircasemassive chimneyssteep, complicated roofssometimes, even with half-timber decorations

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Tudor Revival (1900-30s)

Tudor Revival is also called Elizabethan and Half-Timbered. Whatever these housesare called they are another example of the Revival styles, which were popular in the early20th century. Half-timbering was characteristic of Medieval buildings when the beamsheld the buildings up and the spaces between them were filled with plaster. But in theU.S. half-timbering is only a decorative covering of frame construction. Yet these wereusually very expensive houses with their massive sculptured chimneys, reddish bricks,and stucco, complicated peaked roofs, and small leaded glass windows.

Most Tudor Revival houses have these features:2 storiescomplicated peaked roofsmassive sculptured chimneyreddish bricks and stuccosmall leaded glass windows

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Prairie Style (1900-50s)

The Prairie style was developed at the start of the 20th century by a group of Chicagoarchitects. The most famous among them was Frank Lloyd Wright. The PrairieSchool rejected the popular revival styles of the early 20th century. Only two goodexamples of the Prairie School are found in Eau Claire.

This Prairie School style house is located at 606 Second Avenue. It illustrates eachessential component of the Prairie School: a two-story rectangle with a hipped roof andoverhanging eaves.

Most Prairie School houses have these features:

• 2 stories• broad hipped, or gabled roofs• overhanging eaves• casement windows• enclosed porches• rectangular shape

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Arts & Crafts (1910-30s)

This style originated in Britain during the mid-19th century when the arts were combinedwith the crafts to produce high quality houses for the middle class. This style waspopular in Britain from 1861-1914, but appeared later in the USA and was particularlypopular in California, where the Greene brothers designed many, from hence it diffusedeastward in the USA.

The Arts and Crafts style was expressed in the interior and exterior of houses. On theoutside, these have a rustic appearance with its steep gabled roofs, overhanging eaves,exposed crafters, and "earthy" building materials of wooden shingles, stucco, andfield stones. Dormers and large front porches are common.

Arts and Crafts houses have these features:

Stone, exterior chimney

small, high windows on each side of chimneysdormers, usually gabled or shedtriangular knee brace supportssloped foundations

fieldstones for accent on the house or along sidewalks

exposed roof beams and rafter tails or ends

Exposed rafter tails, roof beams, and triangular knee braces are very typical of Arts andCrafts houses. Dormers, on this and other house styles, come in many different forms(gable, eyebrow, hipped, polygonal, curbed, shed).

Arts and Crafts houses have front porches, which can be built of many differentmaterials and in different forms. This style comes in many simple forms as well.

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Bungalow (1910-30s)

The word "bungalow" has its origin in British India, where it was used to describe one-story houses with encircling porches. In California, where the term was first applied inthe U.S., the style referred to small-scale, one-story, Queen Anne-style cottages whichwere built in great profusion during the 1880s and 1890s. Gradually the style spreadeastward, which is the reverse direction for most house style diffusion.

Bungalows became popular in the small Midwestern towns from the 1910s to 1930s. These narrow rectangular houses have low-pitched gable or hipped roofs and smallfront porches, usually enclosed by screens. Mail-order catalogs, such as Sears andRoebuck, sold floor plans and materials for bungalows throughout the U.S.

Modest forms of bungalows also have these features: 1-1.5 stories

long, rectangular volumesridgepole perpendicular to the streethipped roofs

small front porches

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Spanish Colonial (1910s-30s)

Spanish or Mediterranean house styles were built in the early part of the 20th centurywhen Revival styles were popular. A new building material, stucco, was particularlywell suited for Spanish architecture and the closely related Mission and Pueblo styles ofthe Southwest and West.

Most Spanish Colonial houses have these features:1-2 storiesSpanish clay tile roofs with low pitchplain white stucco wallsoften with arched openings with wooden beams

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Neo-Dutch Colonial (1910s-40s)

The (barn-like) roof shape identifies this house style! These houses have symmetricalwindows and floor plans. Neo-Dutch Colonials are more distinctive in appearance thanCubic (1900s-1920s) and Cape Cod (1940s-1950s) styles.

Articles on the Neo-Dutch Colonial style appeared in academic and popular magazinesfrom 1905 to 1935, which generally reflects the period of its popularity. This style ofhouse may use stucco, wooden clapboard, and brick.

Most Neo-Dutch Colonial houses have these features:gambrel roofsflaring eavessingle or shed dormerscentral doorways

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Art Deco (1920s-30)

The Art Deco style appeared in Europe from 1981-1939. Not only buildings but alsointerior elements -- such as glass and silver ware, furniture, stucco details, staircases, etc -- were created. The photos on the top come from the Corning Museum of Glass.

Art Deco style was the first widely popular style to break with the early 20th centurystyles of Revival and Beaux Arts styles. It consciously strove for modernity, simplicity,and streamlined -- typical of the newly emerging Machine Age. Art Deco ornamentationconsists of low-relief geometrical designs, often with parallel straight lines, zigzags,chevrons, and stylized floral motives. Stucco, smooth-faced stone, concrete foundations,and metal railings are common materials associated with this style. This style had twophases: Zigzag Moderne of the 1920s and Streamline Moderne of the 1930s and 1940s.Although many public buildings -- courthouses, jails, bandstands, schools -- were builtduring the Great Depression in this style, sometimes, the Art Deco designs were notactually built until after World War II! Most Art Deco houses have these features

two stories

stucco walls, painted white or light pastels

glass block

steel casement windows

small round windows

curved corner walls

concrete basement walls

The style was particularly popular for commercial buildings, such as banks, moviehouses, and courthouses. Kalamazoo has an Art Deco city hall and county building facingBronson Park.

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Mobile Trailers (1920s-80s)

Mobile trailers are one of the earliest and still most common forms of factory-builthousing. The mobile home has its origin in the camping trailers, which were first usedduring the 1920s when the automobile became common. Over the years, especially afterWorld War II, trailers were built as inexpensive housing. Besides the lower purchase price of trailers than almost any other type of house, trailerdwellers lowered their housing costs because in some communities, especially in the1950s-1960s, "moveable" structures were not levied property taxes. In most urbancommunities, trailers are not allowed, and in rural areas, trailers are often zoned intorestricted areas called trailer parks. Trailer parks within current city boundaries, asthe trailers shown in these photos, were annexed by the city and are "grandfathered" intozoning ordinances.

The materials and designs of mobile homes reflect many of the variations found inhouses, such as Art Deco, Tudor Revival, California Ranch, and Split Level designs.

Trailers represent only one of two attempts to produce factory-made houses in the U.S. This photo shows one of four Lustron houses (made of steel with baked enamel finishinside and out) in Eau Claire, with the only Lustron garage from 1949. These houses andtrailers have no basements. Despite the claim that Americans are practical andefficient, the inexpensive and low maintenance trailers and Lustron-type houseshave never been acceptable and therefore rather uncommon.

Most Mobile Homes have these features:one story

ability to be moved, at least at one time!

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Garrison Colonial (1935-55)

This is a sub style of the Colonial Revival, especially in the last phases (1935-1955). Thecantilevered second story is typical of this style.

Most Garrison Colonial houses have these features:overhanging or cantilevered second storyoften, with some sort of ornamentation underneath the all wooden siding or brick and wooden siding on the second floor

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International Style (1930s-60s)

This style is based on "modern" structural principles and materials: concrete, glass, andsteel. Bands of glass, which create horizontal feelings, are important design features.Buildings are cantilevered over basement footings. Artificial symmetry and decorationsare avoided: balance and regularity is stressed. All International style houses are justone story but it is possible to apply the style to a two story building, especially if if ishidden from view, as in this example along Putnam Park. This photos shows severalexpensive features like hand-cut field stones, skylights, an elevated mound in the frontyard, and a driveway feature!

The style was started in Western Europe during the 1920s by Walter Gropius and LudwigMies von der Rohe, both architects of the Bauhaus School. The International style is oneof only two house types with flat roofs -- Art Deco is the other flat-roofed style.

Most International houses have these features:flat roofhorizontal, "boxy" lookcantilevered rooms over the basementcorner placed casement windowspoured concrete basement

The International style was commonly used for commercial buildings from the 1940s tothe 1960s. This style appeared first in large metropolitan centers and gradually wasaccepted in smaller cities, as this 1960s example of a medical center in Eau Claire.

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Cape Cod (1940s-50s)

Cape Cod houses were a very popular house style for young families, especially afterWorld War II. Indeed, they were frequently called GI (government issue) houses,because after World War II the federal government provided low interest rates andguaranteed mortgages to returning soldiers for the purchase of houses.

The earliest post-WWII suburbs are filled with Cape Cod houses. The largestconcentration of these houses in Eau Claire are in Putnam Heights. But they are found inolder neighborhoods as "fill-ins" or were even built before WWII.

Most Cape Cod houses have these features:1.5 stories

small, rectangular volumesgable roofsoften several small dormerswide wooden clapboard, often later cover by aluminum sidinggarages are detached or attached to the houses

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Minimal Traditional (1950s)

This style appeared after the Cape Cod and is typical of the horizontal look of the post-World War II suburbs. The floor plans are squarish, not rectangular as in the laterCalifornia Ranch style.

What is architecturally distinctive about this house is the breeze way connecting the single-car garage to the house. It looks similar to the later, rectangular Californiaranch.

Most Minimal Traditional houses have these features:1 story with a squarish floor planhipped roofsmall picture windowdetached garage, maybe with a breeze connecting to the house

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California Ranch (1950s-60s)

These long rectangular-shaped, single-story or split-level houses predominate in thesuburbs of the late 1950s and 1960s. They have very low pitched or hipped roofs, whichcover one- or two-car attached garages. The ridge poles of these houses are parallel tothe streets, and hence these houses requiring large, expensive lots. This style comes insimple, inexpensive and expensive forms, depending on the materials used including: (1)cut stone and cedar shake roof; (2) narrow red bricks; (3) large rectangular picturewindow; (4) pink and/or turquoise colored siding or trim (1950s); (5) low, horizontal oralmost flat roof; (6) Greek revival styling.

Most California Ranch houses have these features: 1 storylong, rectangular volumeshipped roofsridge pole parallel to the street

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Split Level Ranch (1950s-60s)

The Split Level style is a variation on California Ranch style houses. Instead of a one-story Ranch, these houses have a one-story section attached to a two-story section. Thedouble car garage is frequently built under the upper story bedrooms. In another versionthe foundation and basement windows are raised above the ground to create a 1.5 storylook. A typical side view of a split level house is shown in the diagram.

Most Split Level houses have thesefeatures:

1 story house with an upper story overthe garage

double garages build into the houselow pitched or hipped roof

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Shed Style (1960s-70s)

The Shed style represents a new development in U.S. architecture from the 1960s. It isoften characterized by multi-directional roofs. Walls are usually covered with boardsiding, applied horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally. Roof-wall junctions areusually smooth and simple, with little or no overhang. Entrances are often recessed andobscured from the street. Shed style houses are frequently associated with "rustic"elements, such as rough wide wooden siding.

Most Shed houses have these features:1-2 storiesmulti-directional roofsoften has board sidingentrances recessed from street

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Counter Cultural (1960s-70s)

Two types of contemporary folk house styles were popular during the 1960s and 1970swhen the Counter Culture Movement reached its peak in the United States; A-frames andGeodesic Domes. Although A-frames are commonly used for vacation homes, theirsimple construction made them ideal for novice builders of the 1960s. The openinterior spaces also appeal to the people who wanted to create communal lifestyles.

Buckminster Fuller popularized Geodesic domes with his design for the U.S. pavilionat the Montreal World's Fair of 1967. Its structural design and open interior spaceappeal to the one-earth view of "hippies."

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Neo-Eclectic Styles(1980s)

In the 1980s, developers and home owners were looking for house styles that weredifferent from the plain, straight forward, single-story ranch styles. Many earlier styleswere adapted and are collectively called Neo-eclectic styles. In response to the high costof energy during the mid-1970s energy crisis, two-stories houses were built to save onheating costs (because hot air rises and hence, upstairs are less expensive to heat thandownstairs). Although multiple-story houses continue to be built, they seem to reflecttaste more than efficiency. These "tall" houses have huge "empty" roofs, often "fake"dormers, and high and/or faulted ceiling living, kitchen, and even master bedrooms.

Common characteristics in 2002: high roofs with complex angles and shapes (cost 50% more than low-pitched roofs)multi storiestwo or three garages; away from street for expensive housesdark earthy colors in paints and stainsrustic look, particularly insidevaulted and high ceilings (9 feet)open floor plan: kitchen, dining, and family areas togetherArts & Crafts exterior (brackets under the eaves, field stones, stucco) and interior

(natural wood beams, paneling, rustic elements)Log cabin style (exterior and interior) reflecting the rustic theme (cost 10-15 percent

more)19th century features: high ceilings, porches, steep gables, especially over windows

Here is a sample of house and apartment styles from the 1980sand 1990s:

Here is a sample of house styles from the 2002 Parade of Homes in Eau Claire:

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The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural stylesduring the Victorian era:

• Neoclassicism• Gothic Revival• Italianate• Second Empire• Neo-Grec• Romanesque Revival (Includes Richardsonian Revival)• Renaissance Revival• Queen Anne• Jacobethan architecture (the precusor to the Queen Anne style)• British Arts and Crafts movement• painted ladies