Western Springs Architectural Styles Introduction As early immigrants settled in America, the structures they built often depended heavily on the building techniques and styles of the countries they originated from. For example, some cabins were built using horizontally placed logs, while settlers from other locations would use vertically placed siding. As the design and construction process was performed by builders and architects and not by the inhabitants of the houses themselves, the look of the houses expanded beyond the familiar homeland styles of the inhabitants. Wealthy families hired architects that were trained in Europe, and many of the buildings designed by these individuals exhibited the traditional schooled architectural styles. Locally, this architectural design philosophy towards replication and reference of European styles was exhibited and highlighted at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair and the Columbian Exposition. Other architects and builders used pattern books to help determine the appearance of the buildings. Design elements were selected from these resources, often times with a variety of architectural styles and details being displayed on one house. Others even purchased entire houses from catalogues getting all the construction materials in a building kit. Between 1908 and 1940, more than 100,000 homes were sold by Sears Roebuck and Company through their catalog. These home kits, which included all materials, were shipped by boxcar to the recipient where they were then assembled. The catalog homes were both affordable and of substantial construction, making them a sensible way to build a home. Finally there were a number of other architects who looked to the future with more progressive, modernist styles. Some of these architects drew inspiration from the development of the machine while others from nature. Many of these styles are present in Western Springs and they all add to the eclectic image that makes up our Village. Italianate Italianate was the dominant style of American houses from 1850 to 1880. They were common in expanding towns and cities in the Midwest and Northeast. Identifying features of the Italianate style include 2 or 3 storys tall buildings with a low-pitched roof with widely overhanging eaves and large decorative brackets below the eaves. There are usually tall, narrow and commonly arched or curved windows. Some Italianate houses also have a square cupola or tower and an elaborate wrap-around porch with decorative double columns and other details. The Italianate style began in England as part of the Romantic or Picturesque movement, a reaction to formal classical ideas. There they emphasized rambling Italian farmhouses. In the United States, they followed the rural and informal models of the picturesque/romantic movement. This style was adapted for use as the typical main street commercial architecture in the Midwest. Italianate was popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing in the 1840s and 50s along with Gothic Revival. However, by the 1860s, Italianate had replaced Gothic revival as the most popular style.
Queen Anne Queen Anne was the most dominant residential style in the U.S. 1880-1900. Queen Anne identifying features include a steeply pitched, irregularly shaped roof that is a usually a dominant front-facing gable with patterned shingles. This style typically has bay windows, picturesque massing with colorful and decorative ornamentation. Many times there are partial or full-width one story porches with multiple gables and dormers and occasionally towers and turrets, rounded or square. The most common feature of this style is the differing wall textures. This is the most eclectic style of the Victorian era. The style itself is based on excessive decorations and variety. This style does not focus on specific historical detailing but rather a combination of various forms and styles. It was most commonly used for houses and least commonly for commercial structures. Second Empire The Second Empire Style was one of the first true styles of the Victorian era in the United States from roughly 1860-1900. Second Empire buildings are characterized as using basic Italianate styles and forms but with the addition of a Mansard roof. Dormer windows, sometimes a square (not round) tower, decorative brackets, molded cornice, similar to Italianate detail on windows, doors are also used. The style was most popular in the Northeast and Midwest while rarely constructed in the South. It was also referred to as the "General Grant style" as it was used during the Grant administration for public buildings. The style was named for the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870), who undertook a major building campaign to transform Paris into a city of grand boulevards and monumental buildings which has been copied throughout Europe and North America. Napoleon's famous project was the enlargement of the Louvre (1852-1857) which reintroduced the Mansard roof that was originally developed in 1600s Renaissance by Francois Mansart. Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival emerged in the early 1880s. There are many identifying features of the Colonial Revival architectural style. It typically has a gabled roof, large porches, symmetrical facades, and red Flemish brick walls. The entry may have sidelights, transoms, fanlights over the main entry door, pediments supported by pilasters that may extend forward and be supported on columns that form an entry porch. It may have bay windows; symmetrically placed windows in the facade, double-hung windows with louvered shutters, straight window heads, and sprayed lintels and rectangular sash windows with multiple panes. Often there is a grand staircase. The Colonial Revival Style borrowed heavily from earlier architecture, particularly the Georgian style which is why it is sometimes called the Neo-Georgian style. It was largely a product of new pride in America s past and a growing interest in preservation. The Colonial Revival style was the domain of fashionable architectural firms and was the favorite for large homes of wealthy clients.
Dutch Colonial Revival The Dutch Colonial Revival Style is a subtype of the Colonial Revival Style and was popular from 1880 s to the 1950 s. This style was derived from early Dutch houses built in the northeastern United States in the 18th century. This style is characterized by a gambrel roof which is a single roof that has two slopes on each side of the building. These buildings were sided in wood clapboard or shingles though sometimes were constructed with brick. Most have a symmetrical front façade many have a classical entry portico. Cape Cod Revival The Cape Cod Revival style house is a subset of the Colonial Revival Style and it too was popular from the 1880 s to 1950 s. The Cape Cod Style was loosely modeled after the early wooden folk houses of eastern Massachusetts. It is a smaller alternative to the two-story Colonial Revival style house and is typically a 1-story building with bedrooms typically tucked under the roof. The plan is generally rectangular with a side gable roof, a central front entrance, and generally two front-facing dormers. There is frequently some classical detailing such as multilight windows and classical door and window surrounds. Prairie Style Prairie Style is one of the few homegrown American styles and was developed in Chicago by the Prairie School architects in the 1900-1910 s. Identifying features of the Prairie style are broad horizontal forms, low-pitched roofs that are usually hipped with projecting eaves and two story structures with one-story wings or porches. Eaves, cornices, and facade emphasize the horizontal lines of the house. There also are bands of casement windows, a large low height chimney that formed the hub of the house. Free-flowing interior plans and seamless transitions between indoors and outdoors was also a marking feature. Frank Lloyd Wright is hailed as the father and master of the Prairie style. Wright s style focused on the Midwestern region as its horizontal and open floor plans represent the expansive prairie region. The style made subtle use of Japanese architecture specifically in the use of horizontal spaces, flowing interior spaces, hipped roofs with broad eaves, and long bands of window that invoke the idea of Japanese screens. A much more common variant of the Prairie style is the Foursquare. Foursquare The Foursquare house is a post-victorian style that has many features that are similar to Frank Lloyd Wright s Prairie architecture and was popular in the 1910-1940 s. Identifying features of the Foursquare style are a square box shape, 2 1/2 stories structure with a full basement. Typically there are three square rooms and an entrance hall on the first floor with four square rooms on the second floor. It has a low hipped or pyramidal roof with wide roof overhangs with exposed rafter tails or decorative beams and braces under the gables. There also is a centered dormer in an unfinished attic, a full width porch that sometimes wraps around the house. They are built on narrow lots and some have centered doors with equal groupings of windows on
either side. The exterior is most often wood but is sometimes brick, concrete, or stucco. Finally, a belt course just below the second story windows separates the different building materials used for the first and second floors. The Foursquare received its name from its layout of four rooms in the shape of a square. It is often seen on small city blocks because its boxy shape provides spacious interiors. Some Foursquare houses have been adorned by the Queen Anne bay windows; Colonial Revival pediments or porticos; and the Craftsman s exposed roof rafters. Bungalow Bungalows became the common builder s house in the 1900 1940 s as the style was promoted in many pattern books, catalogues and magazines. Some identifying features of the Bungalow style are a low-pitched or gabled roof with wide overhanging eaves, exposed rafters and decorative brackets under the gables which can either be front or side gabled. Often there also is an incised porch and tapered square columns that support the roof. There are typically a large number of windows with 4-over-1 or 6-over-1 sash patterns that frequently have stained or leaded glass inserts. Mixed materials were used throughout the structure and hand crafted stone or woodwork were commonly employed. A Chicago Bungalow exhibits the same characteristics as the traditional Bungalow however it is constructed with brick. Ornamentation typically is accomplished with stone planters and brackets, stone accents, exterior wood moldings and trim. While the Bungalow is hailed as a true American house because of its practicality, simplicity, and openness, the roots of the Bungalow have been traced back to the Indian province of Bengal. In India, the one-story huts from the eighteenth century with thatched roofs were adapted by the British and in the 19th century, the bangla or bungalow s economy of space and simplicity inspired English architects for the Arts and Crafts movement. This movement was further enhanced by Gustav Stickley and Greene and Greene Architects in the United States by the use of extensive wood detailing within the structure and in the furniture. French Eclectic The French Eclectic style was popular from 1915 1945. This style combined a variety of French details and forms. This style is most notably characterized by it steeply pitched, hipped roof. Often times the eaves are flared. The structures are constructed of stucco, brick or stone. There are two types of structures that make up this style, the symmetrical, formal style and the asymmetrical, informal style. The asymmetrical style is patterned after rural Norman farmhouses. These buildings are typically L- shaped in plan and are characterized by an off-center entry. Many times there is a cylindrical tower that has a steep conical roof. Sometimes these houses contain half timbering. This style was similar to a Tudor Style building but does not have a front facing gable roof. The symmetrical style is usually rectangular and regular. The front entry is generally placed in
the middle of the structure. The roof usually has the ridge running parallel to the front of the building. Dormers are common. These dormers can be gabled, hipped or arched and at times are break the roof cornice line. Tudor Revival Tudor Revival became especially popular with 1920s suburban homes which were loosely based on late medieval prototypes. Many homes are identified by false half-timbering, a medieval English building tradition that often includes stucco or masonry veneered walls, steeply pitched roofs, and cross-gabled plans. A variation of this is sometimes referred to as the Picturesque Cottage or the English Cottage, which typically includes an asymmetrical floor plan without half-timbering. A whimsical variant of the Tudor revival is the Storybook Style which is also known as the Cotswold Cottage or Hansel and Gretel Cottage. Midwestern Prairie Modern Midwest Prairie Modern houses were constructed in the 1950 s 1960 s. This style is characterized as a one story wood frame and wood sided structure with low sloped roofs. The building has many windows, some of which are floor to ceiling, and glass doors. The large amount of glass strives to integrate the inside of the building with the surrounding grounds. The interiors have exposed post and beam construction and a large fireplace. Ranch Style Starting in the 1940 s the simple and economical Ranch Style house was mass-produced to meet the housing needs of the families of returning WWII soldiers. This style house is characterized by a single story low pitched building. Many times the building has at least one picture window and a sliding glass door that opens to a patio. Usually there is an attached garage, sometimes connected by a breezeway. Many of the structures lacked detail and became known for their plain unadorned exterior and cookie cutter image. Although Ranch Style homes are traditionally one-story, Raised Ranch and Split Level Ranch homes have several levels of living space. The low horizontal elevations of Prairie Style houses pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright and the informal Bungalow styles of the early 20th century paved the way for the popular Ranch Style. Contemporary Houses Starting in about 1965 and continuing through today, Contemporary homes are being constructed in response to current lifestyles. These houses tend to have large amounts of tall oversized windows which may be trapezoidal shaped. The floor plans tend to be large and open. The buildings are generally lacking of ornamentation and use natural materials such as cedar or stone for their adornment. Sometimes the houses have gabled roofs and exposed beams. This style does not use historic references to derive its image.
Neo-Eclectic Beginning in the 1960 s and continuing to today, houses are being built that combine a variety of styles and details in non-traditional ways. A Neo-eclectic style is difficult to characterize as the shape of the building and its details are inspired from many different periods and cultures. Most of the structures however use modern materials, for example vinyl, imitation stone or exterior insulation systems, to simulate traditional building materials. These materials are often combined in non-traditional methods and borrow references from many cultures. The designs of this style are typically not experimental nor do they have the artistic vision that a true Post Modern structure would display. Many times these structures are referred to as McMansions as the buildings tend to be oversized and pretentious when compared to the rest of the neighborhood.