Bell Avenue Architectural StylesPrevalent architectural styles in the
Bell Avenue Historic Conservation District
Example of a Ranch Style House
Growing out of the Modern style, but owing as much to the earlier Bungalow, Prairie and
Cottage styles, is the much-maligned American Ranch Style home (1932 to present). The
criticism usually comes from a generation that grew up in suburbs of ranch houses, but
who is not yet distant enough in time to look objectively at the fifties styles.
Although some say Ranch Style homes have no style at all, this is not true; there was a
very conscious attempt to emphasize the horizontal and to create an open floor plan.
Large ranch homes may sprawl 2000-3000 square feet with rooms and hallways flowing
into one another, and sliding glass doors opening the interior of the house into the back
patio. The formal dining room is more of an extension of the kitchen and living room
than a separate room.
The quality of construction in even modest fifties ranch houses is usually better than in
houses from the 1970's. The floors are of oak even when covered with a carpet, the
exterior is of solid brick rather than cheap composite siding, bathroom tile work is
common.
Ranch style houses have many of these features:
• Single story
• Low pitched gable roof
• Deep-set eaves
• Horizontal, rambling layout: Long, narrow, and low to the ground
• Rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped design
• Asymmetrical
• Large windows: double-hung, sliding, and picture
• Sliding glass doors leading out to patio
• Attached garage
• Simple floor plans
• Emphasis on openness (few interior walls) and efficient use of space
• Built from natural materials: Oak floors, wood or brick exterior
• Lack decorative detailing, aside from decorative shutters and porch-roof supports
Example of a Bungalow, 2016 Bell Avenue
The Craftsman Bungalow (1905-1930) is an all American housing style, but it has its
spiritual roots in India. Native houses in the province of Bengal were called bangla or
bangala. British colonists adapted these one-story thatch-roofed huts to use as summer
homes. For their comfortable bangla, the British arranged dining rooms, bedrooms,
kitchens, and bathrooms around central living rooms. This efficient floor plan became the
prototype for America's Craftsman Bungalows.
The first American house to be called a bungalow was designed in 1879 by William
Gibbons Preston. Two California architects, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather
Greene, are often credited with inspiring America to build simple one-and-a-half story
bungalows. Homes designed by the Greenes were publicized in magazines, and a flood of
pattern books followed.
Architectural purists say that true Bungalows represent structural simplicity, efficient use
of space, and understated style. Most of the living area is placed on the ground floor.
Seventy-five years after Bungalows took America by storm, the style remains a popular
favorite. These comfortable and elegant little houses are prevalent in the Bell Avenue
area.
Craftsman style bungalows usually have these features:
• Low-pitched roof
• Wide eaves with exposed roof rafters
• Decorative braces
• Porch with square columns
• One or one and a half stories
• Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seating
Many Craftsman bungalows also have:
• Stone chimneys
• Gabled dormers
• Sloping foundation
Example of a Colonial Revival House
Colonial Revival became a popular American house style after it appeared at the 1876 the
US Centennial Exposition. Reflecting American patriotism and a desire for simplicity,
the Colonial Revival house style remained popular until the mid-1950s. Between World
War I and II, Colonial Revival was the most popular historic revival house style in the
United States.
Some architectural historians say that Colonial Revival is a Victorian style; others believe
that the Colonial Revival style marked the end of the Victorian period in architecture.
The Colonial Revival style is based loosely on Federal and Georgian house styles, and a
clear reaction against excessively elaborate Victorian Queen Anne architecture.
Eventually, the simple, symmetrical Colonial Revival style became incorporated into the
Foursquare and Bungalow house styles of the early 20th century.
Colonial Revival houses have many of these features:
• Symmetrical façade
• Rectangular
• 2 to 3 stories
• Gable roof
• Overhanging upper story
• Pillars and columns
• Multi-pane, double-hung windows with shutters
• Dormers
• Temple-like entrance: porticos topped by pediment
• Paneled doors with sidelights and topped with rectangular transoms or fanlights
• Center entry-hall floor plan
• Entertaining rooms on first floor and bedrooms on upper floors
• Fireplaces
• Made of brick or wood
• Simple, classical detailing
Subtypes of the Colonial Revival House Style
• Dutch Colonial
Two-story house made of clapboard or shingles with a gambrel roof, flared eaves,
and a side-entry floor plan.
• Spanish Colonial Revival
Low-pitched ceramic tile roof, stucco walls, eaves with little or no overhang,
wrought iron, and windows and doorways with round arches.
Example of a Tudor style house
The name Tudor suggests that these houses imitate English architecture from the early
16th century. However, most Tudor style homes were inspired by building techniques
from an earlier time. Some Tudor houses mimic humble medieval cottages -- They may
even include a false thatched roof. Other Tudor homes borrow ideas from late medieval
palaces. They may have overlapping gables, parapets, and beautifully patterned brick or
stonework. These historic details combine with Victorian or Craftsman flourishes.
As in many Queen Anne and Stick style homes, Tudor style houses often feature striking
decorative timbers. These timbers hint at -- but do not duplicate -- Medieval building
techniques. In Medieval houses, the timber framing was integral with the structure.
Modern Tudor houses, however, merely suggest the structural framework with false half-
timbering. This decorative woodwork comes in many different designs, with stucco or
patterned brick between the timbers.
In the United States, Tudor styling takes on a variety of forms ranging from elaborate
mansions to modest suburban homes with mock masonry veneers. The style became
enormously popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and modified versions became fashionable
in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tudor style homes usually have these features:
• Decorative half-timbering
• Steeply pitched roof
• Prominent cross gables
• Tall, narrow windows
• Small window panes
• Massive chimneys, often topped with decorative chimney pots
http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-styles_index.htm?PM=ss11_architecture