The Architecture of Red Oak, Iowa: Then and Now in Photos
When I was in my teens I was given a small book by my parents who understood my passion for nineteenth century buildings. Published around 1900 or so by the Red Oak Commercial Club (which I'm guessing was something akin to the Chamber of Commerce) the book, simply...
Unconventional Window Alterations – Part 3
Double Feature! Today we'll look at two structures which are recent recipients of altered fenestration... Recipient # 1 After a period of stagnation, work appears to have restarted on the second re-interpretation of a former church building in a nearby town. The...
Inside a 1952 Time Capsule House
Who doesn't love a good time capsule? This one, built in 1952 in Gladewater, Texas, has been on Zillow for about 10 days and is already generating lots of interest online; I ran across it when a reader shared it on the always mesmerizing Old House Dreams. While not...
An Art Deco Facade by S. S. Voigt
Dominated by large steel windows filled with green slag glass, this Masonic Temple in Oberlin, Kansas, was built in 1931. The buff brick facade is elaborated with glazed terra cotta ornament which enhances the Art Deco styling of the building. Although the ground...
The Frank Brumback House by Louis Curtiss
Admirers of the work of Louis Curtiss don't normally associate the architect with the Colonial Revival, yet this house in Kansas City is an interesting example of the style and it demonstrates the architect's versatility. Despite the outwardly staid impression of the...
Boo! Scary Alterations That Actually Happened…
It's that time of year again; a time when haunted houses bask in fleeting celebrity and a time when the horrific gains new prominence. Speaking of horrific, get a load of these formerly normal structures which have received creepy alterations... and have a happy...
Exploring a Big Old Abandoned Farmhouse
Long abandoned, this c. 1905 Folk Victorian farmhouse has unusually nice detailing for its geographic location, even if those details aren't all stylistically consistent! Though re-sided in the mid-twentieth century, enough of the siding has fallen off to reveal the...
Organic Architecture: The Disputed “Round House” in Dallas
When is a Bruce Goff house not a Bruce Goff house? When the architect and his protégé client have a dispute. Such is the case with the semi-circular "Round House" in Dallas, Texas. Built over a course of nearly six years beginning in 1957 by importer Eddie Parker...
Quirky Mid-Century Carport Beaten into Submission; Reduced to Mediocrity
Likely built in the 1920's, this former Craftsman style bungalow had been given a stylish makeover in the mid-twentieth century in a presumed effort to make the house look more like a contemporary ranch style. While the jaunty lines of the carport were at odds with...
A Weekend of “Treasure Hunting”
Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking in the 12th annual Highway 36 "Treasure Hunt", a three-day flea market which stretches across the northernmost tier of Kansas counties. While I didn't traverse the entire state, I did tackle much of the western half, and...
Grand Canyon / Fred Harvey Idol Mary Colter Exposed as a Fraud!
"Every year, the National Park Service tells millions of visitors to Grand Canyon National Park that Mary Colter (1869-1958) designed landmark structures there. Two movies, two plays, two biographies, and countless magazine and newspaper articles have lauded her...
Random Observations – Part 14: Post Rock Edition
Today's observations were made in north-central Kansas, an area distinguished by structures built of native limestone. The region is known locally as "post rock country" because of the numerous stone fence posts created by early settlers. The use of stone for both...
WPA Rustic: Let’s Go to the Park!
A product of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the city park of Hill City, Kansas, remains as a beautiful and functional example of numerous similar projects scattered around the country. Built in the WPA Rustic style, the structures found here incorporate...
Random Observations – Part 13
Just back from a road trip! Today, a collection of miscellaneous structures and details stretching from southwest Nebraska to central Kansas. There's no particular theme; all just have something of interest: ...
Remnants of a Sod House
Houses built of sod were once plentiful across the Great Plains where trees were scarce. Built of blocks of earth cut from the ground, the later and more refined versions also incorporated many purchased materials such as windows, doors and dimensioned lumber for the...
Warehousing People – The Sequel
Last September I posted about a senior storage facility er, "senior apartments" which I found to be disturbing for several reasons. I recently ran across a similar project which gives the bleak and utilitarian exterior an additional synthetic twist: ...
A Look at Two House Flips
House-flipping has been popular for a long while - and the trend has been made even more popular by television. Not all flips are created equal, however! Since I haven't been able to take any road trips lately, I decided to sift through Zillow and find some flips to...
Mary Rockwell Hook: Ahead of Her Time
Among the numerous imaginative architects who practiced in Kansas City, Missouri, in the early twentieth century was Mary Rockwell Hook. Her style was reflective of her travels and education; the substantial houses she designed have contributed to the enduring...
Concrete on the Farm c. 1920
In the previous post, we looked at the remains of an early twentieth century farm house. Today we'll take a look at the role that concrete played on this farm: a barn, stock tank and cistern - all made from it. Bonus feature: a windmill tower made of scrap metal! ...
Ruins of An Early 20th Century Farm
Ruined structures have long been a favorite subject for artists because of their frequent poignant beauty. While the term "ruin" typically conjures up images of ancient stone structures crumbling in lush landscapes beneath invasive trees and vines, a similar - but...
Architectural Integrity and the Row House
Readers of this blog are already familiar with the value of architectural integrity - especially where historic buildings are concerned. In a neighborhood of stylistically varied houses it is possible for a few of them to be compromised without visually ruining an...
The Daisy Automatic Weather Strip for Doors
Antique mechanical contraptions have long intrigued me, and the Daisy Automatic Weather Strip for Doors does not disappoint! Discovered by Jim while recently exploring a long-vacant farmhouse, the device is still in operating condition after 101 years! A deteriorated...
Unusual Moderne House with Ramp – not Stairs
Built sometime around 1940 by its original occupant, a man who was innovative and interested in modern design, this house in Salina, Kansas, does not look much like its neighbors. After nearly 80 years it still has a futuristic air to it. I encountered a family...
From Showplace to Showroom to Concrete
Recently, while sifting through the contents of a file cabinet, I ran across an article I had written back in 1985 about the long and painful death of an old house in Manhattan, Kansas. I felt a bit sad reading it because old buildings - and the physical connections...
Bank Buildings on Pin Trays…
I started collecting glass advertising pin trays with architecture depicted on them many, many, years ago. These things were always showing up at yard sales and thrift stores; they were fun and inexpensive. Eventually, because of the sheer number of such trays, I...
Issues of Scale and Proportion
Sometimes a house or building just looks a bit off. If the problem isn't immediately apparent, such as a glaringly harsh color scheme or over-the-top landscaping, it might be something more subtle like a problem with scale. The following structures all have scale...
What Do You Think?
Sometimes construction projects end up looking somewhat different from what the initial architectural renderings suggest. A residential development in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has several unusual facades which vary somewhat from the early renderings. The...
The Call of the Siren
An unusual Corinthian column caught my eye from the road and lured me closer. I was surprised to find an unexpected theme incorporating a diverse array of architectural materials. I grabbed a few photos and continued on my journey... ...
Shutters or Shudders?
I never tire of looking at bizarre shutter installations (or shudders - hat tip to Seth!) which is fortunate as there is no shortage of them! It's been almost two years since I first posted about them - it's time to share some more! That previous post noted the fact...
Random Observations – Part 12
Miscellaneous eye candy! It's been a while since I posted random images from a road trip, so it's high time for me to do so:
The Shawnee Indian Mission: A Late Federal-Style House With Flemish Bond Facade… in Kansas!
The use of Flemish bond as an upscale brick-laying technique lost popularity in many urban areas in the 1830's (along with Federal-style architecture, also known as Adam), but it persisted in many smaller communities after that time. It experienced a renewed...
100-Year-Old Room… Never Finished!
Recently I had the pleasure of touring a vacant farmhouse which has remained in the same family since its construction in 1918. Although the house has had many of the updates one would expect over the course of a full century, it has had far fewer of them than most...
Radford’s House Design No. 1508
Recently I found this house pictured in a display of old photographs which had been reproduced for a fascinating display of local history at the Fick Fossil and History Museum in Oakley, Kansas (definitely worth a visit when traveling on I-70!). The house looked...
Tulsa: Three Early Houses by Bruce Goff
As is common with many architects, the early work of Bruce Goff was considerably different (much more mainstream) than his later work. The following three houses were built in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1918, 1919 and 1925 respectively. The first and third houses show a...
Inside an Unmolested 1956 Contemporary Ranch House
A veritable time capsule, this brick ranch house has somehow managed to resist many of the modern incursions which erode the architectural integrity of most mid-century houses. It recently caught my eye on zillow.com where more images are available. Recently...
The Changing Look of the Newel Post, Part Two: 1940 – 2018
Today we continue with the second part of our examination of the evolution (and occasional devolution) of the noble newel post! The newel post fades in and out of popularity during these years as housing forms and styles change. It's no secret that American...
The Changing Look of the Newel Post, Part One: 1850 – 1939
Newel posts - used to anchor the balustrade of an open staircase - have had many different looks over the centuries. Because of their high visibility at the foot of a stair, "starting" newels are often larger and more ornamental than secondary newels which typically...
Looking Back at the Shed Style
It seemed so hip, so NOW... forty-odd years ago, anyway. As a kind of a bridge between the Contemporary style of the mid-twentieth century and the Post Modern movement of the late-twentieth century, the Shed style had a brief moment of glory in the early 70's. Shed...
More Louis Curtiss!
Just one more post about Louis Curtiss and then I promise to move on to other stuff for a while! Given that virtually all of Curtiss' work is "lesser-known", saying so about some of the following may be redundant! Still, there are a few places that are more obscure...
The Sequoyah Hotel, Louis Curtiss, Fred Harvey and a Question
Entrepreneur Fred Harvey is much better-known than architect Louis Curtiss. After Harvey's death in 1901, Curtiss designed some of his "Harvey House" hotels and restaurants for the Fred Harvey Company. Said to be the first restaurant chain in the nation, they were...
The Mysterious Louis Curtiss
Louis Curtiss, who left his mark on Kansas City and other locations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was one of those incredibly rare architects who was just weird enough to do really, really, interesting work. While often compared to Frank Lloyd...
Nebraska House Emulates New England Saltbox
A modest 1 -1/2 story Nebraska house with gable front, built around 1880, was given a stylistic makeover in the mid-twentieth century. The new look, reminiscent of an eighteenth century saltbox, was created by adding a lean-to addition with fireplace to one side...
Five Haunting Abandoned Houses
While driving through a sparsely populated area of southwestern Nebraska I encountered a depressing amount of Victorian-era houses (which had once been grand for their locale) in advanced stages of deterioration. Despite their weathered facades, these houses were...
The Sudden Loss of Character
I drove by a house today which is undergoing an unfortunate and all-too-common procedure: it is losing its architectural integrity and will be gaining lots of vinyl and other synthetic products. I caught the house mid-way though the process... replacement windows...
Auction Action – Part 2
Today it was time once again for the Lions Clubs' annual consignment auction... an event generally I think of as marking the near arrival of Spring. It was breezy outside, but at least it wasn't snowing as it had last year. As there wasn't anything that I couldn't...
Fun With Nit-picking
I love looking at houses on Zillow.com - you never know what will turn up. I used to look only at old houses there (those built in the early twentieth century or earlier). But lately I find myself drawn to the clumsy and distorted newer houses which are increasingly...
A Century-Old Tiny House
Long before it became fashionable and trendy, living on a small scale was quite common. In most towns and cities, the earliest houses were built on a modest and utilitarian scale. Many such structures, particularly those of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,...
The Subversive Potential of Historic Buildings
Old buildings can be subversive? You may ask, somewhat incredulously, "How?". Well, quite simply, old buildings (if examined closely enough) have the very real ability to reveal the shortcomings of our present age - and thereby have the potential to encourage people...
Radford’s Design No. 1517
Of the hundreds of house plans offered by the William A. Radford Company of Chicago, their design number 1517 appears to have been one of their most popular - at least in the nation's mid-section. Numerous examples of this house survive today. The design was so...
Quality Material, Design and History Permanently Trashed in Favor of Temporary Current Fad
There is no doubt that television has had a huge impact on shaping consumer activity; it is a primary function of the medium. Like virtually everything, television can be used for good or bad. TV's power to shape our culture could have been harnessed to inspire...