by Architectural Observer | Jul 1, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Built in three stages beginning in 1885, the house at Cottonwood Ranch in Studley, Kansas, reflects not only the place and time in which it was built, but incorporates some traditions of builder John Fenton Pratt’s native Yorkshire, England, as well. The center...
by Architectural Observer | Jun 23, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
Print media, while not as influential as it was in decades past, remains a popular platform for the sale of house plans. When readers of Better Homes and Gardens magazine selected House Plan No. 3709-A as their favorite of those presented by the magazine in 1972, the...
by Architectural Observer | Jun 21, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Now that’s something you don’t see every day… especially on the High Plains of northwestern Kansas! Both the architectural style and the roof type are atypical of the region. The Jerkinhead roof, a compromise between a gabled roof and a hipped roof,...
by Architectural Observer | Jun 17, 2019 | Blog, Observations
The ongoing war against the remnants of our historic built environment continues unabated. Our previous examination of this topic (Part 1) dealt with elementary school textbooks which propagandized children and instilled a bias against historic buildings in the...
by Architectural Observer | Jun 3, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Most old houses have had alterations over the years — very few come down through time just as they were built. Unless a house was altered with an extreme attention to maintaining details, it is usually possible to get a fairly good idea as to what the house...
