by Architectural Observer | Nov 10, 2018 | Blog, Projects
It had been at least seven years since Jim first told friends of ours that he would straighten up their leaning barn. Unusual for its “T” shape, the antique barn was showing its age. Every passing year made the already obvious lean all the more evident....
by Architectural Observer | Nov 5, 2018 | Blog, Projects
It’s been over two weeks since I posted about a big old abandoned farmhouse that is destined to be demolished. Jim and I have been salvaging interior woodwork, doors and windows for use in a future project. The first floor has been salvaged, and we’re...
by Architectural Observer | Nov 2, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 31, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 28, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
Marketed as a “model bungalow of the California type,” house plan No. 1000 was a big seller for the Harris Brothers Company of Chicago. Its popularity is evidenced by the fact that the façade graced the cover of the kit house manufacturer’s 1918...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 20, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
