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Former Italianate Feigns Colonial Past

Former Italianate Feigns Colonial Past

by Architectural Observer | May 29, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations

Looking like something out of a post-war subdivision, this ostensibly Colonial Revival four-plex would have gotten away with its charade if it hadn’t been for those meddling architectural sleuths that happened upon it!  Located just a block away from the...
Neo-Mediterranean Makeover of Former Queen Anne

Neo-Mediterranean Makeover of Former Queen Anne

by Architectural Observer | May 28, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture

Dating to the 1970’s, this remodeling of a former Queen Anne style house into a Neo-Mediterranean showplace is strangely captivating some 40-odd-years later. The original c. 1900 Queen Anne feautured clapboard siding and boxed eaves which were arched and...
From Good to Bad to Contrived

From Good to Bad to Contrived

by Architectural Observer | May 23, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations

When I first photographed this small commercial building I was smitten with its Brutalist / Modernist vibe – not something one expects to find in an obscure corner of “flyover country”.   I loved the concrete, oddball windows and corner emphasis.  I...
Erasing Character

Erasing Character

by Architectural Observer | May 7, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations

With the proliferation of television programs devoted to house renovation (designed to sell products and stimulate the economy – not to instill a passion for history and actual cultural preservation) it’s not surprising that many formerly styled houses end...
Superficial Bracketing

Superficial Bracketing

by Architectural Observer | Feb 18, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations

The two houses shown below have each been augmented with brackets.  Both houses date to somewhere around 1910 and are vernacular examples of the foursquare form.  Neither house is specifically styled, but each has characteristics common to both Colonial Revival and...
A Craftsman in Drag

A Craftsman in Drag

by Architectural Observer | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog, Drag Queen Architecture, Observations

Such irony!  The Craftsman style of architecture – and the Arts and Crafts movement in general – came about as a rejection of the fussy and superficially decorative styles which dominated the last half of the 19th century.  Craftsman dwellings sought to...
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