by Architectural Observer | Mar 10, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 10, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 8, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Mar 1, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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,...
by Architectural Observer | Feb 26, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Observations
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...
by Architectural Observer | Feb 20, 2018 | Blog, Observations
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...
