by Architectural Observer | Feb 26, 2018 | Blog, Observations
Old buildings can be subversive? “Just how, exactly?” you may ask somewhat incredulously. Well, quite simply, old buildings (if examined closely enough) have the very real ability to reveal the shortcomings of our present age – and...
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...
by Architectural Observer | Feb 1, 2018 | Blog, Observations
How is it possible that a house could be lived in for well over a century without ever getting a real bathroom?! That is just one example of how intact and relatively unaltered this amazing house is! On Wednesday I was surprised to learn that a house in Russell,...
by Architectural Observer | Jan 31, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Observations
I recently ran across this house on Zillow. It looks a lot like a kit house sold by Sears called the Osborn. The house was offered from 1916 to 1929 and seems to have been a popular model for them. I’m not sure if the house below is an Osborn, but if not it...
by Architectural Observer | Jan 29, 2018 | Blog, Observations
Often the most dominant interior feature of Craftsman-style bungalows, the colonnade has lately been enjoying something of a revival – even showing up in new construction. Long before the term “open concept” forced its way into the world’s...
