by Architectural Observer | Dec 11, 2020 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Observations
If the old saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” is true, then Jud Yoho should have been mighty flattered! Anyone who has spent any time poking around search engines looking for information on Craftsman bungalows has likely run across his...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 31, 2020 | Blog, Observations
Happy Halloween, everyone! Today, in observation of just about everyone’s favorite holiday, we’ll take a look at a very special architectural form. People have long interred the dead above ground, and for a variety of reasons. Some locations with high...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 22, 2020 | Blog, Observations
There has not been much downtime recently, and today I found myself with a whole two hours to kill! Jim had his second cataract surgery earlier today (and, yes, it went well… just like the first one). He was a little woozy coming out of it, but is fine and...
by Architectural Observer | May 16, 2020 | Blog, Observations
In an effort to popularize and promote the use of concrete in residential construction, a now-obscure booklet was published by the Portland Cement Association’s Des Moines, Iowa, chapter sometime around 1940. Simply titled Iowa Concrete Houses, this little gem...
by Architectural Observer | Apr 26, 2020 | Blog, Observations
Spring has officially sprung here, and I’ve been itching to get out and about. Usually by this time of year I’ve already posted about an annual auction we attend. This year, however, (as you can surely guess) it was held online. I didn’t even bother...
by Architectural Observer | Dec 5, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Another one bites the dust. For the second time! A Second Empire “twin” house in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, built around 1880, witnessed an exhaustive makeover in the late 1960’s in a semi-successful effort to transform the narrow...
