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...
by Architectural Observer | Nov 29, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Likely built in the 1870’s, this surprisingly small Second Empire style house definitely thinks big as it displays details more typical of a house five times its size. Built of native stone in the Kansas vernacular, the house has languished for years, appearing...
by Architectural Observer | Nov 26, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Sometimes I’m drawn to the kitschy and camp as well as the practical and refined. I’m generally not a fan of vehicles of any sort, but earlier this fall friends showed me the interior of their recent acquisition… a 1978 Delta Motorhome. I was...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 30, 2019 | Blog, Observations
Happy Halloween, everyone! Have you ever wondered why it is that popular opinion has long viewed old houses as creepy, scary and almost certainly “haunted”? Many will be quick to blame television — or Hollywood in general — but movies are only...
