While many of us tend to idealize the past (rightly, in many ways), the past certainly had its share of imperfections. People have been altering and remodeling old houses ever since houses were first built. Today we’ll go back in time 93 years and take a look at home remodeling trends which were popular in the 1920’s.
As I look at these images, it is apparent that the main difference between today’s remodelings and those of the past is quality. The use of stucco was promoted, for example. Today we use Dryvit or similar products. Interior walls were still plastered in the 1920’s… today we use sheets of drywall. Architects then had a deeper understanding of various architectural styles and their histories… today, not so much. Despite the fact that these homes were altered from their original character, the finished product was in many instances better than the “before” house. I don’t ever get that feeling from old houses which are newly remodeled today!
Most of the following photos come from a book of home designs published in 1927 by C. Lane Bowes. Copies were distributed as promotional material by various lumber yards and are available to us today courtesy of the amazing archive.org. Let’s look at some updates from nearly a century ago!
While the end result is perfectly delightful, I think I would have found a way to save the segmentally arched window. The “before” house really was lacking in many ways… I like this!
This house, too, is quite charming, and did not require excessive alterations. Again, the old house wasn’t much of a looker to begin with.
The application of steep and purely decorative eaves gives the illusion that the second floor sports dormers. The addition of a sunroom, small porch and shingled wall cladding took a nondescript house from boring to storybookish quaintness.
This modest Craftsman-inspired house could have been more interesting had the Craftsman style been played up, but given the fact that the style was fading then it is not surprising that the house was given a new Colonial Revival identity. It definitely looks more substantial in the “after”!
Stucco! The miracle material which smears away those embarrassing, tell-tale, signs of age! This formerly board-and-batten-clad house has lost what little charm it previously possessed with a fresh layer of stucco. The porch had already been updated by the time the house was stuccoed; I wonder what the original looked like?
This one is tougher as both the before and the after have architectural merit! Which do you like better — the early Italianate or the later Craftsman/Tudor Revival hybrid?
Here stucco, new porches and a shed dormer give a rather blasé Colonial Revival a lot more stature. Big improvement!
While the quality of this remodeling is impressive — converting it from an exuberant Queen Anne to a more sedate Colonial Revival, I think the “before” is a more interesting house. It’s ironic that the three-story tower was removed, yet a rounded and tower-like porch appears in the update. Many amputations were made here.
This one is kind of fun! A newly arcaded façade — visually extended at each side with wing walls — gives this formerly forgettable house some real gravitas! This stucco transformation reminds me of a more recent update which did not turn out so well…
This is how the 1870 Brookville Hotel in Brookville, Kansas, appeared about twenty years ago when I last photographed it. As a local landmark famous for its fried chicken dinners, the historic hotel became the subject of controversy when a dispute with the town led the owners to build a new restaurant in nearby Abilene. Despite the building’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the new owner apparently though it best to re-envision the iconic Italianate false front with a synthetic stucco fantasy…
Ta-da! This is how the hotel looked in 2013 when Google last drove through. Does the shaped parapet of the Neo-Mission Revival exterior mock the original design or pay a perverse homage to it?
Lancaster John shares a “before and after” from Pennsylvania (thanks!). This c. 1900 Colonial Revival with Queen Anne attributes was later remodeled in a presumed effort to both modernize it and to emphasize its Colonial Revival character (seen in the following photo).
The porch was quite a loss! Stucco covers the brick (or is that just paint?) while brackets and other details were removed. The blank spot over the door does not appear to have been successfully resolved. It now evokes an almost Hollywood Regency vibe!
Both books sound fascinating! While there are a few decent remodelings done today, the majority of them seem to compromise and overwhelm, rather than enhance, the original construction. I mourn for this lost ability from our past. As a kid I would amuse myself by drawing “before and after” images of newer houses which I found to be distasteful! There is truly nothing new under the sun…
The conversion of large Victorian Queen Anne homes into Colonial Revivals was quite a thing, in part because the owners of these homes likely had the means to re-style their home in line with the latest fashion. I’d like to contribute a photo of one such conversion near me, but I’m not sure how to do it.
I always wonder how the stucco was applied in the 1920’s. Did they simply strip the wood sheathing and then use mesh and stucco. Probably. . .
Sometimes now with Dryvit, they seem to just spray it on anything, although I have seen some creative uses of Styrofoam to create the shapes. Fake columns in Styrofoam, window hoods. . .that seems like it will last a while.
There are two methods I’ve seen used. Older stucco seems to have been spread onto wood lath (just like a plaster wall) or directly onto masonry, but by the twenties it seems like everyone was using a type of expanded metal lath. I’m actually surprised that some of the synthetic, styrofoam-backed, stucco-like products have lasted as long as they have. I’ve also seen some of it delaminate and crumple; it will be interesting to see how it will continue to wear in the future.
I especially like banks with dryvit. It always makes me want to punch my way through the Styrofoam. . .maybe I shouldn’t share my larcenous feelings in public.
Thanks! I wanted to give everyone a break from my chicken coop posts! Fortunately there is good material to be sourced online since driving out and about is now frowned upon. Just as the weather is getting better, too. Sigh.
LOVED this!
I have a similar book showing high-quality “updates” that wholly transform old houses. And with floor plans!
I also have a book documenting NYC townhouses and the era (1920-1960) when so many of their facades were redone.
Both books sound fascinating! While there are a few decent remodelings done today, the majority of them seem to compromise and overwhelm, rather than enhance, the original construction. I mourn for this lost ability from our past. As a kid I would amuse myself by drawing “before and after” images of newer houses which I found to be distasteful! There is truly nothing new under the sun…
Hi Ross, could you provide title and author info? (Particularly for the first one…) Thanks.
The conversion of large Victorian Queen Anne homes into Colonial Revivals was quite a thing, in part because the owners of these homes likely had the means to re-style their home in line with the latest fashion. I’d like to contribute a photo of one such conversion near me, but I’m not sure how to do it.
I’ve added your photos to the post… thank you!
I always wonder how the stucco was applied in the 1920’s. Did they simply strip the wood sheathing and then use mesh and stucco. Probably. . .
Sometimes now with Dryvit, they seem to just spray it on anything, although I have seen some creative uses of Styrofoam to create the shapes. Fake columns in Styrofoam, window hoods. . .that seems like it will last a while.
There are two methods I’ve seen used. Older stucco seems to have been spread onto wood lath (just like a plaster wall) or directly onto masonry, but by the twenties it seems like everyone was using a type of expanded metal lath. I’m actually surprised that some of the synthetic, styrofoam-backed, stucco-like products have lasted as long as they have. I’ve also seen some of it delaminate and crumple; it will be interesting to see how it will continue to wear in the future.
I especially like banks with dryvit. It always makes me want to punch my way through the Styrofoam. . .maybe I shouldn’t share my larcenous feelings in public.
🙂 Banks — and perhaps jewelry stores — are the last places that should be relying on such a product for a sense of dignity, security and permanence!
Loved this post!
Thanks! I wanted to give everyone a break from my chicken coop posts! Fortunately there is good material to be sourced online since driving out and about is now frowned upon. Just as the weather is getting better, too. Sigh.