Wednesday, December 24, 2008

what style is this?

After responding to comments from the last post I lazily submit this out of curiosity.

I see a lot of this style of home around here. I'm not really sure what you would call it -- it's (maybe not so) obviously victorian. The interior trim detail is of typical victorian flair. For lack of a better term I sometimes call them victorian foursquares although they're not really foursquare in layout. I've been in a few and they tend to have a long central hallway with a staircase on one side and the parlor, dining, etc on the other.

The upstairs tend to follow the same long pattern with a central hallway -- bedrooms on one side. Utility rooms are towards the rear. They can have full porches on both stories or just on the bottom floor. But the upper floor almost always has a full length window/door on one side of the house with two adjacent windows. Long and narrow with a dormer.

This one is very similar to the house in the last post. It's been converted into apartments, although it's in pretty good shape. So what is it?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

sentimental favorite

I'm not sure what it is about this house, but I love it. Yes, the front and back porches are falling apart but overall the home seems to be in halfway decent shape (the exterior at least). Most of the old homes in the neighborhood are constructed of brick so aside from the obligatory centennial repointing they are pretty much built like tanks. I guess that's why even when they're falling apart it's not all bad. I don't like the idea of singling out run-down homes that people live in, which is why I'll mostly concentrate on vacant/condemned buildings for the building of the week. I respect that people who do live in these homes might not have the means to fix them up. Instead, my intention is to inspire a local to see past the appearance of these dilapidated homes and have the will to rediscover the heart of the old neighborhoods. I fell in love with this neighborhood many years ago, how about you?