The Denver Square or American Foursquare in other parts of the country-1895-1930
"...simple, honest and well made..."
"The American Foursquare house was the most popular vernacular
form of the Prairie Style, which was developed by the so-called
Chicago School of architects of which Frank Lloyd Wright was the most influential." N.P.S
Time Period:
1895-1930 (After the silver crash of 1893)
American Foursquare houses usually have these features:
- Simple box shape
- Two-and-a-half stories high
- Four-room floor plan
- Low-hipped roof with deep overhang
- Large central dormer
- Full-width porch with wide stairs
- Brick, stone, stucco, concrete block, or wood siding
About the Foursquare House Style:
The American Foursquare, or the Prairie Box, was a post-Victorian style that shared many features with the Prairie architecture pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright. The boxy foursquare shape provided roomy interiors for homes on small city lots. The simple, square shape also made the Foursquare style especially practical for mail order house kits from Sears and other catalog companies.
Creative builders often dressed up the basic foursquare form. Although foursquare houses are always the same square shape, they can have features borrowed from any of these styles:
- Queen Anne - bay windows, small towers, or "gingerbread" trim
- Mission - stucco siding and roof parapets
- Colonial Revival - pediments or porticos
- Craftsman - exposed roof rafters, beamed ceilings, built-in cabinetry, and carefully crafted woodwork
Names:
Foursquare, Double Decker, Double Cube, Denver Square, Prairie Box, Seattle Box, Box House (the one-story version was called the Classic Cottage)
Style:
Some times referred to as Post Victorian, Vernacular Design, and Simplified Colonial Revival
Location:
All across the U.S. and parts of Canada.
Exterior Detailing Influences:
Craftsman, Italian Renaissance, Mission, Victorian, Colonial, Neoclassical and Prairie
Availability: These homes were available in the United States at the turn of the century through the 1950's. They were most popular 1910-1930.
Price: Between $2,000.00 - $5,000.00
Function: Boxy interior shape, roomy interiors for small city lots. Middle-class residences.
Style Attributes:
o residential
o box shape
o four room floor plan (later style was more open with built-ins & fireplaces)
o symmetrical
o two or more stories
o low hipped roof
o deep over hanging eaves with brackets, modillion, or classical frieze with dentils
o central attic (hipped or gable) dormer, at least one
o porch (full or partial width) with hipped roof supported by Doric columns or
o square posts
o brick, stucco, concrete block, clapboard, or wood shingle
o minimal decoration-overall simplicity
SUPPLIERS OF KIT HOMES
Aladdin (Readi-Cut) Homes of Bay City, Michigan (1906-1981)
Pre-cut and numbered pieces. 450 models available during 1910-1940
Classic Design & Detail Company
Gordon Van-Tine, Davenport, Iowa
Harris Brothers, Chicago, Illinois
Lewis Homes/Liberty Homes of Bay City, Michigan
Montgomery Wards, Chicago, Illinois
Sears Roebuck, Chicago, Illinois (1895-1940)
1895 began offering building supplies and house plans.
1908-1940 "Modern Homes" division supplied building plans, materials & kits shipped by rail
1916 first sears "kit" house with numbered parts.
Sterling Homes/International Mill and Timber, Bay City, Michigan
DENVER INFORMATION
Locations:
Capital Hill, Cheesman Park, City Park, Congress Park and West Highland
Historic Background Of The Foursquare In Denver:
The silver crash of 1893 resulted in bankruptcy and a slow in housing developments. 1897 Denver was prosperous again and by 1899 a housing shortage had developed. Investment and realty companies were building homes for sale on installment for a low rate of interest, and there was no shortage of buyers. Middle income families were finding it cheaper to own a home than to pay rent. The trend at this time was for a home with 5-8 rooms, the Denver Square satisfied this desire.
Possible Influences:
- Many of the modest foursquares in Denver are smaller, simplified versions of larger homes in the area. i.e. The Baerresen Brothers (Denver architects) design of Alonzo Thomas' 1070 Humbolt home is generally an elaborate foursquare design. These architects also designed other smaller residences in Denver based on this home.
- Mail Order Catalogues. A Chicago architectural firm's mail order catalogue sold plans for $12.00 many of which look a lot like the Denver Square.
Characteristics Of The Denver Square:
- Decorative arts glass - leaded, beveled, etched, or stained. Locally available through McMurtry Paint & Wallpaper Co. and The Brandt Art Studio
- Two common floor plans - a central hall/stairs and front door or a staircase at one side
- Early homes have a steep roof, later have a low hipped roof
- Built-in push button electric lights (1st floor only?)
Modern plumbing often resulting in a second floor bath and three bedrooms rather than four bedrooms.