Architectural History

Not too long ago, the city surveyed our entire neighborhood to determine if it would be eligible as a National Historic District (it was, but for some reason, the project ended there.) The photo of our house included in the survey is by no means historic but it’s almost unrecognizable due to the landscaping. A few fully grown trees and foundation plantings really give the house a different look. It’s a shame the previous owner lost the large tree in the back, it would have given us some needed shade in our back office.

The houses on our street are a mix of brick and siding but ours is situated along a stretch of brick houses—about the same size as ours but with the brick construction and the fireplaces, clearly a little higher end.

Reviewing the survey, it came as no surprise that we had a couple of alterations that were less than historic. The front door is new and the style isn’t really appropriate for a bungalow. Also, the original window in the bathroom was replaced with modern glass blocks—a common move in old homes where the tub was converted to a shower, making the window a liability. We’ve got no plans at the moment to redo the bathroom but a new front door is definitely on our list.

Interestingly, the survey states that the “rear shed wing” (the term itself is such an odd mix of high/low) is likely original. Jonathan thinks otherwise, given that we’ve got a casement window on the west wall of the basement that was blocked in when the back addition was built. So, we still think it starts as a utility porch of some sort that was later enclosed. It’s still the best explanation we can come up with for the lack of heating vents.