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‘Homegrown’ Foursquare Style was reaction against ornate, pretentious design [architecture column] | Architecture
LANCASTER IN STYLE, PART 30: AMERICAN FOURSQUARE, 1895-1935 This is the 30th architectural style that
LANCASTER IN STYLE, PART 30: AMERICAN FOURSQUARE, 1895-1935
This is the 30th architectural style that we have explored over the past 2 1/2 half years.
Far from romantic or a style that exudes high curb appeal, the American Foursquare is truly one of the very few architectural styles that is “homegrown”! It was born as a reaction to the overly ornate and pretentious Queen Anne style and the popular “romantic” revival styles including English, French and Italian Renaissance.
Popular between 1895 and 1935, the American Foursquare Style is characterized by its square and “boxy” floor plan, a distinctive pyramidal or hipped roof with a large single dormer and an exterior relatively void of details. The houses were designed for the working middle class families and provided 2 1/2 stories of living space with a full-width front porch.
This circa-1895, two-bay Foursquare home on Wheatland Avenue, Lancaster has brick veneer a flared hip roof and dormer.
This home built circa 1899 as the John C. Hager residence on Wheatland Avenue, Lancaster, is an early example of Foursquare design, featuring Colonial Revival detailing.
This home built circa 1899 as the John C. Hager residence on Wheatland Avenue, Lancaster, is an early example of Foursquare design, featuring Colonial Revival detailing. The architect was William Pritchett.
This is a detail of a home built circa 1899 as the John C. Hager residence on Wheatland Avenue, Lancaster. It’s an early example of Foursquare design, featuring Colonial Revival detailing. The architect was William Pritchett.
This expanded three-bay Foursquare home was built circa 1925, with brick veneer, a wraparound porch and a low-pitch hipped slate roof.
This circa-1920 Foursquare was built with decorative broken ashlar concrete block for the walls and smooth block for the quoins and lintels.
This rendering is of a Sears & Roebuck Foursquare Castleton model house by mail from the early 20th century.
This rendering and floor plan is of of a Sears & Roebuck Foursquare Castleton model house by mail from the early 20th century. Note the “boxy” floor plan.
This is the detail of a Foursquare home porch with decorative concrete block in the broken ashlar design. The porch balustrade, handrail and porch columns are decorative cast concrete, as well.
This circa-1930 two-bay Foursquare in Leola was built with smooth-finish concrete block with kerfed edges. The porch posts are three segments of fluted cast-concrete. It has a hipped roof with decorative diamond-pattern asbestos shingles.
This is a detail of a circa-1930 Foursquare house in Leola. Its porch posts are three segments of fluted cast concrete.
This four-bay, circa-1925 Foursquare house in Oberlin, Ohio, features wood clapboard siding and a pyramidal roof. It has a full-width, three-bay porch with center entry.
This is a detail of a four-bay, circa-1925 Foursquare house in Oberlin, Ohio. It features a decorative slate roof and single round-top dormer with Colonial Revival detailing.
This floor plan is of a Sears & Roebuck Foursquare Castleton model house by mail from the early 20th century.
This single-story, circa-1925 Foursquare house has brick veneer, a pyramidal roof and single dormer.
Wheatland Ave c1900 Two bay Foursquare with cement stucco veneer, low pitch hipped slate roof with single dormer
This two-bay Foursquare house on Wheatland Avenue, Lancaster, was built circa 1900. It has painted brick, a low-pitch hipped slate roof, twin chimneys and a single dormer with pediment gable.
The floor plan was organized to maximize efficiency using four corner rooms on each floor and a shared bath on the second floor. The corner rooms provided improved access to daylight and natural ventilation. Similar to the bungalow, the Foursquare often utilized space-saving built-in cabinetry. Designed for tight building lots in “streetcar suburbs,” the garages were detached and accessed from a shared alley. Unlike other styles that enjoyed regional popularity like Shingle Style, the Foursquare was popular all across the country from the East Coast to the West Coast.
The Foursquare was the first residential style to introduce a new building product that increased fire safety for the consumer: decorative concrete block. The block was cast in custom-made forms that provided more visual interest than traditional “foundation” block. Broken ashlar and split rock face were the most popular profiles; porch posts were even cast in decorative block patterns.
Wheatland Ave c1900 Two bay Foursquare with cement stucco veneer, low pitch hipped slate roof with single dormer
The simple “cube” form and shape of the Foursquare made it the perfect candidate for a mail-order Sears & Roebuck or Aladdin affordable home. The consumer received their new home in wooden boxes at the local train depot along with a set of detailed instructions at a very appealing price.
Like many other styles prevalent in the 1930s, the Foursquare lost its popularity prior to and after World War II. Lancaster’s 1920s and ’30s suburbs still have streets lined shoulder to shoulder with fine examples of the American Foursquare, representing many variations on the “homegrown” concept that swept the country.
This expanded three-bay Foursquare home was built circa 1925, with brick veneer, a wraparound porch and a low-pitch hipped slate roof.
Are there other “homegrown” American styles?
Yes. Federal Style, 1789-1820, and Prairie Style, 1900-1920. .
Are there other names for the American Foursquare Style?
Yes. Transitional Pyramid or Prairie Box Style.
What is a “streetcar suburb?”
Before the advent of the automobile, cities expanded beyond their core by using streetcar lines (trolleys) for transportation.
This column is contributed by Gregory J. Scott, FAIA, a local architect with more than four decades of national experience in innovation and design. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows. Email [email protected].