Turn-of-the-Century Styles

Domestic Styles of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

The Queen Anne style dominated the architectural development of the expansion area from about 1890 to 1905, a period during which the area was the scene of a considerable construction as the city's residential neighborhoods expanded westward from the antebellum core. The style's chief characteristic is the asymmetrical combination of eclectic elements such as towers, polygonal bay windows, and wrap-around porches beneath a hipped roof punctuated by a variety of gables and dormers. In its local expression, the Queen Anne style freely employed secondary elements from other Victorian styles, including wood shingles, gable ornaments, brackets, and millwork moldings. The 1903 White-Love House (#314) is a particularly ambitiously-scaled modified T-plan example of the Queen Anne style that is invigorated with a tall central tower, octagonal pavilions at the ends of the extensive wrap-around porch, and diminutive Palladian windows enclosed by roof pediments. Among the numerous examples are the 1891 Selig-Parker House (#416). Here polygonal bays topped by elaborately detailed wood-shingled gables substitute for towers and the small 2-bay porch exhibits intricate Eastlake woodwork. The ca. 1895 C. C. Clark House (#413) exhibits stylish rectangular-boxed bays and extensive Eastlake millwork accentuating an asymmetrical composition.

Because the expansion area largely developed during the later years of the popularity of the Queen Anne style, local examples are most commonly finished with elements of the emerging Colonial Revival style. Indeed, such asymmetrical Queen Anne style houses with strong Colonial Revival finish are one of the most visible house forms in the area. Important elements on these houses include Tuscan porch columns, pedimented gables, turned balusters usually without "webs," dentil moldings, and a pediment at the steps that echoes the roof gables. An important example is the ca. 1902 Dr. Samuel W. Gregory House (#279), an exuberant 2-story composition featuring different but complementary three-stage towers at the front corners that flank a pedimented double-tier central porch. It is identical in form to the 1895 Mack N. Sawyer House at 701 North Road Street (Northside Historic District) except finished in a strongly Colonial Revival style manner. More modestly scaled combinations of Queen Anne form and Colonial Revival finish include the 1907 Welkia T. Bright House (#215), which features an unusually large but simplified Palladian window in the front gable; the 1913 William S. Cartwright House (#284) with its extensive wrap-around porch; the 1915 Richard T. Venters House (#417) with rectangular projecting bays and rounded porch corner; and the ca. 1917 Scott-Conger House (#242) with its foursquare form enlivened by asymmetrical gables and a wrap-around porch with rounded corner.

Residential construction in the expansion area reached its peak during the second and third decades of the twentieth century, and the result of this activity is numerous Colonial Revival, American Foursquare, Craftsman Bungalow, and Tudor Revival style houses that dominate the streetscapes of the expansion area. Each style is represented by examples that reflect the broad range of its local expression from academic design to popular adaptation.

The Colonial Revival style, characterized by a formal composition and a finish derived from American colonial and classical precedents, was chosen for several impressive residences erected during the 1910s and 1920s. The symmetrical design of the Walter L. Cohoon House (#282), erected 1916-1917 following plans drawn by a Baltimore architect, displays a flamboyant Palladian central dormer, a trio of porches supported by well-articulated Composite columns, and modillion and dentil cornices. Two impressive neighboring dwellings, the ca. 1918 Kramer-Worth House (#133) and the ca. 1920 Kendricks-Etheridge House (#132), feature one-bay porticoes with stylish coved pediments, a popular Colonial Revival element that was rendered in a simplified manner on two charming one-story cottages, the 1925 Robert A. Garrett House (#297) and the 1936-1942 Grover C. Clay House (175). The Colonial Revival style was often the choice of homeowners desiring to update older residences in the current style. The William H. Zoeller House (#267), an antebellum one-and-a-half story dwelling that was moved ca. 1905, was remodeled ca. 1913 with a new full-width porch carried by Tuscan columns and handsome dormers incorporating Palladian arches. Between 1902 and 1908, an enlarged porch carried by handsome stop-fluted Doric pillars brought the ca. 1891 Old-Scott House (#272) into current fashion.

Equally popular in the expansion area during the early twentieth century was the American Foursquare house. This boxy two-story house witk hip roof, deep eaves, and an informal horizontal emphasis, was the most popular national derivative of the Prairie Style; such "modern" houses were advocated by the Chicago School of architects, of which Frank Lloyd Wright was the leading proponent. As the continued development of the area coincided with the national popularity of the American Foursquare, examples within the area are many. The finest is the ca. 1916 Fearing-Gaither House (#234), where the horizontal emphasis of the deep eaves is accentuated by the broad gable-front porch and the use of wood-shingles on the upper story. A similar use of wood shingles is seen at the ca. 1920 Urner G. Davis House (#27), while the 1923 Raymond B. Sheely House (#250) is an exceptional illustration completely sheathed in wood shingles. The American Foursquare house was equally suited to modestly scaled and finished dwellings, as illustrated by the ca. 1927 William L. Sherlock house (#60) and houses at 614 West Colonial Avenue (#86) and 313 South Dyer Street (#396).

The Craftsman Bungalow style was popular throughout the expansion area during the 1920s and 1930s. With simple lines accented by broad gables, sturdy porch supports, and triangular brackets, the style is handsomely illustrated by the 1923 W. Ben Goodwin House (#304), on which the projecting gable-front porch and end gables are invigorated by wood-shingles. Another noteworthy example, the ca. 1916 Pugh-Needham House (#144), displays a sophisticated array of finishing elements including stuccoed pillars and elegant curved brackets. More representative of the expansion area's variety of Craftsman Bungalow houses are the 1927 Grover C. Jackson House (#57), with an unusually broad gable dormer and massive stone porch piers, and nearly identical gable-end houses erected ca. 1919 for brothers James G. and Robert S. Fearing (#s 138 and 139). The Fearing houses are accented by broad porch spandrels filled with delicate matchstick elements. These Craftsman features were equally popular on ambitious American Foursquare houses such as the ca. 1914 Pinner-Bailey House (#137) and the 1925 George Pritchard House (#286), both of which also have massive brick porch pillars with inset stucco panels.

The Tudor Revival style, which featured prominent gables, front chimneys, and decorative brickwork that evoked the character of late medieval English architecture, enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Elizabeth City during the late 1920s and 1930s. The earliest local example, the large two-and-a-half story ca. 1928 Marshall M. Jones House (#235), is a superb illustration of the style's picturesque qualities, focusing on dramatically steep gables and two tall chimneys crowned by flamboyant ceramic chimney pots. The one-and-a-half story 1937 Roland L. Garrett House (#302) represents the ideal of a small rustic cottage, with decorative basketweave brick and false half timbers accenting the gables. Several modestly-scaled one-story frame dwellings illustrate the style's appeal to price-conscious homebuilders toward the end of the Depression, including the neighboring houses of Jacob W. Cox (#332) and James C. Prescott (#333), the latter also exhibiting elements of the concurrently popular Colonial Revival style.