Dating With Style: 20th Century Housing (Part II)

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

Like clothing, architecture has fads, trends, and fashions. In previous blogs, I have written about 19th century housing styles, as well as those from the early 20th century. Elmira and its suburbs expanded rapidly during the 1910s and 20s, but the Great Depression ground that growth to a halt. The aftermath of World War II kicked off a new housing boom across the nation which was dominated by such styles as Minimal Traditional, Ranch, Split Level, Contemporary, Shed, and Neoeclectic.  Minimal Traditional, Ranch, and Split Level are ubiquitous throughout Chemung County's post-war suburbs, but Contemporary and Shed never seemed to have caught on here. Neoeclectic is what you find in many late-2oth and early 21st century developments.

Minimal Traditional was popular in the 1930s through the 1950s. They’re usually one-story homes with built much like a Tudor with side gables and a prominent front cross gable, but with a less steeply pitched roof. They often make heavy use of stone or brick veneer. 

Minimal Traditional home on Larchmont Avenue

 

Ranches were developed in California in the 1930s and became the denominate style for residential architecture during the 1950s and 60s. The style borrows heavily from Craftsman, Prairie, and also Spanish Colonial styles found throughout the Southwest. They’re always one floor with either hipped roofs or side gables with wide overhanging eaves. Their rise to prominence accompanied the death of public transport, so most have some sort of built-in garage or car port.

Ranch on Hendy Avenue

 

The Split Level rose to popularity in the 1950s as a modification to the basic Ranch. Like the Ranch, it was either hipped or side gabled and had a built-in garage. The first level usually consisted of said garage and a family room, with dining room and kitchen on the middle level, and bedrooms on the upper level. The Split Level was popular through the 1970s. 

 

Split Level on Acorn Road

 

The Contemporary Style, sometimes called American International, drew heavily on International Style in terms of windows and roofing, although some do have pitched roofs. Unlike the International Style, they tend to have walls decorated with wood, stone, or brick veneer rather than plain stucco. Shed Style developed in the 1960s and continues to be used today. The defining feature is the multi-directional shed roofs which give the house the look of colliding geometric shapes. They usually have wood siding and/or brick veneer. Chemung County doesn't have many examples of either style because their peek popularity in the late-1960s through the 1970s coincided with the start of an economic downturn and decline in local population.

Neoeclectic is basically a return to the earlier Eclectic Styles after a brief pause following World War II. Unlike earlier architectural styles which began with high-fashion architects designing statement homes for the rich, the Neoeclectic Movement began with the builders of modest homes putting a new spin on late-19^th and early-20^th century designs. In this area, there are examples of Neocolonial, Neo-Tudor, Neo-French, and Neo-Victorian. The Neoeclectic Movement is currently the dominant style in McMansions and newer suburban housing. 

Now that you know the different styles of residential housing, take a drive around and make note of what you see.  Consider what the types of houses reveal about the growth and development of different neighborhoods.

Dating with Style: 20th Century Housing (Part I)

By Rachel Dworkin

Like clothing, architecture has fads, trends, and fashions.  Some architectural fashions are based on concrete things like available building materials or new techniques, while others are based on more nebulous things like historical anniversaries and politics.  Just as clothes can help date photographs, architectural fashions can be a handy tool for dating a building. Unfortunately, architectural fashions can last for decades, but it still provides a nice range. Back in 2014, I did a piece on 19^th century residential styles and it’s time to talk about the 20^th. 

 There is no clear, crisp dividing point between 19^th and 20^th century fashions. Some trends which started in the 1890s, or even the 1880s, continued on well into the 20^th century. Some even had a comeback! I discussed Queen Anne (1880s-1910s) in my last post, but there were other movements which began in the 1890s which had a larger impact on the 20^th century. I will be focusing only on those styles of home found in Chemung County, so, if you were looking for Pueblo Revival, you’ll be plum out of luck.

The Eclectic Movement was the major trend in architectural styles from the 1890s through the start of World War II. It focused on reproducing earlier historic styles, mostly found in Europe. It began with European-trained architects designing landmark homes for wealthy clients. The development of thin brick and stone veneer in the 1920s made it easier for middle-class homeowners to ape these styles. Some types of Eclectic homes found in Chemung County include Neoclassical, Tudor, French Eclectic, Italian Renaissance, and Colonial Revival, with Tudor and Colonial being the most common.

Neoclassical is designed to evoke an ancient temple with a full-height front porch supported by classical columns and a symmetrically balanced façade.  It was popular from about 1895 to 1950, and there are some lovely examples in West Elmira. 

Neoclassical home on West Church Street

 

Tudor was designed to evoke late Medieval English housing. It featured a steeply pitched roof, usually side-gabled, often with a prominent forward-facing cross gable. Tall, narrow windows with multiple panes are common, as are massive, accentuated chimneys, and decorative textures like brick or stone veneer or stucco with half-timbering. This style was popular from the 1890s through 1940 and is the second-most common type of house found in West Elmira. 

Tudor on Hoffman Street

 

French Eclectic was designed to look like a French farmhouse. They have steeply-pitched hipped roofs with upward-flaring eaves. The walls are usually brick, stone, or stucco. They occasionally have towers. There are a handful of these in West Elmira and Strathmont Park. 

French Eclectic home on Hoffman Street

 

Less common in Chemung County are the Mediterranean Eclectics including Italian Renaissance and Spanish Eclectic. Both were designed to evoke rural architecture in Italy and Spain respectively. Both have low-pitched roofs covered in ceramic tiles (or something meant to resemble them), but Italian Renaissance have hipped roofs with wide eaves while Spanish have side gables with no eaves. Italian Renaissance usually have columns, arches, or both around the front doors, while Spanish Eclectic tends to have them around first floor windows. There are maybe two of each in the county.

Italian Renaissance home on Maple Avenue

Colonial Revival is the longest-lived of all the Eclectic Movement styles. It was spawned by the 1876 Centennial and a renewed interest in Colonial-era housing from along the eastern seaboard. It is designed to strongly resemble Georgian (1700-1780) and Adams (1780-1820) styles. Some key characteristics include a side-gabled roof, a relatively plain facade with an accentuated front door, and symmetrically hung windows balanced around said door. The style remained popular from the 1880s through the 1960s, but with subtle changes over time. Colonial was the most popular style in Chemung County’s expanding suburbs during the inter- and postwar years. 

Colonial Revival home on West Church Street

 

Competing with the Eclectic Movement, which drew inspiration from the past, was the Modern Movement, which was more forward looking. These styles include Prairie, Craftsman, Modernistic, and International, with Prairie and Craftsman being the most common locally.   

Prairie was largely based off of the works of Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his disciples. The first Prairie house was Wright’s 1893 Winslow House and the style quickly spread from there thanks to architectural pattern books put out by Chicago publishers. The style flourished from 1905 to 1915 and is abundant locally in portions of West Elmira and along Maple Avenue. Prairie homes are two stories with one-story wings, porches, or car ports, often with massive, square supports. The roofs are usually hipped and low-pitched with wide, overhanging eaves. 

Prairie Home on West Water Street

 

Craftsman are my personal favorite 2oth century architectural style. It was developed in 1903 by California architects Charles and Henry Greene. Their work was popularized by various architectural magazines and pattern books. You could even buy pre-fab Craftsman packages which you would then assemble yourself like Ikea furniture. The houses were small, usually one-story, but with the occasional partial second-story. They have low-pitched roofs with wide overhanging eaves, large front porches, and all the beautiful interior woodwork your heart could desire. They tended to either have front gabled roofs or hipped ones. The style flourished briefly from about 1905 through the 1920s and then fell out of favor in the 1930s. 

Craftsman homes on Riverside Avenue

 

There are no examples of Modernistic in Chemung County, but there is an International style house in Strathmont Park. The style was brought to the United States in the 1930s by avant-garde European architects fleeing the rise of fascism. International style is characterized by a flat roof; smooth, unadorned walls with windows set flush against outer walls; and weird, asymmetrical facades. For various reasons, they’re super rare and usually built as statement homes for the wealthy, but a lot of elements were later integrated into later post-war styles.

International Style home in Strathmont Park

 

The Great Depression put an end to a lot of residential construction in Chemung County, but there was another housing boom following World War II. This boom often featured new styles I will talk about in my next blog post. Stay tuned!

Behind the Walls

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

 This Thursday we will be installing our latest exhibit, Behind the Walls: Architectural Plans and Drawings, in the Education Room.  As the name implies, the exhibit will feature a selection of architectural drawings from our collections.  Here at CCHS, we have blueprints and concept drawings for a wide array of public buildings including schools, churches, stores, factories, hospitals, banks, and government buildings. Here is a little taste of what we’ll be showcasing in the exhibit.

 First Baptist Church

Concept drawing for the First Baptist Church, 1892

Elmira’s First Baptist Church was established in 1829. There have been three successive Baptist churches at the Wisner Park site. The third structure was built in 1892.  Designed by local architects Joseph H. Pierce (1855-1932) and Otis Dockstader (1851-1929), it was intended to be both a house of worship and a community center equipped with concert spaces, classrooms, and even a basketball court.

 

Longitudinal section of the First Baptist Church, 1892 

Chemung County Jail

 The Chemung County Jail was constructed in 1872 by J. & S.M. Clark. It originally served both as a prison and as a residence for the sheriff.  In 1906, the Seneca Engineering Company of Watkins Glen designed a series of improvements to the holding cells. The original jail was demolished in 1941 to make way for its replacement which still stands today.

  

Improvements to the cell block, 1906

Mark Twain Hotel

The Mark Twain Hotel was built at the tail end of Elmira’s 1920s construction boom. It was designed by New York City architectural firm George B. Post & Son with help from the local firm Considine & Haskell. At the time, the hotel was considered state-of-the-art with fireproof construction and a bathroom for every bedroom.  It also had several conference and dinning rooms as well as shops on the first floor. 

Plan of the first floor of the Mark Twain Hotel, 1929

Dating With Style: 19th Century

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

     Like clothing, architecture has fads, trends and fashions.  Some architectural fashions are based on concrete things like available building materials or new techniques, while others are based on more nebulous things like historical anniversaries and politics.  Just as clothes can help date photographs, architectural fashions can be a handy tool for dating a building. Unfortunately architectural fashions can last for decades, but it still provides a nice range.

     The first white settlers arrived in our area in the 1780s and 90s.  None of the early settlers were architects and their homes tended to be fairly utilitarian and made of simple and easily available material like, say, logs.  Few of these structures remain. 

Parshall cabin built in town of Chemung in 1787.  It probably looked better then. 

     The oldest surviving homes in Chemung County primarily date from the 1830s.  In 1833, the Chemung Canal opened, bringing with it more wealth and opportunities to trade.  The most popular architectural style at that time was Greek Revival.  At the time, our young democratic republic was kind of obsessed with all things related to the history of the Western world’s earliest known democracy, Athens, Greece.  The idea of Greek Revival was to create homes which resembled ancient Greek temples.  There was a lot of variation within the style, but it did have some key features namely porches and entryways supported by square or rounded Doric columns.  It also often included cornice lines, or wide bands of trim below the roof lines, and other details. Nationally, this style was popular from 1825 through 1860.  New York State has the largest concentration of such homes in the country.

Greek temple vs. Greek Revival.  See what they were going for?

     There were several other styles which were also popular at the time.  Gothic Revival was characterized by steeply pitched roofs, gables with decorative ‘gingerbread’ and pointed windows.  It was a predominantly rural style, popular from 1840 through 1865 with a brief revival in the late-1870s. 

     The more popular urban style from this same period is Italianate.  This style was characterized by low-pitched roofs with widely overhanging eaves often featuring decorative brackets.  It often featured tall, narrow windows with elaborate crowns, usually in pairs or groups of three.  Square cupolas or towers were also common.  The style first became popular in America in the 1840s, but was the dominant style from 1850 to 1880, especially in growing cities like Elmira.  Less elaborate versions were also fairly popular in more rural areas as well. 

405 Maple Ave, Elmira, ca. 1870s

 

     Beginning in the 1860s, there were several interesting changes to building techniques and materials.  There was a shift from heavy-timber to balloon frame construction which allowed architects to play with shapes like never before.  Industrialization and railroads meant that building components could be mass produced and shipped across the country with ease allowing even poorer homeowners to trick out their houses with decorative features.  The building styles which were most popular during the period from 1860 to 1900 took full advantage of these changes.

     Second Empire styling was characterized by a mansard, or dual-pitched, roof often with dormer windows.  It usually included decorative brackets under the eaves and often had towers, round windows, and cresting along the roofline too.  It was very common in urban areas and was especially popular for town houses.  Second Empire homes first appeared in 1855, but peaked in popularity between 1860 and 1880.    

2nd Empire in free-standing home and town houses.

     

     If Second Empire took advantage of balloon frame construction to play with shapes, then Stick style took advantage of mass-produced building components to play with decorative detailing.  Stick, which was popular from 1860 to 1890, was characterized by a steeply-pitched gabled roof with decorative trusses at the apex.  It also involved a lot of decorative detailing, especially in terms of texture on walls and roofs.  Stick is largely considered to be a transitional style between the earlier Gothic Revival and the later Queen Anne style of the 1880s.  It wasn’t all that common and had largely died out in the northeast by the 1870s. 

Stick style farm house, ca. 1870s. 

     Queen Anne was the last great style of the 19^th century, although it continued on into the 1910s.  In terms of decorative elements it was a clear continuation of Stick, but it was primarily characterized by irregular shapes, asymmetry and large porches.  Locally, you can find plenty of examples in the Near Westside or along Maple Avenue. 

361 Maple Avenue., Elmira

     Now that I’ve spent all this time talking about style, I have to point out that many homes, especially in rural and working-class areas, were built to be the functional equivalent of comfy jeans and a t-shirt.  Some might incorporate stylistic elements from popular styles which can help with dating, but, then again they might not.  Don’t let that stop you from speculating about the ages of homes as you walk around your neighborhood.  Stay tuned for the 20^th century edition. 

 

 

Chemung County at the World's Fairs

by Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

I had initially planned for this post to just discuss Elmirans at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.  A lot of locals made contributions as presenters or architects and its a good story.  However, as I was researching, I realized how much great stuff we have from other World's Fairs as well.  So I thought, "Ok, so I guess I'll expand out to look at the Columbian and Pan-American exhibitions, too."  And then I found even more great items, so now this blog will cover seven World's Fairs and exhibitions up to New York in 1964 (read: this will have a ton of cool pictures!).

 

Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, May 10-November 10, 1876

The Centennial Exhibition was the first American-hosted World's Fair.  Planned to celebrate the United States' 100th birthday, the fair was a huge production featuring exhibitors from around the world.  Approximately 10 million people attended, or about 20% of the United States' population at that time.  Among those millions were quite a few Elmirans.  John Murdock represented Chemung County on the state Board of Centennial Managers.  Since the exhibition catalogs have been digitized, we can easily see who had a space at the fair to show off their wares.  Many of the city's premier manufacturers and inventors were represented including: Elmira Nobles' Company (carpenters and shipwrights tools); Palmer and Decker (Union back sole leather); Thomas Extract Co. (clarified extract of hemlock bark); S.W. Hall (fencing machine, machine made worm-fence, bracket and wire fences); Henry Clum (aellograph); Reid and Cooper (cooking stove, direct draft six-hole cooking stoves and ranges); Newcomb and Walker (shoes); and La France (rotary pumps and engine, rotary steam fire engine). 

 

Certificate awarded to Thomas Extract Co. for their extract of Hemlock bark

Elmiran architects Hayes and McIvor even designed the Tea and Coffee Press Extract Building, "a 100ft x 45ft, two story frame building composed of four observatories connected by verandas.  Located opposite the southeast corner of the agricultural building and devoted tot the exhibitions of the process of making coffee, tea, and other extracts by the means of pressure caused by the expansion of the materials used."

It is likely that Chemung County residents also attended the Centennial.  We have several souvenirs in our collections.

Ticket to the Centennial Exhibition

Souvenir coin from Centennial

Page from a souvenir book from the Centennial

Columbian Exposition, Chicago, May-October 1893

The World's Columbian Exposition was planned to honor the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World.  The fair was held on 600 acres in Chicago and attracted over 27,000,000 visitors.  It was called the "White City" for all 0f the neoclassical buildings created to house displays from around the world.  Although I can find no records of Chemung Countians exhibiting anything at the exposition, we do know that some attended.

 

Railroad ticket from Van Etten to Chicago for the World's Fair

Tickets for the Expostion

Souvenir crock from the Exposition

Souvenir coin from the exposition

Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, May 1- November 2, 1891

The Pan-American Exposition attracted 8,000,000 visitors.  The fair used Niagara Falls to generate electricity, which resulted in spectacular night time views of the exposition. 

Fair images from Turner glass plate negative collection at CCHS

However, the Pan-American Exposition is also connected with a tragedy: the assassination of President William McKinley.  McKinley was shot at the fair on September 6, 1891 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.  The president died days later from his injuries. 

McKinley memorial scarf with image of the exposition (bottom left) from CCHS collection

 

Since the exposition was practically in our backyard, it is likely that many Chemung County residents attended.  Elmiran A.D. Symonds displayed his sandstone and blue stones in the Mines Building.

Ticket from the exposition

Souvenir paperweight from Pan-American Exposition

 

Souvenir tumbler from the exposition

 

Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Mo., 1904

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, honoring the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, took place on 1,200 acres and attracted nearly 20,000,000 visitors.  There is little information about Chemung County's participation in this fair, but we do have a ticket in our collection.

 

Chicago World's Fair, Chicago, 1933

In 1933, Chicago hosted another World's Fair.  The Century of Progress International Exposition honored Chicago's centennial.  The fair attracted over 48,000,000 people to Chicago to see the "Rainbow City" (unlike the White City of the Columbian Expo).  The main focus of the fair was science, so many new inventions were demonstrated at the fair.  The Lehigh Valley Railroad ran special fair promotions that would have helped Chemung County residents get to Chicago.

Iszard's promotional postcard featuring the Dairy Building at the fair

New York World's Fair, New York City, 1939-1940

The first New York World's Fair attracted over 51,000,000 visitors to over 1,200 acres in Flushing Meadows.  This fair was open for two seasons, from April-October in both 1939 and 1940.  Among the Elmirans who attended the fair was the Collins family, who posed for a picture now in our collection.

The Collins Family at the 1939 World's Fair

 

Souvenir pin from the World's Fair

New York World's Fair, New York City, 1964-1965

Held again in Flushing Meadows, the second New York World's fair was held for two seasons in 1964 and 1965.  Over 51,000,000 people attended the 650 acre event.  This fair is remembered for its emphasis on mid-20th century scientific advancements, like early space exploration.  Did any of our readers attend this Fair and have memories to share?

 

The House that Pierce & Bickford Built

by Rachel Dworkin

Over the years, Chemung County has been home to many architects, but our most famous local firm is that of Hiram H. Bickford (1863-1929) and Joseph H. Pierce (1855-1932).  The pair joined forces in 1891 and together they designed a wide range of buildings throughout the Twin Tiers.

Joseph Pierce was the senior partner of the pair, having worked as an architect in Elmira since 1880.  From 1883 to 1890, Pierce worked with Otis Dockstader, primarily designing churches and homes.  One of their more famous local buildings is Elmira’s First Baptist Church, built in 1890.  They dissolved the partnership over a dispute regarding professional ethics in the spring of 1890.  Little is known about Hiram Bickford before he came to work for Pierce & Dockstader, except that he had worked as a draftsman at a number of firms throughout the Northeast.     

 

The firm worked on a wide range of buildings from residential to religious, commercial to civic.  Their work on public buildings was characterized by a sophisticated and varied treatment of historical styles.  For those of you who are, like me, not architects, that means that they liked to design buildings to have elements that made them look like they were from another time period.  The Elmira City Hall, for example, looks very much like a Renaissance style building which, in turn, rips off a lot of stylistic elements from Greco-Roman designs.  Personally, I just think it’s pretty.  

Pierce & Bickford also designed a number of private residences throughout the area.  Unlike their public buildings which had a clear and consistent “look,” their residential designs tended to cater to the personal style of the original client. 

All told, the pair built several hundred buildings and designed the renovations for many more, including 415 E. Water Street.  If you are interested in seeing examples of their draft work, the Booth Library has blueprints and concept drawings for a number of their buildings including Elmira City Hall, 415 E. Water, the S.F. Iszard’s Building and the home of Mr. R.E. Kinsman among others.  For those interested in a more in-depth look at their lives and their work, we have the book Architects of Standing: Pierce & Bickford, Elmira, N.Y. 1890-1932 available for purchase in our gift shop.