Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals
The new rich in America sought to display the evidence of their material wealth in the houses that they built. It was Twain’s “Gilded Age” and the era of the “Four Hundred” that brought about the architectural expression of the era. The most popular styles of the wealthy were Tudor Revival, Italian Renaissance Revival, Romanesque, Beaux-Arts, Chateauesque, and Neoclassical Revival. This era lasted from about 1890 through 1940.
Common alterations appearing in Wichita Revival styles are repair or replacement of slate or tile roofs with a synthetic composite material that has the appearance of the original roof material; wood shingles replaced with composition shingles; and replacement of the original garage/carriage house to accommodate larger vehicles. Screened sunrooms or porches on secondary elevations may have been enclosed with glazing that replicates the profile of original windows and wood decks added to the rear elevation.
Classical Revival
Classical Revival architecture, most popular in America from about 1770 to 1830, re-emerged during the first two decades of the 20th century, particularly for public buildings. The 1893 Columbian Exposition celebrated the grand scale, symmetry and classical ornament that were characteristic of this style. This resurgence of the Classical Revival style is simpler and more oriented toward an American interpretation of Greek architecture. Egyptians developed the basic column design, which consists of a pedestal, the column shaft, and the capital. The shaft was either one piece or stacked as blocks in a cylindrical form. The Greeks took this basic column and developed three orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian and added fluting to the column shafts. The Romans further embellished the classical orders with two variations: the Tuscan, which was a Doric column without fluting and the Composite, which stacked an Ionic capital on a Corinthian capital. Another style of classical column is the caryatid, which is a sculpture of a robed woman that performs the same structural function as a column. The vertical column is the fundamental feature of this style.
Another integral element of Classic Revival architecture is the arch. The Romans adapted the use of the arch from the Assyrians, which allowed stone to span wider spaces than post and lintel construction. Romans adapted the use of arches for doorways, bridges, windows and triumphal entryways. Houses are usually rectangular in plan with the long side facing the street, front-gabled with a wing on each side, walls are brick, stucco, stone or wood clapboard, low- hipped roofs, symmetrical fenestration, semi-elliptical fanlights and multi-paned sidelights.
Colonial Revival
Natfzger House
318 N Belmont
This style is most prevalent in the College Hill Neighborhood of Wichita, but may be found in smaller residential structures in Wichita’s older neighborhoods. Colonial Revival is an interpretation of the earlier American colonial structures executed on a much larger scale with exaggerated architectural details. Characteristics exhibited in this style are a pedimented portico that extends above the entrance, a classical cornice, wall dormers, broken pediments, asymmetrical façade, brick or clapboard siding, double-hung rectangular sash windows, gabled or hipped roofs, paired or triple windows treated as a single architectural unit, fanlights and sidelights, pilasters and ornamented door entrances.
Dutch Colonial Revival
This style is an interpretation of Dutch Colonial architecture with wood clapboard siding and side-gabled Dutch gambrel roofs with gabled or shed dormers, exterior brick wainscoting, multipaned double-hung sash or casement windows and battened shutters. Gambrel roofs may be executed as a Dutch gambrel with flared eaves, English or New England gambrel roof, in which the upper and lower slopes are the same length with the lower slope being a steeper pitch and Swedish gambrel, in which the upper slope is shorter with a low pitch and the lower slope is long with a steep pitch. Some of Wichita’s Dutch Colonial Revival houses are from actual pattern book plans or built by contractors’ variations of the plan book houses. The house at 115 N. Crestway is a Better Homes and Gardens Five-Star house plan originally designed in 1945[5].
Italian Renaissance
This style was popular in America from 1890 through 1930 and is found in the College Hill and Midtown neighborhoods. Italian Renaissance Revival houses are generally symmetrical with flat façades; stucco or masonry walls with different architectural treatments on different stories; beltcourses between stories; cornice that rests on an architrave; quioning; pilasters; dentils; classical columns; low- to moderate-pitched tile roofs; pedimented window heads in multiple shapes; tall, narrow windows; and the main entrance is often a hooded entryway over round arched doors with an entablature supported by pilasters.
Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival architecture has its roots in the Eclectic movement that began as the Victorian Era was winding down and was popular in America from 1880 through 1940. In Wichita, this popularity extended into the early 1950s. This style is commonly clad in brick, stucco or a combination of brick, wood and stucco; uses false half-timbering applied over stucco; decorated with strapwork of narrow bands; steeply pitch gables; little or no eave overhang; slate or wood shingles; tall, massive, elaborate chimneys with decorative chimney pots; tall, narrow windows double-hung or casement windows with small, diamond-shaped panes arranged in groups of three or more; stone or wood window surrounds; and Tudor arches around the main entrance and first floor windows. Houses may be two-story, two-and-one-half-story or three-story. These houses are primarily located in College Hill.
Within this revival style is the Jacobean style, based on an interpretation of Late Medieval palaces it emphasized elaborate chimney pots, stone tabs around arched doorways and windows, steep, high-pitched roofs, parapeted gables, multi-paned metal or wood casement windows grouped in strings of three or more and heavy board and batten doors. Patterned brickwork and stonework are also common.
Spanish Colonial Revival
Occasionally referred to as Spanish Eclectic Style, this revival style architecture includes Mission Revival, Monterey style, Churrigueresque and Plateresque styles. The Spanish Colonial Revival style was popularized through the designs of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924) at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. Goodhue broadened the interpretation of Spanish Colonial architecture by incorporating design elements found throughout Latin America. Plateresque architecture and Churrigueresque style also influenced Goodhue’s interpretations.
C.M. Jackman House
158 N Roosevelt
Spanish Colonial Revival houses are typically one- or two-story side-gabled structures. The façade is asymmetrical and may have a square tower. It may have wings, but not typically an exterior arcade. This style is mostly clad in stucco or plaster and infrequently in light colored brick; unglazed wall tiles; low-relief carvings on window and door trim, columns and pilasters; long, covered arcade; low- to moderate-pitched tile roofs; round arches over the most prominent windows; wrought iron or carved wood balconies on windows; heavy wood doors at the main entrance and French doors leading out to patio areas. Other examples of Spanish Colonial Revival style exist in College Hill, but it is not the dominant revival style in the neighborhood.
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
The American Arts and Crafts Movement was heavily influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement led by William Morris (1834-1896) and John Ruskin (1819-1900). Nationwide, this movement lasted from 1900 through 1930. In Wichita, these styles lasted another 10 years.
Craftsman Style
The Arts and Crafts Movement began to influence architecture when Gustav Stickley published The Craftsman (1901-1916), a magazine with construction drawings that made his houses affordable. The Craftsman style, in many sizes and configurations, featured a nonsymmetrical façade and was typically sheathed in stucco, wood clapboards, or wood shingles. Low- to medium-pitch roofs with wide eave overhangs and exposed roof rafters were primary architectural details. Gabled or shed dormers were also common. Because of the proliferation of pattern books, the Craftsman style became the most popular dwelling style in the country at its time. U.G. Charles used the basics of the Craftsman style to design the Roberts House at 235 N. Roosevelt, which is listed in the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
Common alterations are the installation of synthetic siding and the replacement of original windows with metal-clad or vinyl windows that maintain the original opening. Attic windows in gable ends may be changed to louvered vents or glazing replaced by plywood. Rear porches have sometimes been enclosed to adapt for use as a main floor laundry room.
Prairie Style
Developed by a group of Chicago architects, the Prairie style is one of the few indigenous American Architectural styles. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was considered to be the master of what has become known as the Prairie School and to a lesser extent, his teacher and employer, Louis Sullivan (1856-1924). These men had tremendous influence on George W. Maher (1864-1926), Walter B. Griffin (1876-1937), George G. Elmslie (1871-1952), and William G. Purcell (1880-1965), to mention a few. Wichita is home to the Allen House (1917), the last Prairie Style house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed. Lorentz Schmidt, one of Wichita’s premier architects, designed his own home, 255 N. Belmont, in the Prairie Style. Other substantial homes in the College Hill neighborhood are in this style. The Gill House, a Don Schuler design, is also an excellent example of this style.
Popular in the Midwest from 1900 to 1930, Prairie Style is typically a rectangular two-story plan with one-story wings or porches. One of its primary characteristics is that it appears to be organic, low to the ground, and integrated with its natural surroundings. Ribbon windows and low-pitched roofs with broad eaves accentuate the horizontality of the design. A porte cochere is a common feature of the Prairie Style house. Exterior materials are brick and stucco with stone accents.