American Foursquare
American Foursquare Soundex Code A562
Wikipedia page on American Foursquare
American Foursquare Architectural Styles
The American Foursquare is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was plain, often incorporating handcrafted "honest" woodwork (unless purchased from a mail-order catalog). This style incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles. It is also sometimes called Transitional Period.
The hallmarks of the style include a basically square, boxy design, two-and-one-half stories high, usually with four large, boxy rooms to a floor, a center dormer, and a large front porch with wide stairs. The boxy shape provides a maximum amount of interior room space, to use a small city lot to best advantage. Other common features included a hipped roof, arched entries between common rooms, built-in cabinetry, and Craftsman-style woodwork.
A typical design would be as follows: first floor, from front to back, on one side, the living room and dining room; while on the other side, the entry room or foyer, stairway and kitchen. Sometimes a bathroom was also included. Second floor, front to back, on one side, bedroom, bathroom and bedroom; while on the other side, bedroom, stairway and bedroom. The bedrooms had a slightly longer dimension along the front and back of the house with side by side closets between the bedrooms. This gave a very efficient layout with a bedroom in each corner and a centralized bathroom and stairway. The top floor was generally just a big open space with one to four dormers. The basement generally contained a large natural convection furnace or boiler.
This post-Victorian style of single-family house, prized for its ease of construction, practicality, and roomy interior, is found throughout Chicago. The largest concentrations are in community areas developed during the style's heyday (1900-1930), such as Beverly, Norwood Park, Rogers Park, and South Shore.
Common characteristics are:
cubic shape
hipped roof, usually with dormers
broad front porch, sometimes enclosed
little use of ornament
built in wide variety of materials, including wood, brick, and stucco
Contents
- 1 The following houses designed in the American Foursquare style are listed in the Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
- 2 Albion Avenue
- 3 Chase Avenue
- 4 Estes Avenue
- 5 Jarvis Avenue
- 6 Newgard Avenue
- 7 North Shore Avenue
- 8 Pratt Boulevard
- 9 Ridge Boulevard
- 10 Sheridan Road
- 11 Sherwin Avenue
- 12 Touhy Avenue
The following houses designed in the American Foursquare style are listed in the Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
Albion Avenue
1000 Block
1100 Block
Chase Avenue
1500 Block
1700 Block
1716 W. Chase Avenue, not listed in Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
Estes Avenue
1400 Block
Jarvis Avenue
1400 Block
1600 Block
1625 W. Jarvis Avenue, not listed in Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
Newgard Avenue
6700 Block
6707 N. Newgard Avenue, not listed in Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
North Shore Avenue
1100 Block
Pratt Boulevard
1500 Block
1540 W. Pratt Boulevard, not listed in Chicago Landmarks Historic Resources Survey
2200 Block'
Ridge Boulevard
6700 Block
Sheridan Road
7400 Block
Sherwin Avenue
1400 Block
1600 Block
Touhy Avenue
1500 Block
1600 Block