| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1909 |
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| Significance |
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This craftsman style single-family residence was built for Ella M. Peckham in 1909. The permit indicates that it was designed by Miss Peckham and built by C. W. Downing (although it is hard to be certain about the spelling of the builder’s name).
The terrace garage was erected in 1924 by Ole Aagerd (606-1/2 Pike Street) for W. E. Dever, who owned the property in the 1920s and 1930s. Dever hired another builder, E. H. Babcock, to construct a small, 8 x 13 addition at the west end of the house’s south (rear) elevation in 1927.
The entry stairs have been modified at least once since 1937; however, the house retains its integrity in all other respects. It is significant as an intact example of a relatively large craftsman style house incorporating the roof slope and form of simple late Queen Anne era homes. This discipline apparent in the organization of the windows, siding and trim is a remarkable feature of the design.
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| Appearance |
| This house is a 1-1/2 story wood clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The relatively steep roof and the cross gables formed by the wall dormers in the middle of the east and west elevations of the original house are somewhat evocative of late Queen Anne work. However, the rectangular footprint and simple massing of the structure, the wide bargeboards supported by somewhat elaborate triangular timber knee braces, the unenclosed undersides of the roof overhang and exposed rafter tails, and the built-up, half height wood pier standing on the solid porch rail (supporting the upper floor of the house at the inset porch) are all characteristic elements of the craftsman style.
The main floor windows appear to be “hung” from a horizontal trim band which wraps the house and functions simultaneously as drip mould, window head casing, porch opening trim, and porch soffit trim. The windows at this level appear in two heights. The taller openings consist of single or ganged double-hung units, all with a small undivided upper sash over a much larger undivided lower sash. Most of the double hung units are of about the same width. However, an exception is made at the north (front) elevation, where a wide double-hung unit is flanked by two narrower units. The shorter opening are fenestrated with rectangular windows about the same size as the upper sash on the taller units. Because all of the windows are “hung” from the same horizontal band, the sills of the shorter windows are relatively high in the walls of the interior spaces.
A second horizontal band wraps the house just below the eave line. In contrast to the trim band below, this drip mould becomes part of the sill at each of the upper story windows. The upper story windows also appear in two heights. The double hung windows are very similar in size and organization to the units at the main level; the smaller units, however, are vertical rather than horizontal rectangles, and occur low in the walls because they share a sill line with the taller double-hung units.
The upper trim band separates the shingle siding in the gables and under the eaves from the clapboard siding on the body of the house below.
Just below the level of the main floor and porch deck, a water table wraps the house, separating the closely spaced clapboards above from the wider siding that skirts the building below. The basement windows appear to be “hung” from the water table.
The late 1920s addition at the south (rear) elevation is difficult to see from the street. It appears to be a single story structure with a flat or hipped roof. An attempt has been made to integrate the cornice of the addition with the trim band connecting the heads of the main floor windows; however, the discipline apparent in the design of the facades of the original house is lacking in the addition.
The set of stairs rising from grade to the front porch have been unsympathetically altered. However, no other significant modifications are apparent. |
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