| 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: |
1918 |
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| Significance |
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This small cottage was erected in 1918 according to the Assessor’s records. The property was probably owned by Kenneth Olson when the house was built (and for several years thereafter); however, a building permit has not yet been located for this structure and, as a result, the names of the original owner, builder and designer are difficult to confirm.
The house is significant as a nearly intact somewhat unique example of a craftsman bungalow styling. It is unusually small for a Wallingford residence built in the second decade of the 20th century. Despite its size, however, the home’s designer has very effectively utilized typical craftsman detailing, massing and roof organization to give the structure a very dramatic and distinctive appearance.
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| Appearance |
| This is a one-story, shingle clad, 700 square foot frame cottage on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The low slope roof, wide bargeboards, triangular wood knee braces and exposed framing at roof overhangs are all typical elements of the craftsman style.
The most distinctive feature of the building is the porch. Although deeply inset at the southwest corner of the house, the porch appears almost separated from the remainder of the structure. Its roof is gabled but the ridge of the porch cover is perpendicular to that of the main roof, and the larger roof is detailed to appear as if cut away to make room for the porch At the porch gable, the bargeboards and roof overhangs are supported by projecting roof purlins, rather than the knee braces that support the overhangs at the main roof.
The porch roof appears to rest on timber cribbing at the top of the three, large, square built-up wood piers located at three of the four corners of the porch (the north and east edges of the porch cover are supported by the walls of the inset, but the character of the design is so strong that it implies the existence of a forth pier at the north east corner). The piers, in turn, are supported by brick walls, the ends of which are characterized by coped convex curves that sweep up dramatically from a few inches above grade to the base of the piers. At the south elevation, these coped curves frame the entry stairs.
When originally installed, the window assembly in the south (front) elevation of the house consisted of three double hung units. The upper sash of the central unit was divided into four tall vertical lights; the lower sash was larger, undivided and nearly square. To each side were narrower double-hung units consisting of an upper sash divided into two tall rectangular lights over a larger, undivided lower sash. It appears the original sash have been removed from this south elevation window assembly and replaced with stopped-in glazing to form three undivided fixed windows.
A window similar in size and proportion to the original middle unit at the south elevation is centered in the wall at the north side of the entry porch (on axis with the entry stairs at the south side of the porch). It is a double-hung window; the upper sash is divided into four tall rectangular lights, the lower sash is larger and undivided. The house is entered through a door in the east wall of the porch.
A three-unit window assembly, similar to that originally found at the front of the house, is situated in the west elevation just north of the entry porch. Toward the north end of the west elevation, two smaller windows are paired to illuminate what is probably the kitchen.
At the back of the house, a partially glazed wall wraps around the northwest corner of the back porch, which projects a few feet to the west of the main structure. A narrow stairway ascends along the west elevation of the building, below the kitchen windows, to enter the open south side of the back porch. A small double-hung window is located more or less in the middle of the north façade and a larger double-hung unit is located near the northeast corner. The upper sash of this latter window is divided into three tall rectangular lights; the larger lower sash is undivided.
On the east side of the house, an identical double-hung unit is located at the north end of the façade and two more are paired and located near the center of the elevation. A small square window appears high in the wall between the larger units; toward the front of the house, two larger square windows are ganged to illuminate the east side of the front room.
Gutters now hide the ends of most of the rafter tails, which were originally left exposed. The enclosure of the back porch at the northwest corner of the house appears to have been modified by the addition of a door at the top of the steps. Although several other minor adjustment are mentioned above, no significant modifications to the building are apparent. |
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