Vernacular Residential
Queen Anne Cottage
1880-1900
The category “Queen Anne cottage” can describe a large number of houses in the district that share a basic design. These cottages are modest in size, usually built at 1.5 stories with an “L” or “T” floor plan and a porch slung to the side. They are workhorses of working class housing and are thus especially common on traditionally blue-collar Fourth Street. However, the design was also popular among wealthier residents, who would spruce up the basic template with patterned shingles or gingerbread woodwork.
Selected Examples:
1031 South Fourth Street, c. 1880
1204 South Fourth Street, c. 1880
1222 South Fifth Street, c. 1890
1306 South Center Street, c. 1880
Shotgun House
1880-1900
Details
The “shotgun” is easily the most basic type of home in Farrington’s Grove. A hallmark of affordable blue-collar housing, the houses are built to a simple rectangular floor plan and lack hallways, with rooms stacked one behind the other from front to back. While generally utilitarian in style, front porches may feature ornamentation such as turned posts and spindle friezes to add a touch of elegance. FGHD’s shotgun homes are generally clustered on Fourth Street, traditionally a working-class region of the neighborhood.
Selected Examples:
931 & 933 South Fourth Street, c. 1890 (photo)
1442 S Fourth Street, c. 1890
American Foursquare
1895-1940
Features
An American Foursquare, as its name suggests, is boxy in appearance. Nearly all include hipped roofs with a central dormer window as well as a wide front porch. The classic middle-class home, Foursquares are simple in design and construction and were often available as catalog houses. Many are clustered on the south side of Farrington’s Grove, because its development occurred at the height of the style’s popularity.
Selected Examples
1537 South Fourth Street, c. 1910
1123 South Center Street, c. 1900
1327 South Center Street, c. 1900
908 South Seventh Street, c. 1900 (photo)
Modern
1945+
Details
The vast majority of structures in Farrington’s Grove were built in the decades prior to WWII, and the historical district’s reputation is largely built upon its collection of 100+ year-old homes. However, FGHD contains a small but significant number of mid-20th-century buildings that add another chapter to the neighborhood’s tale of architectural evolution. From the prefabricated “Lustron house” to the squat ranch, these homes present a stark contrast with 19th-century Victorians.
Selected Examples:
1140 South Sixth Street, ranch, c. 1953
501 College Ave., split level, c. 1957
827 South Center Street, Lustron house, c. 1949
1001 South Seventh Street, ranch, c. 1950 (photo)