I don’t know about you other folks, but I have been living and working in flyover land and small places for quite a while now, and hadn’t had a taste of the city for a while.
DW and I have been out here in Evanston, Illinois for a few days, visiting our daughter and SIL. I’ve been out walking the dogs a lot the last few days, in fabulous weather, and I can’t take my eyes off the houses here.
I have seen a lot of the big stuff down in the northeast, in places like Newport, Westport, CN, Southampton out on L.I., and the country houses in Westchester county, NY, but these Evanston places knock me out!
Newer than the stuff in the NE, it looks to me as if the golden age of building here was from around 1890 into the 1930s. The curved work is wonderful, and the stonework is really special. Each house has special features and surprises, and of course, no two are alike.
Any one of them would have enough special stuff going on in the exterior details to fill the articles of FH for an entire year. I can only imagine what kinds of fabulous stuff is inside.
These weren’t “starter homes” when they were originally built, but neither were they mansions like the estates built up north in Lake Forest. They were the big houses built for solid citizens with big families, guys that were probably professionals or business owners.
Once in a while, walking along the sidewalk, you’ll come across something built recently, maybe 10 years old or newer, on an infill lot. The lack of detail on these new ones, as compared to the old ones, is striking. I am not talking about McMansion cheap, these new ones are quite substantial, but they don’t exhibit the artistry of the old ones.
Replies
I believe I'm familiar with the "type" of houses you are descibing....substantial, yet lacking in detail.....we've got our share of them here in Westchester Cty. as well.
To be honest, I much prefer them to the immitations of the original, highly decorated, of yesteryear. Few folks can afford such detail, and more often than not, in attempts to mimick the orginals, builders fall far short and end up with what looks and feels just like that. An immitation.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements