Whether you are taking a break from virtual meetings or challenging yourself to walk all 128 of Wyoming’s streets, autumn is the perfect time to walk along the city’s tree-lined streets. To help you appreciate the city’s variety of homes during your outings, What’s Up Wyoming is providing an encore of six posts on the significant architecture styles in Wyoming, from the earliest homes of the 1850s to the midcentury modern ranches of the 1950s. Each new post includes a map and walking directions to see the featured homes. You can also pick up a large color map of Wyoming, produced in 2014, at the City administrative office on Oak Avenue and at the Wyoming Rec Center, or you can download a pdf of a simplified map from the City website by clicking here.
Click here for a map and walking directions to see seven homes on Wentworth Avenue, Wilmuth Avenue, Springfield Pike, and Burns Avenue that represent the architectural variety of the early 20th century, as described in this post.
Something Old: 20th-Century Homes Echo Architecture From the Past
After the exuberant, colorful styles of the Victorian era, architecture of the early 20th century looked to the past for inspiration. The United States celebrated its Centennial in 1876, prompting a nostalgic interest in American Colonial Revival architecture that is still strong today. The homes are simple rectangular forms, with brick, shingle, or clapboard exteriors. Windows are uniform size, with decorative shutters. Colonial Revival architecture includes the Georgian Revival, Dutch Colonial, and Cape Cod styles, and can be found throughout Wyoming.
Architects were also inspired by England’s Tudor architecture, using stone, brick, and half-timbering to be authentic to the romantic medieval style. Tudor Revival homes (1890-1940) have an asymmetric design with dramatically steep roofs and multiple gables, and can be found in the Village and west of Springfield Pike including on Linden Drive, Reily Road, and Oliver Road.
Something New: Authentic American Styles
In the early 1800s, most architects in the United States were trained in Europe and influenced by European design. By the late 1800s, a new wave of American-educated architects sought authentic American styles. The American Foursquare design, with the full-width porch and low-pitched hip roof, was influenced by the horizontal lines of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style. The name comes from the four-room floor plan: a large entry area, a parlor, a dining room, and a kitchen.
Another popular 20th century style was the bungalow, with its simple 1½-story design, wide covered porch, and an open floor plan. The bungalow home was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, promoting a simpler lifestyle with fine craftsmanship. There are over 30 bungalow-style homes in Wyoming’s Historic District, and many more north and west of the district.
You can find additional photographs and more details about the homes listed on the walking tour in the What’s Up Wyoming post “Something Old, Something New: Wyoming’s Architecture in the Early 20th century” here.
Look for future posts with walking tours to see more 20th century homes in Wyoming, including Sears kit homes, the architecture of Walter Cordes, and mid-century modern homes.
