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ARCHITECTURAL STYLES and VERNACULAR BUILDING FORMS The principal intent of the National Register of Historic Places is to assist in the identification, evaluation, and preservation of America's historic and archeological resources by creating a nationwide list of the most significant examples of each type. Because inclusion on the National Register implies that a listed resource meets standards which have been developed to apply to all similar resources in the nation; federal, state, and local governments and private citizens can use this list to make better informed decisions regarding which resources should be preserved and protected by comparing unlisted resources with those already on the list. The process of creating this National Register has been complicated because in a nation the size of America there exist a staggering variety of resources which can legitimately claim a place on this list. As a result, one of the principal tasks of the National Register program has been that of identifying and categorizing these resources and then adopting criteria which make it possible to select the most significant examples within each category. A good example of this larger process of identification and categorization has been the creation of the catalog of architectural styles which is used to describe and identify the nation's buildings. The history of this catalog actually begins with those European architects of the Renaissance and Baroque periods who sought to identify and understand the underlying design principles they believed were present in the Greek and Roman buildings of antiquity. One of the methods they devised to study such buildings consisted of assigning them to different categories (or "styles") based on an analysis of their visual characteristics. This was done by describing and labeling the building's component parts and then analyzing how the various parts were used to make up the whole. When enough buildings having a similar appearance had been analyzed to create a consensus of opinion as to their common characteristics, they were given a descriptive name (such as Greek or Roman) which was then called a "style". When the formal study of architectural history began in the early nineteenth century this method became a standard interpretive tool because categorizing buildings according to style proved to be of great value in giving a sense of coherence to the historic progression of architecture and to the design of the built environment. The subsequent efforts of several generations of architectural historians resulted in the creation of a long list of architectural styles and the process of adding new names to this list and refining the definitions of existing ones continues to this day. The ongoing nature of this process must be emphasized because existing stylistic definitions are sometimes modified and even superseded by newer, more accurate ones when knowledge about historic buildings increases and understanding of common stylistic characteristics becomes more sophisticated. When the National Register program first started, for example, a whole group of late-nineteenth century buildings were lumped together under the general heading of the "picturesque style" for want of a better name. Today this term is no longer in use, having been superseded by several more narrowly defined and accurate ones. Consequently, an updated catalog of architectural styles has been incorporated in each successive version of the National Park Service's (NPS) Guidelines For Completing National Register of Historic Places Forms (now National Register Bulletin No. 16A) and the evaluation of buildings based on their stylistic characteristics has always been an integral part of the process of assessing the potential National Register eligibility of architectural resources. The NPS' justification for evaluating buildings based on their stylistic characteristics was originally stated in the beginning of the architectural classification listings on p. 54 of Bulletin No. 16A: " The following list [of architectural categories] reflects classification by style and stylistic influence, which is currently the most common and organized system of classifying architectural properties." The National Park Service's early acceptance of the concept of architectural styles and its subsequent drafting of an approved list of such styles were events of considerable significance for the current study of America's built environment. Because so much of the effort of state and local preservation organizations today centers around placing buildings on the National Register, the criteria used by the National Register automatically become the standard criteria used by each state. Therefore, the net result of the National Register program has been to codify architectural styles at the national level. It is fortunate, then, that the National Register program was set up to treat the process of defining architectural styles as an ongoing one. Definitions used by the National Register are routinely updated as more and better information becomes available from such important sources as intensive surveys such as the one undertaken in Port Washington. One of the principal tasks of an intensive survey, after all, is to produce quantitative information about the architectural resources within the area being surveyed. When the results of several intensive surveys are compared and synthesized, our understanding of the evolution and distribution of architectural resources is increased accordingly and this is sometimes manifested in revised and expanded stylistic definitions. The importance of the National Register as an influence on other, more specialized studies of the nation's buildings can best be shown by examining its influence on such works as the Comprehensive Resource Management Plan (CRMP) published in 1986 by the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Historic Preservation. This multi-volume work is ultimately intended to provide a thematic overview of all the built resources in the state of Wisconsin and one of the themes covered in the three volumes already published is that of Architectural Styles. The CRMP's definitions of the various architectural styles found in Wisconsin are essentially the same as those used by the National Park Service except that those in the CRMP also include information on the Wisconsin manifestations of these styles gleaned from the many intensive surveys the State of Wisconsin has conducted. Consequently, these have become the standard stylistic definitions used at the state level to describe Wisconsin's architectural resources and they are used in paraphrased form in the following architectural styles portion of this chapter. Each stylistic definition found on the following pages describes in some detail the way that style was used in Port Washington and mentions any manifestations of the style peculiar to Port Washington. The resulting definitions are consistent with those used by the National Park Service and yet still reflect the local usage found by the intensive survey. Port Washington was first settled in 1835, its oldest identified extant building (470 N. Powers St., built in 1847) actually dates back to the last years of the Wisconsin Territory, and it contains buildings that represent most of the most important architectural styles that were found in Wisconsin between 1847 and 1948. The resulting stylistic diversity is part of the special heritage of Port Washington's architecture. What makes Port Washington special today, though, is both the high quality of the buildings it contains and also the fact that much of what was built in the past has survived until the present day. This high survival rate especially characterizes the downtown commercial section of Port Washington. As is true in almost every other community of similar age in Wisconsin, most of the smaller brick and frame buildings that represented the first generation of Port Washington's commercial buildings have been replaced with second (and occasionally even a third) generation of later Late Victorian period and early twentieth century examples. Port Washington is fortunate, however, in that a number of the cream brick commercial buildings that were built in its downtown in the 1850s still survive. Such buildings are now quite rare in Wisconsin and the resulting mixture of styles gives Port Washington's downtown a unique architectural character. Of the five potential historic districts identified by the Port Washington Intensive Survey, three consist of portions of residential areas located to the north and west of the historic downtown commercial core. Many of the houses in these districts were associated with those who owned the buildings in the downtown and who ran the businesses that filled them. These districts contain examples of architectural styles that date from the early days of the city on up to the Period Revival styles of the 1920s and 1930s, and many of these are also the finest Port Washington examples of these styles as well. Besides surveying those buildings which fall within the standard stylistic definitions, the Port Washington Intensive Survey also surveyed many vernacular examples of these styles as well. Vernacular examples are ones that were built during the same time period as their more stylistically sophisticated brethren but which are generally simpler, less complex buildings that use only some of the salient design elements that are characteristic of a style to achieve a similar, but generally more modest appearance. More often than not such buildings represent a builder's interpretations of whatever style was popular at the moment. Thus, for every true Greek Revival building in Port Washington there are usually also several vernacular Greek Revival style buildings that exhibit some of the same characteristics such as cornice returns and a front door which is framed by sidelights and a transom light. The survey also noted some variants of the more common styles which are loosely grouped under the classifications "combined examples" and "transitional examples." Combined examples are created when an addition in a later style is added to a pre-existing building as, for example, when a Modern Movement main facade and bell tower is added to a Gothic Revival church such as the St. John's Lutheran Church at 403 W. Foster St., which was built in the Gothic Revival Style in 1915, and then enlarged and given a Modern Movement facade and additions in 1950. A transitional example occurs when the original design of a building reflects major characteristics of two or more different types as when a late Greek Revival building contains elements of the Italianate style that supplanted it. What follows is a catalog of the styles and vernacular forms identified by the Port Washington Intensive Survey. The style names and the periods of their occurrence are taken directly from the CRMP as are the basic definitions of each style. This is followed by more specific information about the way each style was used in Port Washington and by a list of addresses of both the most important and the most typical intact extant local examples of each style that were identified by the survey. Further information on the styles themselves can be found in the second volume of the CRMP and in its bibliography. The Greek Revival style was the first national style which was popularly used in Wisconsin and in Port Washington. The style characteristics most commonly associated with it include porticos and corner pilasters that use Doric, Ionic or Corinthian Orders; prominent, generally front-facing gables framed with heavy moldings; low-pitched roofs; and classically inspired cornices with returns. The style is generally symmetrical and orderly and features regularly spaced door and window openings, but departures and adaptations from the norm were common depending on the kinds of building materials that were locally available. In addition, there are numerous vernacular structures with limited Greek Revival details such as rectangular massing, regular fenestration patterns, and returned cornices. The style was used for everything from state capitols and churches to stores but was most frequently seen in Wisconsin in residential buildings. While both brick and stone examples exist, the vast majority of such buildings were originally of frame construction and were clad in clapboard siding. Extant Resources Surveyed Early photos show that the preponderance of Port Washington's earliest churches and most of its residential and commercial buildings as well were built in the Greek Revival Style or its vernacular equivalents. This has proven to be true elsewhere in the state as well in communities of the same early vintage as Port Washington and reflects both the eastern heritage of many of the early settlers and builders and the predominance of frame construction in the community's earliest buildings. While Port Washington originally contained a number of Greek Revival style residences, few survive today and even fewer still have their style-defining features intact.(1) Port Washington is fortunate, therefore, to still possess one of its finest historic examples; the so-called "temple front" Louis Teed/John Bohan House. The term "temple front" refers to the fact that the front-facing gabled portions of these designs have full-width, full-height porticos that give them a modest resemblance to classical Greek temples. These are the rarest examples of the Greek Revival style in Wisconsin; indeed, many cities of comparable age and of much greater size never had an example.
In addition, the two oldest identified buildings in Port Washington were also designed in the Greek Revival style as well and one of these, the Edward Dodge house, is an exceptionally fine and very rare example of cobblestone construction that was listed in the NRHP in 1975.
Still another example of the style that has been determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP is the Port Washington Light Station building.
Other good representative examples of the style include:
Footnotes: 1. One of the finest of Port Washington's Greek revival designs was the Barnum Blake House at 511 W. Grand Ave., built in 1845 and clad in clapboard. This house was razed prior to 1965, but before it was lost it was recorded by the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), whose drawings for the house were published in the book Wisconsin Architecture: A Catalog of Buildings Represented in the Library of Congress, With Illustrations From Measured Drawings. Washington D. C.: United States Department of the Interior, 1965, p. 64, with a narrative by Richard Perrin. Federal Style buildings are among the earliest and rarest of all buildings in Wisconsin that can claim kinship to an architectural style. Genuine examples of the style were built in the eastern states up until about 1810, so examples in Wisconsin represent the old-fashioned habits either of the transplanted eastern contractors who built them or their similar clients. Style-defining characteristics include main blocks that are either side or front-gabled, shallow-pitched usually gable roofs with gable end walls that are typically surmounted by parapets and sometimes very characteristic double chimneys. In Wisconsin, surviving buildings related to this style are typically constructed of brick and have windows with simple stone sills and lintels. Most of these buildings are rather small in scale and rather narrow for their height. The only residential example of the Federal Style in Port Washington is a simple one, the house at 232 E. Pier St., built of brick prior to 1883 and having a shallow-pitched gable roof and the stone sills and lintels that are typical of the style.(1) Of even greater importance is the small collection of Federal Style cream brick commercial buildings located in the downtown. These buildings are excellent and very rare representative examples of this style that were all constructed in the 1850s. They are all now included in the proposed Port Washington Downtown Historic District and include what was originally the triple store Theodore Victor Building at 319-327 N. Franklin St. (327 has now been modernized and given a twentieth century facade) and the still largely intact three-story Theodore Nosen Building at 329-333 N. Franklin St. Extant Resources Surveyed
Footnotes: 1. The 1883 Birdseye View of Port Washington by J. J. Stoner shows that this house still had its style-defining stepped parapets at that time, which have subsequently been cut down to a more typical design. The same view also shows that the original buildings on the sites of the present Wilson Hotel (200-202 N. Franklin St.) and the Ed Lutzen Hotel and Saloon (201 W. Grand Ave.) were also examples of the Federal Style, and an early photo of Franklin St. reproduced in St. Mary's Church, Port Washington, Wis.: 1853-1978, shows the facade of the original building at 200-202 N. Franklin. 2. An early historic photo of this building reproduced in Port Washington: 1835-1985, p. 4, shows that this building originally had a stepped front-facing parapet that was later modernized and given the curved shape it has today, and that the curved parapets above the side elevation's third story windows are also not original to the building. Another photo shows that the side elevation's third story windows and their curved parapets were added after the main facade was altered. The Gothic Revival style had its origins in the renewed interest in spirituality and religion that occurred in late eighteenth century England and France as a partial reaction to that period of intensely intellectual activity known as the Enlightenment. This reaction also extended to architecture as well and a period of disenchantment with the orderliness of the classical period of design set in. As a result, some architects turned to the Gothic period as a source of both spiritual and architectural inspiration and the results became known as the Gothic Revival style. The most common design element of the Gothic Revival style is the pointed arch. Other Gothic Revival features include steeply pitched roofs, pinnacles, exaggerated hood molds over windows and doors and the use of "Gothic" style curvilinear ornament on and about the bargeboards under the eaves. The style proved especially popular for religious buildings, which were often built of stone but occasionally also of wood, which examples were often called "Carpenters' Gothic." Religious buildings in the Gothic Revival style generally used a basilican plan with a steeple at the entrance; but numerous cruciform plan churches with a centrally-placed steeple were also constructed. Residential examples of the style almost always include such features as steeply-pitched gables, decorative bargeboards, a verandah or porch, and on larger examples sometimes a tower or turret. A variety of building materials were used, but the general appearance was monochromatic. It is not known whether Port Washington ever had any residential examples of this style, but none were found by the survey. All of the Gothic Revival Style buildings in Port Washington are later examples and are either churches or cemetery structures. Of these, the finest of them and also the earliest is the limestone-clad St. Mary’s R.C. Church, the work of Milwaukee architect Henry Messmer, built in 1884. This church is one of Port Washington's most prominent landmarks and it was listed in the NRHP in 1977. Another fine but smaller example of the style is the German Evangelical Lutheran Friedens Church, built in 1889 to a design by an unknown architect and added to in 1973 and again in 1990. Another, still later example is the St. John's Lutheran Church, built in 1915 in the Gothic Revival Style and expanded and modernized in 1950. The most unusual examples of the style in Port Washington are also the smallest. These buildings are both highly intact structures located in the original St. Mary's Cemetery, one being the Cemetery's cream brick Chapel and the other the limestone-clad Thill Family Mausoleum. Extant Resources Surveyed
The typical hallmarks of the many high-style Italianate residences in Wisconsin are wide eaves with brackets, low-pitched hipped or gabled roofs, and often a polygonal or square cupola placed on the roof. These buildings are typically either "T," "L," cruciform, or square in plan, they frequently have smaller ells attached to the rear of the main block, and they tend to have boxy proportions. Other common characteristics include verandahs or loggias, bay windows, balustraded balconies, and tall windows with hood molds or pediments, Italianate Style residences are typically two stories in height and they usually have clapboard, ashlar, or brick walls, or, less frequently, ones clad in stone. For reasons that are still unclear, Port Washington has very few examples of this common style. It is possible that the style was simply not very popular here but it is more likely that the appearance of the style corresponded to an economically stagnant period when not much residential housing was being built in the city. Extant Resources Surveyed Just a single residential example of the Italianate Style was surveyed in Port Washington. This was the cruciform plan Ubbink House, whose walls were originally clad in clapboard but have now been resided in vinyl or aluminum.
Surviving Italianate style commercial buildings are also common in Wisconsin. These buildings are usually two-to-three stories tall and typically have bracketed cornices, flat or shallow-pitched shed roofs, and tall, often segmental or semi-circular-arched windows that are decorated with hood molds or pediments. Stone examples and wood frame examples exist but the vast majority of such buildings have main facades faced in brick and many have their other walls made out of brick as well. The downtown area of Port Washington contains some fine, though atypical examples of Italianate style commercial buildings, all of which are now included in the proposed Port Washington Downtown Historic District. Extant Resources Surveyed
Of these five buildings, only the Blake Building and the Wisconsin House are typical examples of the style. The other four all share distinctive triangular or curved parapets that are as much or more characteristic of the Romanesque Revival Style and its German offshoot, the "Rundbogenstil" or round-arched style. The Rundbogenstil is a particularly elaborate form of the Romanesque Revival that was popularized in Germany in the 1840s and 1850s and which a number of German architects who emigrated to America brought with them. Not surprisingly, these designs found special favor with German-American businessmen in Milwaukee and, given the German origins of several of the original owners of these three Port Washington buildings, it is not impossible that they may have also been influenced by this trend. Stick style buildings resulted from a short-lived interest in Swiss Chalet style residential buildings and the term is most properly applied to buildings which reproduce some aspects of the roof-heavy proportions of such buildings. Most commonly, however, the Stick Style was used as a system of wooden ornamentation which was applied to buildings which more truly belong to other styles such as the Queen Anne style. The name Stick Style derives from the straightforward but ornamental use of stick-like framing boards to delineate different exterior surface areas. Buildings designed in this style all have this visible decorative stick work which can be used horizontally, vertically, diagonally or in combinations of these. Such buildings are generally tall and have complex and irregular forms and are covered with steeply-pitched multi-gable roofs with wide, overhanging bracketed eaves. Most surviving Stick Style buildings are of frame construction and are residential buildings. True examples of the style are very rare in Wisconsin and only one was found in Port Washington, the house at 219 W. Jackson St., which was built prior to 1892. This house is a typical example of the style and virtually every style-defining feature described above is present and still intact. Extant Resources Surveyed
Most American examples of the Queen Anne style are residential buildings and because the period of this style's greatest popularity coincided with a period of enormous suburban growth in America, extant examples are numerous and now virtually define the Victorian period house in the popular imagination. Queen Anne style houses can be identified by their apparently irregular plans, complex use of often classically inspired ornamentation, and asymmetrical massing. The designs of these buildings often include cutaway bay windows, round or polygonal turrets, wrap-around verandahs, and steeply-pitched multi-gable or combination gable and hip roofs which usually have a dominate front-facing gable. Use of a variety of surface materials, roof shapes, and wall projections are all typical in Queen Anne designs and are represented in a seemingly endless number of different combinations. Shingle or clapboard siding is common, and they are often combined in the same building, sometimes above a brick first story. Queen Anne style houses are the most frequently encountered examples of nineteenth century high style architecture in Port Washington. The Port Washington Intensive Survey identified 49 surviving examples of the Queen Anne style, slightly more than 10% of all the buildings surveyed, and these include some of the city's best residential buildings. The great majority of Port Washingtons' Queen Anne style houses lack the wealth of detailing that is usually associated with the highest examples of this style. This is also true in most other cities in Wisconsin, however, and is indicative of the expense involved in creating really elaborate designs. Most home builders of the period were content to use just the more basic design elements associated with the style such as combining two or three different patterns of wood shingles to side the upper floors, and making use of several dormers of different sizes and sizable porches decorated with varying degrees of trim. The use of variegated surface materials, multiple dormers, bay and oriel windows, and towers and turrets tends to obscure the fact that the vast majority of these houses are of just two types: either cruciform plan houses, usually topped with multi-gable or gable and hip roofs; or they are essentially rectilinear plan houses usually topped with gable roofs. Extant Resources Surveyed The best of the intact Port Washington examples of the cruciform plan type include:
The best intact Port Washington examples of the rectilinear plan type include:
The Queen Anne style was also used for commercial buildings and their designs were much more likely to approximate the appearance of contemporary English models than was the case with residential designs. Wisconsin examples of Queen Anne style commercial buildings are generally from one to three stories tall, have exterior walls which are usually constructed of brick, have either brick or stone trim, feature period revival style ornamentation that is sometimes of English origin, and have exterior elevations that feature bay windows or oriel windows placed above the first floor and corner towers that are either full height or treated as oriel bays. Two fine examples are: the commercial building located at 540 W. Grand Ave.(OZ 59/11.), built between 1904 and 1913, and the commercial building located at 137-139 W. Grand Ave. (OZ 55/18) built between 1898 and 1904. The proposed Port Washington Downtown Historic District also contains several examples including: the Michael Weyker Building (314 N. Franklin St., OZ 54/06), built in 1894. Another variation of Queen Anne Style design as applied to commercial buildings features a corner tower and the proposed Port Washington Downtown Historic District contains several examples of these as well, including: the Wilson Hotel Building (200 N. Franklin St., OZ 54/16), built in 1891; and the Michael Bink Building (231 N. Franklin St., OZ 68/12-13), built in 1891. Other typical examples of this variant outside the District include: the commercial building located at 484 W. Grand Ave. (OZ59/16), built between 1892 and 1904; the Ed. Lutzen Hotel and Saloon Building (201 N. Grand Ave., OZ 55/16), built in 1899; and the Hoffman House Hotel Building (200 W. Grand Ave., OZ 55/17), built in 1895 and listed in the NRHP in 1984. An especially unusual Queen Anne Style commercial building is the Hertziger Meat Market Building located at 531 W. Grand Ave. (OZ 65/25-26), built between 1900 and 1908 and which combines a meat market and residence within a clapboard-clad cruciform plan house design. Richardsonian Romanesque Revival (1880-1900) Named after its principal exponent, Henry Hobson Richardson, this style is characterized by solidity and strength. Developed from the Romanesque style and retaining the use of round arches over windows and doors, Richardsonian Romanesque Revival walls are generally constructed of masonry and are often rough-faced when built of stone. The visual impression these buildings convey is one of massive strength and this is heightened by using robust detailing to emphasize the size and physical strength of the various design elements. Many public buildings executed in this style also feature towers, which are often shorter and more substantial in appearance than those used in other styles. Port Washington once possessed several fine public buildings designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style and a few of these still survive. Gone now, though, is the old Port Washington High School (315 N. Wisconsin St.), a vernacular example of the style that was built of brick in 1892 and destroyed in 1982. Gone too is the old Hill School (762 W. Grand Ave.), which was also built of brick in 1893, expanded in 1896 and again in 1904, and destroyed in a fire 1972, the latter being an even more vernacular expression of the style. Still another fine vernacular example was the Port Washington State Bank Building at 206 N. Franklin St., built in 1899 and now demolished.(1) Fortunately, several of the finest of Port Washington's Richardsonian Romanesque examples still survive. Unquestionably the finest is the superb limestone-clad Ozaukee County Courthouse (109-121 W. Main St.), built in 1902 to a design by Milwaukee architect Fred Graf and listed in the NRHP in 1976. Also still extant are two commercial buildings that were influenced by this style. These are the M. Zimmerman Building (114 N. Franklin St.) and the Henry & Hill Building next door (118 N. Franklin St.), both built out of concrete block in 1907 and originally mirror images of each other until 122 was refaced in ceramic tiles later in the century.(2) Footnotes: 1. For excellent early photos, see: Port Washington; The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, pp. 25 (courthouse), 29 (Port Washington State Bank), 55 (Hill School and High School). See also; Ozaukee Press, September 5, 1985 (Sesquicentennial Issue), Part 5, p. 19 (courthouse); Part 7, p. 1 (Hill School and old High School). 2. For an excellent early photo, see: Port Washington; The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, p. 27. American Craftsman (1900-1920) Like the Arts and Crafts style, the American Craftsman style had its origins in the work of English architects and designers who sought a new approach to house design by using simplified elements of traditional vernacular houses to produce a comprehensive design in which exterior and interior elements worked together to produce a unified whole. Unlike Arts and Crafts designs, however, the American Craftsman style did not choose to imitate its English heritage. Instead, by applying the basic principles of Arts and Crafts design to American needs and building materials, designers such as Wisconsin native Gustave Stickley were able to fashion buildings having a specifically American appearance. The American Craftsman style is characterized by quality construction and simple, well-crafted exterior and interior details. Natural materials are used both inside and out in a manner appropriate to each and wood is by far the most common material used both inside and out with brick, stucco, and wood shingles also being typical exterior building materials. Frequently the exteriors of American Craftsman style houses use broad bands of contrasting materials (such as wood shingles above stucco) to delineate different stories. American Craftsman style homes usually have broad gable or hipped main roofs with one or two large front dormers and widely overhanging eaves, exposed brackets or rafters, and prominent chimneys. Most designs also feature multi-light windows having simplified Queen Anne style sash patterns. Open front porches whose roofs are supported by heavy piers are a hallmark of the style, and glazed sunporches and open roofed wooden pergola-like porches are also common. Extant Resources Surveyed The most impressive Craftsman style buildings in Port Washington are the ones that use the largest number of the stylistic elements listed above. Some of the best examples include:
Craftsman style elements and design principles were also applied to buildings that were designed in other styles and vernacular forms as well, most notably to examples of the Bungalow style. Three fine examples of this are:
In addition to the residences mentioned above, Port Washington also has a fine, though somewhat idiosyncratic Craftsman style-influenced school building, St. Mary's R. C. School, built in and expanded in 1952.
American Foursquare (1900-1930) A residential style popularized by builders across the country, the American Foursquare is easily identified by its box-like form and broad proportions. As the name implies, examples of this style are often square in plan although examples having a slightly rectilinear plan are also very common. Examples are almost always two or two-and-a-half stories in height and usually have a shallow-pitched hip roof, widely overhanging eaves, and centrally placed dormers which are occasionally placed on each of the four slopes of the more elaborate hip roofed examples. Entrance doors were originally almost always sheltered by porches and most examples of the style feature a one-story, full-width front porch which is often supported by Tuscan columns. Exterior materials include brick, stucco, concrete block, clapboard or wood shingles, or combinations of these materials. American Craftsman style-influenced designs often alternate exterior finishes by floor, creating a banded appearance. Decoration is minimal, though some of the better examples are embellished with period details or American Craftsman style details such as porch piers decorated with trellis-like abstract designs which, in the finest examples, strongly suggest membership in another stylistic category such as the Colonial Revival or Prairie School styles. Never-the-less, the overall proportions of even the most elaborate of these buildings always give them away and reveals their American Foursquare style roots. Extant Resources Surveyed Although American Foursquare style houses are one of the more common early twentieth century styles found in most Wisconsin cities, Port Washington has relatively few and intact examples are even scarcer, only four examples having been surveyed. Clapboard-sided examples are the most common and the most intact examples include:
Examples of the American Foursquare style built of brick are even less common in Port Washington, only one having been surveyed.
Footnotes: 1. For an excellent early photo of the Blessing house as it was originally before being resided, see: Port Washington; The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, p. 43. The term Bungalow has the unusual distinction of being both the name of a style and the generic name for a particular type of small residential building. Consequently, it is quite usual to speak of Colonial Revival style Bungalows when describing some houses of small size having pronounced Colonial Revival style design elements even as it is usual to speak of other houses as being in the Bungalow style. Bungalow style houses themselves are generally small-sized, have either square or rectilinear floor plans, and are usually one-story-tall. When a second story is needed, it is placed under the slope of the main roof in order to maintain the single story appearance and dormers are typically used to admit light. Bungalow designs typically have a horizontal emphasis and are covered with wide, projecting gable or hip roofs which often have protruding rafter ends or brackets supporting the eaves. On almost every example of the style the front door is sheltered by a porch and full-width front porches are commonplace. The roofs of these porches are often supported by piers having a battered shape although many other shapes can be found depending on the amount of influence other styles had in the overall design. Horizontal clapboard siding is the usual exterior surface material for these buildings although stucco, concrete block, brick veneer, wood shingle and even log examples are also found. Detailing is usually structural rather than ornamental and features plain, well-executed woodwork. Occasionally, Bungalows feature design elements borrowed from other styles such as the Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Prairie School styles and sometimes these other styles are so dominant that they take precedent over the Bungalow style. In general, though, Bungalows can be divided into three principal types: side-gabled; front-gabled; and hip-roofed. Each type can have either square or rectilinear plans and can be either one or one-and-a-half stories tall and their exteriors can be surfaced in any of the materials listed above. The Bungalow style was one of the most common building styles built between 1910 and 1940 nationally, and this is true in Port Washington as well, 35 examples having been surveyed. The following are some of the best and most representative local examples of each type of Bungalow and they are grouped here regardless of other stylistic influences. Among the finer Port Washington examples of side-gabled Bungalows are:
The best of the front-gable Bungalows are:
The best of the hip-roofed Bungalows in Port Washington are the brick-clad W. B. Krause House at 304 W. Jackson St., whose unusually large size and high quality design place it at the upper end of local examples of the style, and the house at 118 Moore St., a brick-clad example having the distinctive rolled edge roof usually associated with the English Cottage Revival style.
Other examples include:
PERIOD REVIVAL STYLES(1900-1940) The phrase "period revival" is a generic term used to describe the many different historic styles and design elements that architects revived and reinterpreted for modern use in the first decades of the twentieth century. These "period" designs were the products of the scholarly study of architectural history and they began to exert more and more influence on architectural design as the nineteenth century matured. By the turn-of-the- century, the study of architectural precedent had become a basic part of architectural training and resulted in buildings which were increasingly careful copies of historic styles. The most accurate copies were usually produced for houses and churches; two building types for which historic models actually existed. More often, though, architects were confronted with the challenge of producing designs for building types for which there were no historic precedents such as high-rise office buildings and gas filling stations. What follows are lists of the most common period revival styles found by the Port Washington Intensive Survey. Interest in America's historic Colonial Period architecture increased at the end of the nineteenth century at a time when a reaction to the stylistic excesses of the Queen Anne style was beginning to set in. The greater simplicity of Colonial examples gave new houses designed in this manner a fresh, modern appeal. The Colonial Revival style is simple and regular in design and typically features symmetrically placed windows and central doors. Usually, these buildings are two stories in height, they have exteriors sided in either clapboards or wood shingles, although brick and even stone examples are also found. Many Colonial Revival houses have an L shaped plan but most examples have rectilinear plans and post World War I examples often have an attached garage. Symmetrical designs are typical but not invariable. Borrowing architectural detailing from Georgian, Federal, and Dutch Colonial examples, typical elements found in Colonial Revival buildings although such details are usually not elaborate. These features include classically derived main entrances and front (and side) porches supported by simple one-story-tall classical order columns and topped by pediments Other popular features include corner pilasters, denticulated cornices, and shutters. The great majority of Colonial Revival designs have simple gable roof designs although hip roof examples are also found, and dormers are also popular features. The Colonial Revival style is primarily a residential one and although buildings designed in the style were occasionally quite grand, most were medium size houses and these were built in vast numbers all across America. Indeed, so enduring has the popularity of this style been that many modern homes in Wisconsin and elsewhere still imitate it. Not surprisingly, these houses come in many shapes and forms. Many are highly symmetrical in design but others are quite informal and rambling, it all depended on the particular historic precedent each was trying to emulate. Wall cladding also varies considerably. Houses clad entirely in stucco, brick, stone, wooden clapboards, or steel that imitates wooden clapboards are plentiful but so also are examples that mix these various materials, although few if any mix more than two kinds at once. Despite this variety of designs and materials, however, the use of some elements such as double hung multi-light windows, main roofs that have very shallow boxed eaves, and main entrance doors that typically have some classical allusions, is relatively consistent. One of the things that the intensive survey discovered is that houses designed in the Colonial Revival style did not begin to appear in Port Washington until after World War I. From 1920 to World War II, however, Colonial Revival style houses become more numerous, 40 residential buildings and one commercial building being surveyed. The best of Port Washington's Colonial Revival houses that follow a symmetrical design precedent are listed below:
The best of Port Washington's Colonial Revival houses that follow an asymmetrical design precedent are listed below:
In addition to these houses there is another at 1306 W. Grand Ave. that appears to be an older Queen Anne Style house that may have been given a newer Colonial Revival style facelift in 1927. OZ 64/07-08 1306 W. Grand Ave. House ?/1927 There is also an entire post-World War II subdivision, Schanen Acres, whose houses are all designed in the Colonial Revival Style as well. These houses were all designed by the Harnischfeger Co. to be pre-fabricated in their Port Washington plant and they were constructed between 1948 and 1950. Because these buildings were pre-fabricated and because this was a city-sponsored development with preference given to returning World War II veterans, it is believed that the original portion of this subdivision is eligible for listing in the NRHP as the Schanen Acres Historic District. These houses include: 1119, 1125, 1131, 1137, 1201, 1207, 1213 and 1219 W. Grand Ave.; 113, 118, 119, 124, 125, 130, 131, 136, 137, and 143 Summit Dr.; and 112, 118, 119, 124, 125, 130, 131, 136, 137, 142, 143, and 148 Tower Rd. A popular early twentieth century building style, the Dutch Colonial Revival style was almost always used solely for residential buildings. Like the Colonial Revival style, this is a less formal derivation of the Georgian Revival style and examples can be readily identified by the hallmark gambrel shape roof. In general, Dutch Colonial Revival style residences can be divided into two types: those whose gambrel ends face to the front and those that face to the sides. Front-facing gambrel ends are more often found on earlier examples and on vernacular examples of the style while side-facing gambrel ends were favored for both larger and later examples. These buildings are generally symmetrical in appearance but side-gambreled examples often have a small sun porch wing at one end. Exterior walls are typically clad in either clapboards, wood shingles, brick, or stone and contrasting materials (such as clapboard above brick or stone) are also frequently used to delineate different floors and help to produce a more informal appearance. Most examples of the style are one-and-a-half stories tall and the use of large dormers to admit light to the second floor rooms is common, especially on later, side-gambreled examples. Examples of the Dutch Colonial Revival are much more uncommon in Port Washington than their Colonial Revival counterparts and in general are somewhat larger in size. These examples are:
Footnotes: 1. It is interesting to compare these two variants with the others. 222 E. Jackson and 739 W. Larabee St. are both older and more square in plan and both have concrete block first stories. This style borrows from both the Georgian and Federal styles and uses such characteristic design elements as symmetrical facades, rectangular plans, hipped roofs, and accurate classical details to produce designs having a sense of formality about them which is not typical of examples of the related Colonial Revival style. Popular exterior design elements include corners sporting quoins, denticulated cornices, Palladian-style three-unit windows, and symmetrically disposed double hung windows having 6, 8, or 12 lights placed in the top sash (and sometimes in the lower sash as well). A favorite spot for elaborate ornamentation is the centrally-placed entrance door and typical features are broken pediments, classical order columns, semi-elliptical fanlights or transom lights, sidelights, and paneled entrance doors. Brick and stone are popular exterior materials and trim is often of wood although stone is also found on larger examples. Not surprisingly, then, the Georgian Revival style is most frequently found on residential buildings in more prestigious neighborhoods. Extant Resources Surveyed Several examples of this style were found by the Port Washington Intensive Survey. The grandest of these is the brick-clad home of W. J. Niederkorn (409 W. Grand Ave.), built in 1928. Other good representative brick or stone-clad examples of the style include:
House House House The most unusual examples of the style surveyed were the Lake Park Bandshell and the Lake Park Bathhouse, both designed by the Milwaukee landscape architecture firm of Boerner & Boerner and built in the Georgian Revival Style in 1934.
Inspired by 16th century and 19th century English models, the Tudor Revival style has been used for nearly every type of building but most frequently for single family residences. The most characteristic feature of this style is the ornamental use of half-timber work filled in with stucco or brick applied over a conventional balloon frame. Residential examples in particular tend to be irregular in plan and often have massive and sometimes elaborately decorated brick or stone chimneys, multi-gabled steeply-pitched roof lines, and large multi-paned window expanses which are almost always made up of grouped casement windows on the finer examples. Although examples occasionally have elements sided in either clapboard or wood shingles, most examples are usually partially or completely sided in brick, stone, or stucco. The Port Washington Intensive Survey identified 41 residential buildings designed in the Tudor Revival style. The most impressive of these is the Delos Smith House at 204 S. Webster St., a one-and-one-half story brick and stone building built in 1928 that should more accurately be called a Tudor Revival Style-influenced Bungalow. Another fine example is the house at 555 N. Harrison St., built between 1922 and 1938, and yet another is the two-story house at 633 N. Wisconsin St., built between 1922 and 1938. The majority, though, are what might more accurately be called "builders examples" of Tudor Revival design since they utilize Tudor motifs in a general rather than a scholarly way. Almost without exception, these houses are of medium size and are clad in brick with either brick or stone trim, but they typically feature only a few of the style-defining characteristics mentioned above. The best of these houses are listed below. Extant Resources Surveyed
An atypical clapboard-clad example is:
Another atypical example, this one clad in wood shingle style is:
In addition to the residences noted above, Port Washington also contains several public buildings designed in this style. The largest of them is the brick-clad Port Washington High School Building located at 427 W. Jackson St., whose original portion was designed by the Green Bay architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, and Berners in 1930-1931, a building that was not surveyed because of the extensive additions that have been added to it since it was first built and the alterations that have occurred since. A second and far more intact school building designed in this style is the Port Washington Elementary School located at ca.419 Holden St., built in 1951 and also designed by Foeller, Schober & Berners. The finest non-residential Tudor Revival Style building in Port Washington, however, is the W. D. Poole Funeral Home at 203 n. Wisconsin St., built in 1941 to a design by Milwaukee architect Roy O. Papenthein. This outstanding building is clad in limestone, has a flat tile roof, and is by far the best example of the style in Port Washington. Extant Resources Surveyed
French Normandy style was a period revival style derived from the rural medieval farm houses in the Normandy region of France and it too was applied most often to residential buildings. The best examples of the style have a rambling plan and asymmetrical main facades, unlike the more formal French Provincial style, but share elements such as wall dormers, French windows, and steeply pitched often slate-covered hip roofs. The most distinctive feature of the style is the use of a round usually two-story tower that is typically set in the angle formed by the juncture of two wings or else on a corner of a building. These towers are usually capped with a conical roof and often contain the main entrance in the first story or the main staircase. Masonry is the typical cladding for these buildings and usually consists of stone or stucco, sometimes mixed with brick for a time-worn effect. Like the Tudor Revival style, which is a similar medieval-derived style based on English precedents, the French Normandy style has many features in common such as grouped casement windows which often exhibit leaded glass sash, one or more massive exterior masonry chimney stacks, half-timber work, and stone decorative elements. Port Washington has only two examples of this style. The finest is the William F. Schanen house at 746 W. Grand Ave., which was built in 1928, possibly to a design by the Green Bay architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, and Berners. Here can be seen the best and most typical features of the style; the asymmetrical main facade, the round, conical roofed tower, the massive chimney stack, and the knowing use of a variety of masonry construction. In addition, there is also a fine separate garage building that was designed in the same style as the house and which uses the same materials. The other example is also a fine example, although it lacks the characteristic corner tower. This is the house at 840 W. Larabee St., which was built between 1914 and 1938 to the design of an as yet unknown architect. Here also the designer used both brick and stucco on the exterior, although in this case a substantial amount of half-timber work was used as well. Another notable feature of this house is the way in which the slope of the site was used to facilitate the positioning of an automobile garage in the rear of the basement story of the house. Extant Resources Surveyed:
Neoclassical Revival (1895-1935) A style which became especially popular for public, institutional, and commercial buildings after the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Neoclassical Revival style was classical in inspiration and planning and stressed symmetry and the use of classical detailing. This detailing typically includes such characteristic elements as porticos whose roofs are supported by classical order columns, and symmetrically balanced windows and doors. The use of columns is all but ubiquitous in Neoclassical design and they may be used either as freestanding or as engaged design elements such as pilasters and pilaster strips. Public examples of the style were usually executed in stone or brick wall cladding and feature materials designed to express a feeling of monumentality and permanence. Port Washington has two notable non-residential buildings that utilize fully modeled columns in their design. The finest example is the Masonic Temple Building (504 W. Grand Ave.), built between 1923 and 1924 to a design furnished by Milwaukee architect John Topzant.(1) Another excellent commercial example is the First National Bank of Port Washington Building (122 N. Franklin St.), built in 1910 to a design by Cedarburg architect William F. Hilgen.(2) There are also several impressive buildings in Port Washington designed in the Neoclassical idiom and whose use of columns is confined to pilaster strips on the main facade. The earliest of these is the Thill Hotel Building (101 E. Main St.), built in 1902. Two others are both fine examples of the late phase of the style known as "stripped classicism." because buildings that display it are generally symmetrical in design and essentially classical in their inspiration, but have been stripped of all but the most elemental aspects of classical architecture. They also typically make use of traditional materials such as brick, stone, and ornamental metal work, all of which are present in the fine, highly intact U. S. Post Office Building (104 E. Main St.), built between 1937 and 1938 to a design by architects employed in the U. S. Treasury Department. Another much larger example of the style is the Port Washington Power Plant Building (ca.146-150 S. Wisconsin St.), the first portion of which was completed in 1935. The Neoclassical Revival style was also used for residences as well and the use of the classical portico is the most characteristic feature of such buildings. This style was never a particular favorite in Port Washington, however, and the Survey found only a single example. This is the now resided Herbert Labahn House (801 N. Wisconsin St.), built between 1920 and 1921and one of the city's grandest houses. Extant Resources Surveyed:
Footnotes: 1. Port Washington Herald: June 20, 1923, p. 1. 2. Ozaukee Press. September 5, 1985, Part 6, p. 24 (photo). Sesquicentennial Issue. Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean Revival These styles share a common heritage in the architecture of southern Europe and take as their inspiration the vernacular architecture of this region as modified by successive periods of high style designs. This mixture resulted in an architecture which clearly expresses volume by the use of flat surfaces that are relieved by the use of arcaded design elements such as doors, windows, and repeated decorative motifs, and by using terra cotta, plaster, and tile ornamentation. Both styles can be identified by these and other frequently shared elements such as tile-covered hipped roofs, which are often supported by heavy brackets under the eaves, and round-arched elements such as door and window openings. Both styles also invariably utilize some type of masonry material for exterior walls. Mediterranean Revival style structures are generally more formal in plan and appearance than are Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings. The best examples of the Mediterranean Revival style have a pronounced classical feeling and typically utilize symmetrical elevations and plans, brick and/or stone wall cladding, and wrought iron elements such as balconets and window grills. Spanish Colonial Revival buildings are typically more informal in plan, they are much more likely to have plastered or stuccoed walls (although partially exposed brick walls are also sometimes used), and they make much more frequent use of wooden decorative elements. As a result, Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings typically have a more informal appearance than Mediterranean Revival style examples. Of the two styles, the Mediterranean Revival style is the only one found in Port Washington. Most of the examples are single family residences, but at least two were non-residential buildings. The best of these is the fine Port Washington Fire House (102 E. Pier St.), built in 1929 to a design by Milwaukee architect John Topzant.(1) Extant Resource Surveyed:
Although the Mediterranean Revival style was not a favorite choice for Madison home owners there are a few fine probably architect-designed houses in the style that are characterized by their generally symmetrical facades, broad hipped roofs, and brick or limestone-clad walls. The finest of these is the brick-clad J. E. Gilson House (822 W. Grand Ave.), built in 1928 and the grandest house built in Port Washington prior to World War II. Other fine, more representative examples of the style are listed below. Extant Resources Surveyed:
Footnote: 1. Port Washington Herald, October 3, 1928, p. 1; October 10, 1928, p. 3. Twentieth Century Commercial Style (1910-1935) The Twentieth Century Commercial Style is the most frequently observed of all styles applied to commercial buildings built in the early part of this century. Unlike other styles that were applied to the smaller commercial buildings of the period, this one was generally utilitarian in design and it is found in both small and large cities throughout the state. Examples range from small one-story single storefront buildings to large two and three story, multi-unit commercial blocks. Unlike the Commercial Vernacular form buildings (which see) that were built to house similar commercial enterprises in the nineteenth century, the twentieth century equivalent is broader and has less vertical emphasis. The style is characterized by a relatively unornamented, two-dimensional facade and a broad rectangular massing. Buildings are generally executed in brick, but other masonry and tile cladding is also found. A stepped or shaped parapet, often topped with a stone or concrete coping, is a common feature. Ornamentation is generally limited to the use of contrasting materials or to simple geometric patterns made of brick in the cornice and simply ornamented storefronts, occasionally topped with a prism glass transom, are the rule. Typical examples will have rectangular panels in the cornice outlined by soldier or header brick courses, the insets of which are sometimes detailed with decorative brickwork in herringbone or basket weave patterns. Small insets of tile, stone, or concrete in diamond, square, or other simple shapes often form secondary accents. The popularity of the Twentieth Century Commercial Style may be due to the simplicity of its design and ease of construction. A secondary factor was its versatility in adapting to the new types and needs of commercial enterprises emerging in the early years of the century such as automobile showrooms and department stores. As the century progressed, examples become plainer in design, perhaps reflecting other modernistic architectural influences. The simplicity of the style's overall concept made it a favorite of builders and the Intensive Survey found examples designed and constructed by these often anonymous craftsman in every part of the city. Never-the-less, architect designed examples are also plentiful as well. The best or most representative of the eight examples of this Style that were surveyed are listed below. Extant Resources Surveyed:
The term "Art Deco" is the popular name for the style featured at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs held in Paris in 1925. At this Exposition, various trends which had been emerging in both European and American design were blended into a style which served as a bridge between the styles of the past and the truly modern styles of the future. The Art Deco style frankly delights in modernity and has a fascination with the machine and with industry. This is expressed in the hard-edged, angular, machine-like quality typical of many of the stylistic motifs adopted by designers who worked in this style and is also evident in the vertical emphasis common to much of the architecture designed in this style. At the same time, the decorative nature of Art Deco, its emphasis on ornamentation, and the enormous amount of hand work which went into both exterior and interior details in the best examples all mark this as the last of the pre-modern styles. Art Deco designs often utilize highly stylized historical or natural ornamental details but the most frequently observed stylistic motifs have an abstract, angular, geometric quality that symbolizes technology and industrialization. Typical of the style is the use of low-relief geometric ornamentation featuring designs such as chevrons and stylized sunbursts. Such designs were often incised into granite or molded into terra cotta, two materials which were popular for the exteriors of buildings designed in this style. The same designs were also often reproduced in cast stone, a product which could be colored and which was capable of being reproduced in any desired quantity. Bronze and other ornamental metals such as steel and even aluminum were also often used on interiors and exteriors. Most examples of the Art Deco style are commercial buildings or institutional buildings such as schools and the use of this style for churches or single family residences is extremely rare. Port Washington has only a single example of the style, but it is a fine one. This is the one-story limestone-clad M. J. Schumacher Building (302 N. Franklin St.), built in 1930 to a design by the Green Bay architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, & Berners. The Art Moderne style is sometimes known as the "streamlined style" after the design movement which was prevalent in America in the 1930s and 1940s. This style is similar to the Art Deco style in its interest in the machine and in technology but it differs in several major respects. The Art Moderne style is a truly modern style and its designs lack any historical references and are innocent of ornamentation in the historic use of the term. Rather, such ornament as exists in these designs is made up of elements of the building itself and is not just an overlay. In addition, the Art Moderne style stresses horizontal lines rather than vertical ones, and features flat roofs and narrow banded windows. Concrete and glass blocks are often used to create the smooth wall surfaces and the rounded corners which are hallmarks of the style. Aluminum and stainless steel are typical door and window trim materials and exterior walls are typically made of masonry covered with a smooth finishing material such as stucco or concrete. The Art Moderne style was used for all types of buildings including everything from single family residences to gas stations and hospitals. Port Washington has just a single example of this style, the two-story brick William F. Schanen Building (125 E. Main St.), built in 1942 to a design by the Green Bay architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, & Berners. The Contemporary Style is a provisional term which is applied to the vast numbers of buildings built after World War II that are truly modern in inspiration and which owe nothing to past designs or historic examples. Unfortunately, because the scholarly effort that will eventually categorize these buildings into styles is still in its infancy, nothing can be said at this time to characterize such buildings, nor are most of them eligible for inclusion in the NRHP, which normally accepts only those buildings that are 50 years old or older. Never-the-less, it is important that intensive surveys such as this one try to identify buildings that, by virtue of their excellent design, may eventually be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. The Port Washington Intensive Survey identified several Contemporary Style buildings in the survey area that should be considered for further study in the near future. The finest of these is the outstanding W. J. Niederkorn Public Library building (316 W. Grand Ave.), built in 1961 to a Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced design produced by the Milwaukee architectural firm of Grassold-Johnson & Assoc. Another good non-residential example is the Port Washington Municipal Building (100 W. Grand Ave.), built in 1958 to a design by the Port Washington architectural and engineering firm of Blong & Kempf. An unusual Contemporary Style building type is the City of Port Washington Street Facility Building located at ca.201 N. Park St., built post-1955. There are also several Contemporary Style residential buildings that are of particular architectural interest and merit in Port Washington. The most unusual of these is the elliptical plan duplex located at 1038-1040 W. Larabee St. and built between 1938 and 1955. Two especially fine Contemporary Style single family houses include the house at 404 N. Milwaukee St., built after 1955, and the larger house at ca.223 W. Main St., also built after 1955. Extant Resources Surveyed
VERNACULAR FORMS One of the most important developments that has come from a generation of intensive surveys has been the realization that an undistorted understanding of the totality of the built environment of America cannot be achieved by looking only at those buildings designed using the "high" styles. Such buildings account for only a small percentage of the total number of existing buildings and intensive surveys have repeatedly documented the fact that buildings which lie outside the normal stylistic categories (collectively called vernacular buildings) play a crucial role in defining the look of the American landscape. In order to better understand this role it has been necessary to develop a new set of categories to aid in the identification of these vernacular buildings. This effort has been greatly aided by intensive surveys such as this one which produce a systematic record of the environment when the data they contain is combined. This record then becomes the data base which researchers have used in developing the various categories of vernacular buildings currently in use. Because these categories are based on the appearance or form of identified buildings the names they have been given are descriptive in nature and are called "forms" rather than "styles". It needs to be emphasized that this process of identification and analysis is an ongoing one and that the names and definitions of the forms listed here are subject to revision as new data is found. The front gable form is predominately found on small to medium-sized residences which have a rectangular plan and a simple gable roof, with the major facade of the building being that which is terminated vertically by the front- facing gable end. One-and-a-half story examples are the most common in Wisconsin, but one, two, and two-and-a-half story versions also occur. One-and-a-half story examples frequently have dormers on one or both roof planes. The front-facing principal facades are typically symmetrical and some have small entry porches or an uncovered stoop while others have full-width front porches having shed or hipped roofs. Ornamentation is generally simple, consisting of such details as turned porch posts, decorative shingles, oversize parlor windows sometimes including etched or stained glass transoms, and simply detailed sills and windows. Earlier examples are usually narrow in width and in proportion and have steeply pitched roofs; later versions are broader with more gently sloped roofs. The front gable form is usually a wood frame structure sided with clapboard. Less frequently, these buildings were sided in wood shingles, stucco, or brick. In addition, many twentieth century examples of this form are found more appropriately within the Bungalow style. The Port Washington Intensive Survey recorded forty-eight examples of the Front Gable form, the most of any vernacular form. The largest number of these tend to be small and built of cream brick, which is probably due to the fact that the brick used was in all likelihood manufactured in Port Washington. The best of these is the house at 113 S. Webster St., built prior to 1883. Other fine intact cream brick-clad examples are listed below and these form a distinct grouping within the city. Extant Resources Surveyed:
The remaining examples range from early frame examples built in the 1850s and 1860s such as the excellent Byron Teed House (ca.302 W. Grand Ave.), built ca.1870-1872, that have much in common with their Greek Revival cousins to frame and brick early twentieth century examples that are really just simplified versions of Bungalow Style houses. Listed below are good. Representative examples from both periods. Extant Resources Surveyed:
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