Queen Anne Style Homes

Howdy! Just dropping in real quick to post some things that I found while unpacking some boxes...yes I'm still unpacking! Anyone who has ever moved knows that sometimes it takes up to or atleast a year to finish unpacking, organizing, and being happy with where you placed things ;) I will stop rambling now and show you what I found...because those boxes really are still waiting for me!

Found this in a mail out from a Real Estate company (Real Estate Agents LaRonda Anderson and Georgina Van Camp, Merit Co. Real Estate)in Colorado Springs. It is from September 2005, it must have impressed me or intrigued me enough to have kept it this long! I'm not sure if these ladies are still agents or if they would care that I'm reposting their information but here goes...I don't own anything!

Architecture Corner:

QUEEN ANNE STYLE

When one thinks of Victorian homes, Queen Anne style usually first comes to mind. This flamboyant and highly decorative style became fashionable in the 1880's and remained popular until 1910.

Queen Anne homes are often considered romantic, even feminine. Yet this style is a product of a rather unromantic time-the industrial revolution. The advances in materials, technology, and transportation enabled pre-fabricated building elements to be easily produced and shipped across the country. This allowed builders to combine different styles and materials to create flamboyant variations of facade styles, colors and textures.

Although easily recognized, Queen Anne style is not easily defined. The main characteristics include assymetrical design, intricate decorative woodwork, prominent porches, a steep roof with projecting gables and rambling floor plans. One of the most prominent characteristics is the corner tower or turret, although it is not always on the corner, and sometimes not present at all. The facade is made of a combination of materials such as brick, wood or stone, and often decorated with shingles and clapboard. The degree of ornamentation distinguishes the high style from the vernacular, with the more modest single-story versions often referred to as Princess Anne.

What made Queen Anne style popular, namely its detailed, decorative features, also caused it to eventually fall out of favor. These homes turned out to be costly and difficult to keep up, and more "down to earth" styles stared gaining popularity in 1910.

On a side note....I will be starting to work with Save Old Cleburne, and trying to volunteer for some organizations around my county and possibly into Historic Fort Worth. Heading to the museum here in Cleburne to offer my help on Friday, wish me luck! ;) But anywhoo, here is the link to Save Old Cleburne's website. I think it is truelly fascinating and I can't wait to work with them!

http://www.soc-cleburne.com/