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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC2009-008 List Of Historic PropertiesNxional Register of Historic Places ! Historic Properties J Historic Preservation of Arkans... Page 1 of 2 Pow 'e a4& f-LA L%arw f l'' sRFSEARI9 MEulll1110MMU 'MVJ&WW&Wlf> N M `c111111NffMM11H 'fSM11®110M '"Nws IY4IS `mECItIR,` "xoE Efistari pe atiaa - es Mal a rkaslsas rsurs,E t. ks aps 6[I ati srs 1 5,i}ie Emrtotni •ben t a s -HISTORIC PROPERTIES I National Register of Historic Places I Arkansas Register of historic Places I National Historic Landmarks I Arkansas Civil war Sites I Historic Site Survey NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES awxeD TFM PAGE T3 A FREID ARCHITECTURAL ALUMINUM © National Register of Historic Places © How to Get a Property Listed The first architectural application of aluminum was the @ Artificial Siding Poliey mount[ng of a small grounding cap on the Washington 3 Residential Siding Materials in Arkansas Monument in 1884. Sheet -iron or steel clapboard siding IN units had been patented in 1903, and Sears, Roebuck & C Company had been offering embossed steel siding in stone R and brick patterns in their catalogues for several years by LE the 1930s.[120] ALCOA began promoting the use of aluminum In architecture by the 1920s when It produced ornamental spandrel panels. for the Cathedral of Learning and the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings in New York. The exterior of the A.O. Smith Corporation Building in Milwaukee Survey &_Documentation Search Arkansas_ National Register Listings National Register Nomination Form Determination of Eligibility. Forms Frequently Asked Questions Related Links was clad entirely in aluminum by 1930, and 3'-square siding panels of Duralumin sheet from ALCOA sheathed an experimental exhibit house for the Architectural League of New York in 1931. Most architectural applications of aluminum in the 1930s were on a monumental scale, and it would be another six years before it was put to use on residential construction.[121] In the first few years after World War II, manufacturers began developing and widely distributing aluminum siding. Among them Indiana machinist Frank Hoess has been credited with the invention of the configuration seen on modern aluminum siding. His experiments began in 1937 with steel siding in imitation of wooden clapboards. Other types of sheet metal and steel siding on the market at the time presented problems with warping, creating openings through which water could enter, introducing rust. Hoess remedied this problem through the use of a locking joint, which was formed by small flap at the top of each panel that joined with a U-shaped flange on the lower edge of the previous panel thus forming a watertight horizontal seam. After he had received a patent for his siding in 1939, Hoess produced a small housing development of about forty-four houses covered in his clapboard -style steel siding for blue-collar workers in Chicago.G1221 His operations were curtailed when war plants commandeered the industry. In 1946 Hoess allied with Metal Building Products of Detroit, a corporation that promoted and sold Hoess siding of ALCOA aluminum. Their product was used on large housing projects in the northeast and was purportedly the siding of choice for a 1947 Pennsylvania development, the first subdivision to solely use aluminum siding. Products such as 4", 6", 8" and 10" X 12' unpainted aluminum panels, starter strips, corner pieces and specialized application clips were assembled in the Indiana shop of the Hoess brothers.[123] Siding could be applied over conventional wooden clapboards, or it could be nailed to studs via special clips affixed to the top of each panel. Insulation was placed between each stud.[1241 While the Hoess company continued to function for about twelve more years after the dissolution of the Metal Building Products Corporation in 1948, they were not as successful as rising siding companies like Reynolds Metals. After the war Reynolds utilized an aluminum sheet rolling mill in Illinois with the intent of applying its total output toward the national housing shortage. Siding was only one of many aluminum building products marketed by Reynolds, but it was the star of the line and was featured extensively in the company's advertising. Aluminum, like asbestos and asphalt, was touted in the 1940s as a replacement for traditional materials that offered similar aesthetic qualities yet had the usual maintenance -saving attributes of being rodent resistant, fire resistant, insulating (by 1948) and requiring no painting. Reynolds promised the customer that their aluminum siding would provide "traditional colonial beauty" for a lifetime.[125] Two types of siding besides the utilitarian 5-V crimp and corrugated forms available from Reynolds were lifetime aluminum clapboard and lifetime aluminum weatherboard. The .032-gauge clapboard siding came in 8' and 12' lengths with 8" of exposure. The weatherboard siding came in a .027-gauge solid aluminum sheet that was crimped in imitation of clapboards. This product came in 6', 8' and 12' lengths with 4" exposure. [126] The effectiveness of Reynolds' ad campaign was proven by the company's estimate that within eighteen months of production they hac shipped enough aluminum products to side and roof over 141,000 five -room houses.[127] Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogues offered aluminum siding panels akin to Reynold's aluminum weatherboard siding in 1949. The panels were provided in 8', 10' and 12' lengths with 4" exposure. It was recommended for use on homes, but the catalogue also mentioned that it could be applied to factories, storefronts and farm buildings. Of course its main attraction was that it didn't need painting, but the ad stated that... "it takes paint beautifully."[128] By 1954 the company was offering pre -painted green, white, gray and buff aluminum clapboards with an 8-1/4" exposure and a variety of accessories as "the newest thing in siding for homes." Accessories included mitered aluminum outside corners, inside corners, starter strips, window and door trim, back-up tabs and aluminum foil sheathing.[129] Other companies were encouraged to develop their versions of aluminum siding when the Federal Housing Expediter offered subsidies to firms that produced prefabricated housing and alternative construction materials, in order to bring some relief to the post-war housing shortage. Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company purchased exclusive rights to a pending patent for a "clapboard unit" from Canadian inventor Charles Kinghorn in 1947. His invention featured a spring -tensioned locking joint and concave profile, which provided increased structural rigidity against denting and reduced the noise factor from rainfall. The enhanced strength of this new siding meant that sheathing was not necessary, as it could be applied directly to studding. The 3S aluminum alloy units were available in 7" widths and 10',12',14' and 16' lengths. The clapboards and accompanying accessory pieces were coated with a zinc -chromate primer for the application of house paint, [130] Jerome Kaufman, founder of Alside Incorporated, perfec., d the process of baking a coat of paint directly onto the aluminum siding in the factory. Pre -punched and pre-cut aluminum siding panels from roll formers were carried on a conveyor through an electrostatic spray paint booth then baked in a gold -lined oven by one thousand five hundred -watt infra -red light bulbs. By 1948 the new product was on the market in white, cream or gray.[131] Previously, companies like Reynolds offered unpainted siding, that would "weather" to a gray -white over time, or they suggested painting with the promise that it would take less paint and last longer than lumber.[132] After Alside's success was proven through gross sales of more than one million dollars, Reynolds and Kaiser developed their own factory -painted siding, and by the early 1950s most available siding was prepainted.[133] http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/historic-properties/national-register/siding_materials.a... 5/3/2009 National Register of Historic Places I Historic Properties I Historic Preservation of Arkans... Page 2 of 2 Encouraging sales figures for residential aluminum siding spurred the establishment of myriad independent producers in the late 1940s. However the promising postwar sales of aluminum siding were curtailed by the Korean War in 1950 through the imposition of National Production Authority (NPA) constraints on the use of aluminum for civilian construction projects. For the larger aluminum producers this was not much of a setback since they could easily meet the needs of the defense industry, but smaller operations with less diverse product lines that were dependent on the civilian market faced the specter of closure. The NPA revoked their controls in 1953, but Kaiser and Reynolds felt that government intervention in the supply of aluminum lent an air of instability to the market, which led them to cease production of aluminum siding and take up supplying sheet stock to independent fabricators.[134] With the absence of the principal producers from the residential siding market, small installers became more numerous. By the mid-1950s competition increased, bringing about shady sales practices and tarnishing the reputation of the industry. The Aluminum Siding Association (ASA) was formed in 1957 to bring a stop to the scams, to promote aluminum siding usage and to improve product quality through codes of ethics, established standards and public relations campaigns. 1135] Aluminum siding had been marketed originally as a new construction material, but from the late-1940s to the late-1950s it was promoted and used primarily for home improvement. A 1956 editorial in American Builder proposed that the construction industry needed to aggressively pursue the used -house market through a program of "obsolescence -selling." The housing crisis was over so contractors should target owners of old houses, growing families and the elderly. Once their homes had been acquired it would be necessary to remodel for better resale prospects, a prime opportunity for siding installers.[136] Aluminum became a favored material for new construction in 1959 when National Homes, aided by ALCOA, developed factory -built houses sided in clapboard -style aluminum. Millions were spent on their advertising campaign promising that the proliferation of their prefab homes would enable salesmen to boost their earning potential by reaching millions of new homeowners and builders. ALCOA was not blind to the forecasts of increased sales, and in 1960 the company entered the residential market with pre -painted white, green, gray, yellow or beige 8" siding insulated with foil backing of polystyrene foam. ALCOA contracted with five of the oldest and largest building products companies in the nation to serve as their distribution force. Coupled with an ambitious ad campaign, ALCOA's system helped them gain the advantage over independent fabricators who used local dealer -applicators for sales of their products. ALCOA's partner companies and their products were well known, in contrast to the obscure brands produced by the independents. Many of the small fabricators had fallen by the wayside by the mid-1960s, unable to compete with the volume and name recognition of larger producers.[137] e Back to index @ ALUMINUM SIDING COMPOSITION Historic Properties I Preservation Services I Main Street Arkansas I Tours, Events & Workshops I Publications Frequently Asked Questions I Archaeology & Section 106 Review 1 Annual Report & Action Plan Free E-Newsletter I Staff Directory I Related Links I Site Map I Site Search I Home Am ARKANSAS HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center Street - Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 324-9880 - Fax: (501) 324-9184 - E-Mail: info@arkansaspreservation.org ME ft ra�0 1_� fri&a'fWf aa�;J tle�'r`�.d�rrrc- Copyright ©2004 Arkansas Historic Preservation Program - Web Services by Aristotle Web Design. http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/historic-properties/national-register/siding Materials.a... 5/3/2009 Historic Properties I Historic Preservation of Arkansas landmarks and Main Street Arkans... Page 1 of 1 w r Hismri • r[ses Pr at n SEfy'I(°5 MKITA I r-00=99W61 Hlitatians Arheclogyaiection evlew I$enefr Hi to. Arkansas has been called the Natural State since the mid-1980s. The historic �'• IT ARD TF157AGE UA.-R'E-'ID ' preservation community can do its part to ensure that we maintain that slogan. Destruction of the state's historic resources has impacted the environment by creating more debris in landfills and using high levels of energy by destroying sound buildings and leveling trees and hillsides. The effects of the automobile and the promotion of sprawling development on green space and historic sites are well know nl&-F$ k[oviustainawe pra.cuces� ^YiaiJesseo the irreversible loss of Arkansas's ci Aettion with`: our past through its historic buildings. The greenest building is one that has already been built, and historic preservation is the ultimate recycling! Adaptive reuse of historic buildings not only preserve tangible links to Arkansas's past, it saves energy and takes advantage of services and infrastructure that are already in place, saving tax dollars while reducing sprawl. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program considers the website at www.preservationnation.org to be the most comprehensive regarding the re -use and continuing contributions of historic structures. This link can guide preservationists, community members, developers and municipal and state officials in learning about the positive effects that historic preservation has on our shared environment. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has stated that there is energy stored in the construction materials of historic buildings that is lost if they are destroyed. Extending the life of these structures through preservation and rehabilitation prevents the increased and often unnecessary release of energy through demolition and new construction. The Embodied Energy Calculator can be used to determine how much energy is contained within your historic building. Information on the calculator can be found at www.thegreenestbuilding _org. Some quick facts about sustainability and historic preservation. ■ The United States produces 22% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ■ Over 40% of those emissions result from construction and operation of buildings ■ Buildings that are demolished release embodied energy ■ New construction can require 35-40 years to recover carbon emissions expended to build it ■ A twenty percent increase in labor can result from rehabilitation of historic structures ■ Five to nine more jobs in construction are created through rehabilitation ■ Adaptive reuse takes advantage of materials that already exist ■ The history of a building adds to a sense of community ■ Even though a new building constructed outside of a historic core may be built "green" it can take 30% more energy for employees to drive there ■ �. `nC3NOMMJ9NMezuIll: to take advanintle.of natural energy sources ' Awnings can reduce heat gain by 65% or more Preservation of high ceilings can help air circulate ■ Historic double -hung windows can reduce demand for heat and air during temperate periods. *fWdes preserving historic structures,_ reuse -of historic core buildings can encourage walking,_ foster community pride and create a varlet) 3f housing choices. -- Historic Properties I Preservation Services I Main Street Arkansas I Tours, Events & Workshops I Publications Frequently asked Questions I Archaeology & Section 106 Review I Annual Report & Action Plan Free E-Newsletter I Staff Directory I Related Links I Site Map I Site Search 1 Home Am ARKANSAS HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center Street - Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 324-9880 - Fax: (501) 324-9184 - E-Mail: info(aarkansaspreservation.org •�.r �;,� Ssr flfasna9 via" Copyright http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/recycling/ 5/3/2009 National Register of Historic Places I Historic Properties I Historic Preservation of Arkans... Page 1 of 1 1' •E.1 '1 f V it Rig iSVriePrap=rt _ I n sri afn fr an Er r3 14forksfl ps Puisli Elio krf ion wit en f st Commercial Historic District I National Register of Historic Places I Arkansas Register of Historic Places I National Historic Landmarks I Arkansas Civil War Sites I Historic Site Survey NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES T"Sm E TO A FIEND INTRODUCTION © National Re_gisterof Historic Places (0 How t_o_Get _a Property_.Usted Transformations in Arkansas housing, whether folk or styled, © Artificial_ Siding Policy have been numerous over the course of the state's history. IS Residential Siding Materials in Arkansas Architectural changes. are evident inglojow, (B $ ryey_&-Documenta_tion ® Sea rch_Arkansa5 National Register Listings PROrs ID National -Register Nomination Form on, which were mirrored in the state. The © Determination _of_Eligibility_Forms environment met by the first settlers, the industrial age, ® Frequently Asked -Questions mass -prefabrication, World War I, urbanization and the p Related Links Depression were early underlying agents in new housing — - styles as were materials and the amount - or lack thereof - of new construction across the state, which was dictated by regional variations in employment opportunities, population and availability of construction materials. World War II had another pervasive effect on architectural character, as did post-war prosperity and �sub�urbarnization. Modern materials for the exterior of homes and commercial butidings were a walmlr people to improv eguard and beelii4rcymnntat was rainsidered ❑td•lashioned and out of style. Each social acid cultural Inftuence m Ar6l3SaS'S history added a layer to Its architectural face either through the +ecy4ling of old bultd+nns with new siding matenal%and additions or through the Introduction uf.a modern Idegkity using current styieS In newly rreveldpLd areas. This layering process began as sown as Lhe influx of non -Native Americans W the state started. Thus, one should remember that there might be more Lhan meets the eye .,,hLin ,Rernininci the architectural rlser::cter of a building or a historic district. 9 Back to index d LOG STRUCTURES Historic Properties I Preservation Services I Main Street Arkansas I Tours, Events & Workshops I Publications Frequently Asked Questions I Archaeology & Section 106 Review I Annual Report & Action Plan Free E-Newsletter I Staff Directory I Related Links I Site Map I Site Search I Home ARKANSAS HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center Street - Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 324-9880 - Fax: (501) 324-9184 - E-Mail: info@arkansaspreservation.org 'uxs[ o� KtLII'F�iA'[F7�g5G 'l t' • �f�ed�.rg69w �wrasl Crixxrr Yarn;•o.,L.r dA3km l %W P�rr�P t'rr=L.LlJ'f[]I �R 1R1�11: �L.RYw s•'rm-»trntx. .a 7 Copyright @2004 Arkansas Historic Preservation Program - Web Services by Aristotle Web Design. J�VVI­K F`4 http://www.arkansaspreservation.orglhistoric-properties/national-registerlsiding_Materials.a... 5/3/2009 The Fotur-Square House in Portland Page 1 of 2 DOWNOAD Prodex Total Insulation Historic Preservation YOUR for attics, roofs, walk and basements. Order Charleston's finest historic houses FREE COPY OF online and savel plantations and museums BUILDING Y v Ads byGOO* GREEN '- The Four -Square House 'r �l By Jade Bookwaher =. The Four -Square style house (sometimes referred to as the American Four -Square House) was popular from just after 1900 to well into the 1930s. CLICK i!t RE Thousands of these Four -Square houses were built in Portland and its older suburbs. Virtually every older neighborhood in Portland has many, many examples. Y 1f This local popularity mirrored the national trend. They were built in large numbers in every part of the Eurotech country, in big cities and small towns. They even construction proved a popular choice for farmhouses in the European and country. Certainly among two-story houses, the Mediterranean Four -Square was the most popular house of its day. Style homes, Clay Roof files and Stucco www eu ro- tech constru cti Heritage Barns Online See online inventory of old Umber framed barns. Make beautiful homes ww.v heritagebams com Portland Besement Insulation Portland basement insulation For all needs Vov:]nwfAv o+1G' cup.[ on Become a Home Stager Learn quickly and easily with our home -study course_ ISRI? - certified_ What are the key characteristics of the Four -Square house? First of all, a Four -Square house must be, well, square. The height of the front facade should be the same as its width. In its purest form, all four sides of the house are of equal dimension, forming a perfect cube. Admittedly, some Four -Square houses have longer depths than widths, creating an elongated version of the style. But even these houses present a square appearance on the street side facade. Most Four -Squares contain two stories, making full use of narrow city lots. They frequently contain a large hip -roof front dormer illuminating an unfinished attic. The house roofs are almost always pyramidal, with the four equal slopes coming to a point in the center. (The previously mentioned enlarged Four -Square house would have by necessity a hip roof, sloping back from the front.) Four -Squares were always built with a substantial front porch — usually extending across the full width of the house. The porches were almost always covered with a low -hipped roof. Four -Square exteriors can be found built of almost any common building material: wood siding, cedar shingles, stucco, brick, dressed stone, and stone -textured concrete block. In the Northwest, horizontal wood siding was the predominant covering. A popular treatment found here and elsewhere involved horizontal lap siding on the first floor topped by wood shingles on the second floor. A horizontal belt course separating first and second floors is often found extending on all four building sides. Some Four -Square houses were even built out of solid concrete! A recent KOPB production of "History oekeubves' descrlbed how in the early 1900s Thomas Edison promoted the construction of Four - Square concrete houses. The regularity and straight lines of the Four -Square style would have readily lent themselves to the large molds required for cptq*a-construction. At least one Edison -inspired concrete Four -Square exists in Portland — one in the Buckman Neighborhood and another probable contender In the Woodstock area. look around. There may be more. "History Detectives" reports there were around 100 built from coast to coast. Despite the style's emphasis on geometrical regularity, the window and door treatment of the front first story is seldom symmetrical. The front door is usually placed off to the side with the remainder of lower front left for the large living room window(s). Second story window placement is however nearly always symmetrical with two equal bedroom windows found on each side. The larger Four -Square houses often have a small closet window directly in the middle. If there is an attic dormer above, it always is placed exactly In the center of the house span. The Interior plans of Four -Squares are as regular as the exteriors. In the purest Interpretatlon of the style, four square rooms were placed on the first floor and four on the second. Each roam therefore became a comer room with two cross-ventllating windows found on the two outside walls. This was no small consideration in thedays before air in Portland F_ Google Search r web �' crow, owrenovaeon cum IT j 2 Z S T 0 P C PrMODEL AURELHI v 0A,i y/ w m Naitral Canailim url lLC br+Yddv C�d..r. http://www.nwrenovation.com/21pdxfoursquare.html 4/18/2009 The Zour-Square House in Portland Page 2 of 2 conditioning (or even elecW fans). interior appointments and fixtures could besimple, but most borrowed at ;east some elements from the Craftsman, Colonial Revival. or even — in the 192Os — thd-Art OecD design movement. ExWior tram ofthe Four Square 1'af 9W from non- existent to elaborate. Any exterior design Nourishes were usually borrowed from the Craftsman or sometimes Prairie vocabulary. In Pordand though, the simpler, plainer versions tend to predominate. The simplicity of the style provided a welcome alternative to the fussy-ness of preceding Victorian styles. The Four -Square style arrived just in time for the Portland building boom following the Lewis and Clark Exhibition in 1905. The bulk of Portland's Four - Squares were built in this pre -World War I period. They continued to be built in smaller numbers in the 0 0-10, 19205 and even Into the 193Os. While still a practical Above, Leiisan concrete Four -Square in Portland and popular choice even after the War, the Four - Square had to compete with the myriad of other house styles that emerged in the prosperous 1920s. P IQ _�e �U K, 0 0 po R 6� In the past, some people have superficially referred to these houses as 'boxy." But a more thorough observation today reveals a carefully balanced, almost Zen -like refinement to their 'simple' design. Local realtors used to refer to these houses as merely "Old Portland" style — a catchall phrase to describe what they thought was a lack of style. Now, most realtors are giving this style its proper respect and have restored the correct Four - Square terminology. Owners of Four -Square houses love them. To many they represent the epitome of the classic All -American older home. Portland is fortunate to have so many fine remaining examples. They can be found In all sections of the older city in all price ranges. 'Fixers" can still be found, but the strong demand is reducing the supply. There will come a time when most all Four -Square houses in Portland will be returned to their original glory. ARCHIVESI ABOUT NWR I ADVERTISE I CONTACT NWR MAGAZINE I ADVERTISER LINKS I HOME Copyright 2002-2008 Twenty First Avenue Publishing LLC, All rights reserved. Reproduction of this site, in whole or in part, Is prohibited unless authorized in writing by the publisher. Legal and Privacy Information http://www.nwrenovation.com/21pdxfoursquare.html 4/18/2009