In this month’s Real Estates, we are profiling Prairie Box and American Foursquare architecture. The Prairie style came into existence around 1893 to 1920 and was popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright believed that the Victorian era homes were too confining and began to design houses with low horizontal lines and open interior spaces.
These homes were designed to blend in with the flat, prairie landscape.Born out of the Prairie style, the Prairie Box surfaced at about the same time period (1895 to 1930) as American Foursquare houses. “Trying to distinguish between most Prairie Box and Foursquare is almost splitting hairs,” explains Jay Schwarz, NCARB, LEEP AP, principal at Alt Breeding Schwarz Architects in Annapolis, Maryland.
“Prairie Box is a Foursquare that evolved from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style design. It is typically two stories, with a hipped roof, simple square or rectangular plan, and has a fairly symmetrical façade,” continues Schwarz.
Location Comparison of Prairie Style and American Foursquare Properties
Listing Agent: Linda Cruse Hughes/Bay First Realty. (443-553-4958)*
Annapolis, MD
This Annapolis contemporary Prairie style built in 2003 has four bedrooms, four full baths, a total square footage of 6,800 and is situated on 3.73 acres. It is an active listing with an asking price of $2,999,000.
Listing Agent: Joyce Harnett/Coldwell Banker. (703-850-5000)
Annapolis, MD
This Annapolis Prairie Box built in 1915 has four bedrooms, two full and one half baths, a total square footage of 2,814 and is situated on .08 acres. The property sold in January 2009 for $900,000, $45,000 under the asking price.
Listing Agent: Patrick Carosi/Re/Max Allegiance. (703-408-5709)
Chevy Chase, MD
This Chevy Chase with Prairie style characteristics built in 1906 has four bedrooms, two full and one half baths, a total square footage of 2,320 and is situated on .28 acres. This property is currently under contract for $865,000.
The first Prairie houses were usually plaster with wood trim or sided with horizontal board and batten. Later Prairie homes used concrete block. American Foursquare style, sometimes even called the Prairie Box, share many features with the Prairie style.
“Wright tried to destroy the Victorian boxy architecture of small stuffy rooms and create flow and openness within his homes.The Prairie Box and/or American Foursquare evolved and were developed for more urban sites—small city lots. The appeal to the homeowner was the simple plan with a gracious open front porch and typically, four open, airy rooms on each floor,” explains Schwarz.
The simple, square shape also made the Foursquare style especially practical for mail order house kits from Sears and other catalog companies. “The square plan type and room arrangement was very practical for mail order house kits which became vogue in the early part of the 20th century. There are many Foursquare types in the [Mid-Atlantic] area. Prairie Box versus Colonial Revival are generally similar in massing, but the detailing is different,” says Schwarz.
Prairie Box and Foursquare architecture have a lot of appeal in today’s market because of the openness of the styles. “Contemporary living is typically about more openness in our houses. We may still have formal spaces for formal occasions, but the majority of the homes we design include family rooms, great rooms, and open floor plans—which are inclusive versus exclusive,” concludes Schwarz.
Prairie Style and American Foursquare Houses Have Many of These Features:
Prairie Style Features:
•Low-pitched roof, deep overhangs
•Overhanging eaves
•Horizontal lines
•Central chimney
•Open floor plan
•Clerestory windows
American Foursquare Features:
•Simple box shape
•Two-and-a-half stories high
•Four-room floor plan
•Hipped roof
•Large central dormer
•Full-width porch with wide stairs
•Brick, stone, stucco, concrete block, or wood siding
Jennifer K. Dansicker is Special Projects Editor for ChespeakeHome.
These listings were compiled with the help of Lynn Summerlin Hoeckel, Residential Agent for Yerman Witman Gaines and Conklin Realty (410-583-0400 or lsummerlin@ywggrealty.com).
Contact:
Jay Schwarz: js@absarchitects.com or 410-268-1213
*The status of all listings was current at the time of posting.
