Agenda - 08-25-1997 - C2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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O35 The John Tolar House(4) is also exemplary of Colonial Revival farmhouses built in the 1910s. The 2- 1/2- story frame house has a hipped roof form with a central dormer, symmetrically placed single and paired windows, and a center-hall plan. The style is also exemplified in the boxed cornices of the dormers and porch gable, the Palladianesque dormer window, and the classic columns supporting a wrap-around porch roof. A"Revival" style that was nationally popular in ecclesiastical architecture was that of the Gothic Revival, which was reflected often in the church buildings of rural Orange County. An outstanding example of this style is seen in the Cedar Grove United Methodist Church(20). Constructed in 1939, it is the largest and most exemplary of the rural county churches built before World War II. The well-executed Gothic Revival design includes an L-shaped configuration with a crenelated tower that defines the entrance at the apex of the two wings. The church features a veneer of native fieldstone and wood-frame casement windows crowned by stone jack arches. While the Revival styles were inspired by precedents,fresh architectural trends emerged during the World War I era that emphasized a pleasing simplicity achieved primarily by employing practical forms and fine craftsmanship. A nationally popular expression of this trend towards uncomplicated and functional architecture was the Craftsman style,featured in pattern books for bungalows that catered to the middle and working classes. There are innumerable vernacular interpretations,but the essential features of the style typically include a height of 1-1/2 stories,a low-pitched gabled roof with a wide unenclosed eave overhang, roof dormers,exposed rafter ends and decorative eave brackets,a wide porch with battered posts supported by brick piers, and vertically divided windows(McAlester 1984,p.453). These stylistic features often manifested in additions or"updates"to existing houses,especially when related to the modifications and expansions necessitated by a conversion to dairy farming. Therefore,the style appears to be more prevalent in the southern townships where dairy farming was more prevalent(Mattson 1996,p. 54). Only two examples of the Craftsman influence are apparent in the Cedar Grove Historic District. The McDade-Pender House(23)exhibits bracketed eaves at the gabled ends and central dormer. The engaged full-facade porch roof is supported by battered posts on brick piers,features typically referred to as"bungaloid." The Eno Presbyterian Manse(3)exhibits a front-gabled form with bracketed eaves and wrap-around porch,the roof of which like the McDade-Pender House, is supported by battered posts on brick piers.