20TH CENTURY COLONIAL REVIVAL HOUSES
Fig. 43. The 1905 E. L. Neville Colonial Revival two story house (Bldg. 147).
Houses built after 1900 with the characteristics described as follows have been designated as being Colonial Revival style. A basic characteristic feature of this style was the accentuated front door with a porch supported by slender columns. Doors often had overhead fan or transom lights with sidelights, and windows contained double hung sash with multi-pane glazing in one or both sashes. As the 20th century advanced, windows were grouped in pairs of even units of three.
The Ernest L. Neville house on Hudson Lane, Monroe, [figure 43], was erected as a two story house with a dominant front gable with a multi-paned Palladian window, complete with keystone. The half-porch is full height with a railed balcony and Doric columns.
The circa 1914 James Harvey Trousdale house, [figure 44], on Hudson Lane is Colonial Revival in detailing, but the dominant, nearly square, configuration resembles that of a 19th century Louisiana raised cottage. Note the full story height raised basement area with the broad entrance steps.
Fig. 44. The J. H. Trousdale House circa 1914 (Bldg. 148).
The George Weaks House on Riverside Drive, Monroe, [figure 45], was built during the first decade of the 20th century. The full two-story semicircular porch with columns and pilasters has a balustrade and broad dormer at the roofline. The front door is accentuated with square transom and sidelights. Note the elaborate expanse of entry steps at the porch floor. Windows are glazed with multiple upper sash panes and a single lower sash pane.
Fig. 45. Classical porch on circa 1900’s Weaks house.
Closer examination of the Weaks House in the porch detail, [figure 46], reveals elaborate Colonial Revival detailing. The columns have Ionic capitals and fluting. The curved entablature with dentils is enhanced further with the application of moulded wood brackets under the roof eaves.
Fig. 46. Ionic column capitals on Weaks house (Bldg. 149).
The Neville, Trousdale, and Weaks Houses were built near the river in the area expanding to the north of Monroe. They, along with the Governor Hall house which follows, are examples of the early Colonial Revival period in Monroe.
The Governor Luther Hall Colonial Revival home pictured in figures [47] and [48] was erected on Jackson Street in the older section of Monroe circa 1906. It contains the characteristics of the style previously described—accentuated front door with full pedimented portico supported by slender columns, fan light and sidelights and multi-panes over single pane sashes. The Hall house also contains elaborate detailing in addition to these usual characteristics of the Colonial Revival style.
Fig. 47. Gov. Luther Hall’s circa 1906 home (Bldg. 150).
Fig. 48. Elaborate porch detail on Hall home (Bldg. 150).
The detail drawing of the Governor Hall house, [figure 48], is illustrative of elaborate, nearly excessive, detailing. The window not only possesses pilaster trim with an entablature and pediment, but also a design featuring interlocking segmental and square panes in the upper sash. The entry door is slightly recessed which allows space for three segmented arches with keystones on Doric columns. And, in addition, the balcony above is supported by four curved fan-like wooden brackets. Note the large scale column bases.
The Travis Oliver house at the north end of Riverside Drive in [figure 49] is indicative of the continued popularity of the Colonial Revival style in the cities. Built circa 1930, this two story house, similar to those previously described, has a full porch with slender columns, a small balcony and accentuated front door with an elliptical transom and sidelights. But certain mutations make this Colonial Revival house distinct from those previously described. The lower front windows are wood casement with a semicircular wood fan above. Second story windows are large eight over eight pane double-hung sash. Most importantly, the house is of brick veneer construction. Those previously described have horizontal wood siding. The 1930’s decade witnessed the apparent popularity and desirability of the use of brick in preference to wood as an exterior cladding material.
Fig. 49. Circa 1930 Oliver house on Riverside, Monroe (Bldg. 151).
Although Colonial Revival has been a dominant style for house construction in the Monroe and West Monroe area during the 20th Century, other styles are represented and will be described following.