Erie's Historic Buildings

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American Foursquare

STYLE INFORMATION
Name	American Foursquare
General Range	1910-1935

HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF THIS STYLE
Two new building types emerged in the very early 20th century and were marketed through mail order houses as "kit houses"; the company would ship all components to site, where the new owner would use a booklet to assemble the new house from the building materials supplied. One of these two new house types was the American Foursquare. The usual American Foursquare is a 2.5-story house with a pyramidal roof, dormers on at least one of the four roof slopes, and a full-length front porch. The front porch almost always included columns supporting the eaves; these columns did not stand on the porch floor themselves, but instead they stood on a post or wall that was integrated into the porch design. The American Foursquare was common from 1910 to 1935. Major features of these cube-shaped houses included overhanging eaves and pyramidal roofed dormers. Note: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) does not recognize the American Foursquare as a building style. The information supplied to the state identifies these buildings variously as Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Prairie or "other." Two subsets of these cube-shaped houses are common in Erie County. These subsets of the American Foursquare have no real architectural label but they may be influenced by the more horizontal Prairie style. The first is a cube-shaped house with a pyramidal roof and no dormers. An example shown here is 705 W. Pleasant Street in Corry, although this house type was noted throughout the County. The second subset of the American Foursquare are cube-shaped houses with a cross-gable on the front slope of the roof. Shown here is 147 Park Street in Corry, one of many such houses found throughout the County.

UPDATE
If you have additional information or corrections to the existing information, send an email to info@preservationerie.org. Submitted information is reviewed by Preservation Erie prior to updating the database.

EXAMPLE

HISTORIC RESOURCES OF THIS STYLE
Municipality	Historic Name	Address
Amity Township		13565 HOPSON HILL RD
Conneaut Township		10600 ROUTE 6N
City of Corry		137 E SOUTH ST
City of Corry		127 PARK ST
City of Corry		617 W PLEASANT ST
City of Corry		730 N CENTER ST
City of Corry		225 MEAD AVE
City of Corry		145 WRIGHT ST
City of Corry		42 E FREDERICK ST
City of Corry		986 N CENTER ST
Cranesville Borough		10423 BOWMAN AVE
Cranesville Borough		10471 BOWMAN AVE
Cranesville Borough		10463 BOWMAN AVE
Cranesville Borough		10460 LINNDALE AVE
Cranesville Borough		10259 CRANE ST
Cranesville Borough		10473 CRANE ST
Cranesville Borough		10024 REED ST
Cranesville Borough		9912 BATEMAN AVE
Cranesville Borough		10042 REED ST
Cranesville Borough		9958 BATEMAN AVE
Edinboro Borough		104 WATER ST
Edinboro Borough		119 HIGH ST
Edinboro Borough		126 WATERFORD ST
Elk Creek Township		9647 ROUTE 18
City of Erie		1242 W 9 ST
City of Erie		1310 W 10 ST
City of Erie		928 E 28 ST
City of Erie		930 E 28 ST
City of Erie		220 W 16 ST
City of Erie		2716 BRANDES ST
City of Erie		818 W 8 ST
City of Erie		636 W 10 ST
City of Erie		253 W 16 ST
City of Erie		929 W 7 ST
City of Erie		1246 W 9 ST
City of Erie		1309 W 9 ST
City of Erie		1046 W 7TH ST
City of Erie		1141 W 7 ST
City of Erie		2718 WAYNE ST
City of Erie		425 W 7TH ST
City of Erie		1321 W 9 ST
City of Erie		2012 PEACH ST
City of Erie		357 W 31 ST
City of Erie		624 BROWN AVE
City of Erie		316 W 22 ST
City of Erie		2668 CHESTNUT ST
City of Erie		656 DOWNING CT
City of Erie		1251 W 8 ST
City of Erie		1245 W 10 ST
City of Erie		460 W 28 ST
City of Erie		31 W 29 ST
City of Erie		2912 POPLAR ST
City of Erie		2824 OLD FRENCH RD
City of Erie		1019 WASHINGTON PL
City of Erie		616 SHENLEY DR
City of Erie		1233 W 10 ST
City of Erie		1311 W 10 ST
City of Erie		509 E 26 ST
City of Erie		423 E 11 ST
City of Erie		1046 BROWN AVE
City of Erie		829 W 21 ST
City of Erie		930 W 10TH ST
City of Erie		1026 W 7 ST
City of Erie		314 W 10 ST
City of Erie		620 622 CHERRY ST
City of Erie		624 W 7 ST
City of Erie		724 CASCADE ST
City of Erie		413 EAST AVE
City of Erie		215 W FRONT ST
City of Erie		2118 POPLAR ST
City of Erie		1327 W 8 ST
City of Erie		337 E 29 ST
City of Erie		2805 ASH ST
City of Erie		504 SASSAFRAS ST
City of Erie		2118 HAYBARGER AVE
City of Erie		507 EAST AVE
City of Erie		2626 WAYNE ST
City of Erie		316 E 9 ST
City of Erie		558 E 6 ST
City of Erie		634 36E 7 ST
City of Erie		531 E 6 ST
City of Erie		809 E 5 ST
City of Erie		638 E 6 ST
City of Erie		1842 E LAKE RD
City of Erie		406 HESS AVE
City of Erie		738 E 12 ST
City of Erie		1350 E 7 ST
City of Erie		635 E 10 ST
City of Erie		1856 E LAKE RD
City of Erie		408 LIGHTHOUSE ST
City of Erie		1026 E LAKE RD
Fairview Township		3710 AVONIA RD
Fairview Township		6761 OLD RIDGE RD
Girard Borough		619 OLIN AVE
Girard Borough		225 LIBERTY ST
Girard Borough		406 RICE AVE
Harborcreek Township		MAPLE ST
Harborcreek Township		9199 E LAKE RD
Harborcreek Township		1866 DEPOT RD
Harborcreek Township		BUFFALO RD
Harborcreek Township		9152 BUFFALO RD
Harborcreek Township		6675 GARFIELD AVE
Harborcreek Township		9199 E LAKE RD
Harborcreek Township		SLADE RD
Harborcreek Township		2124 PARKER AVE
Harborcreek Township		5750 WALES RD
Harborcreek Township		9127 LEET RD
Harborcreek Township		1726 KING RD
Harborcreek Township		7246 MCGILL RD
Lake City Borough		10044 SMITH ST
Lake City Borough		2475 MAIN ST
Lake City Borough		2478 MAIN ST
Lawrence Park Township		1040 SILLIMAN AVE
Lawrence Park Township		410 HALLEY AVE
Lawrence Park Township		1034 RANKINE AVE
Lawrence Park Township		1056 SILLIMAN AVE
Lawrence Park Township		661 RANKINE AVE
McKean Borough		9108 MAIN ST
McKean Township		9871 OLD ROUTE 99
Millcreek Township		824 HILBORN AVE
Millcreek Township		612 OREGON AVE
Millcreek Township		2710 W 25 ST
Millcreek Township		2835 HAMPSHIRE RD
Millcreek Township		4124 W RIDGE RD
Millcreek Township		3344 W 26 ST
Millcreek Township		871 W ARLINGTON RD
Millcreek Township		2635 W 26 ST
Millcreek Township		4135 W RIDGE RD
Millcreek Township		1524 LEHIGH ST
Millcreek Township		2612 W 25 ST
Millcreek Township		3902 W 12 ST
Millcreek Township		3823 W RIDGE RD
Millcreek Township		4722 W 38 ST
North East Borough		74 GIBSON ST
North East Borough		101 E MAIN ST
North East Borough		67 S PEARL ST
North East Borough		167 E MAIN ST
North East Borough		72 W MAIN ST
North East Borough		45 EAST ST
North East Borough		77 GIBSON ST
North East Borough		88 W MAIN ST
North East Borough		70 W MAIN ST
North East Borough		42 S PEARL ST
North East Borough		161 E MAIN ST
North East Borough		100 W MAIN ST
North East Borough		104 W MAIN ST
North East Borough		22 EAGLE ST
North East Township		931 FREEPORT RD
North East Township		8241 REMINGTON RD
North East Township		3025 BRICKYARD RD
North East Township		11321 E MIDDLE RD
North East Township		12251 SHIGO RD
North East Township		9512 W MAIN RD
North East Township		9440 SIDEHILL RD
Union City Borough	Pfaff Residence	79 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough	Thomas Residence	88 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough	Pattison Residence	69 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough	Slocum Residence	92 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough	Barteldt Residence	72 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough		91 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough	Pfaff Residence	14 FIFTH AVE
Union City Borough		8 SOUTH ST
Union City Borough		25 W HIGH ST
Union City Borough		31 THIRD AVE
Union City Borough		34 GRANT ST
Union City Borough		34 FIFTH AVE
Union City Borough		17 GRAVES ST
Union City Borough		57 PUTNAM ST
Union City Borough		90 E HIGH ST
Union City Borough		11 PROSPECT ST
Union City Borough		58 PUTNAM ST
Union City Borough		104 S MAIN ST
Venango Township		12791 HILL RD
Waterford Borough		29 S PARK ROW
Waterford Borough		331 CHESTNUT ST
Waterford Borough		14 N PARK ROW
Wesleyville Borough		2023 RIVERSIDE DR
Wesleyville Borough		3623 SOUTH ST
Wesleyville Borough		2042 WILLOW ST
Wesleyville Borough		2054 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		3211 13 SKELLIE AVE
Wesleyville Borough		2307 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		2018 WILLOW ST
Wesleyville Borough		2113 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		2055 WILLOW ST
Wesleyville Borough		2442 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		2057 59 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		2715 SHANNON RD
Wesleyville Borough		2207 TAGGERT ST
Wesleyville Borough		3204 ROSE AVE
Wesleyville Borough		2447 STATION RD
Wesleyville Borough		2713 SHANNON 120X115 IRR
Wesleyville Borough	Kern, Elwood & Shirley Ppty	3416 BUFFALO RD
Wesleyville Borough		2219 TAGGERT ST