Quincy House Tour

1270

1270 Park Place is an excellent example of the Craftsman style house that swept across the United States during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century. Designed by Martin Geise in 1915, this house exhibits the new architectural forms of the Midwestern architect in the development of a Modern style.

The house is constructed of a deep brown multicolored brick. Its low hip roof is covered in clay mission tiles.

The house has a clear symmetrical form which follows the idea of both the concurrent Classical Revival styles as well as the architectural designs of the father of the Prairie School, architect Louis Sullivan.

The large front porch projects out from the main house and shelters the large entry door. The porch, as well as the main house, has deep roof overhangs that are decorated with abstracted classical brackets. The low sleek looking brackets emphasize the horizontal proportions of the house and give the illusion of structural members that extend past the brick walls to support the overhangs.

Another interesting element of this house are the horizontal abstracted Italian villa style planters that flank the entry porch. Planters such as these are similar to the planters seen on the Prairie style homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright during the previous decade.

Much of what was motivating architectural design during this period was the interacting and integration of the natural as ornament, rather than the literal use of classical or the ornate.