Elizabeth Ann Brown
The International Style
Editor’s Note: Elizabeth Brown has been covering Montgomery architecture for Midtown Montgomery Living since our site launched. We’re thrilled that she returns this month with the following piece on international influences. Her impressive archive of posts can be seen here. Just on the surface of it, International (or Modern), architecture looks as though it came […]
The Small House
In the recent rage to build larger and larger houses, it is easy to forget that for most of the 20th century, the average size of a house hovered around 1000 square feet. I have a hard time imagining that. At my current home we struggle to manage on 2,100 square feet for two people, […]
The Tudors, Season Two
In June I wrote about the Tudor Revival and some of Montgomery’s larger showcase Tudor homes. As promised, this post is about the not-so-huge Tudor houses. Along with bungalows, these houses represent the prosperity of the 1920’s, and form the bulk of the pre-World War II residential neighborhoods in Montgomery and across the south. Indeed, […]
Montgomery Tudor Revival – Our English Roots
No influence was more broadly felt, nor more expertly executed, in Montgomery than that of the Tudor Revival. These houses draw their inspiration from English domestic architecture of Medieval times. Calling the style Tudor brings to mind the Tudors and their larger-than-life personalities, giving the style a romantic and memorable name. In the United States, […]
Around the Mediterranean
It’s not just Italy which has coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. Our tour of architectural influences on our neighborhoods’ architecture needs to take us at least along the coast from Italy through France to Spain. The landscape is very similar, with steep slopes running down to the sea and the vernacular architecture from country to […]
Italians, In a Classical Mood
The influences of historic architectural styles in the early part of the twentieth century make a for a rich body of work to discover in Midtown Montgomery. We can see the influence of broader architectural education everywhere. Dear Old A.P.I. (now more popularly known as Auburn University) opened their Architecture program in 1905 and, if […]
Who can begin to understand the French?
I think I just need to go to France in order to properly understand French influence on American architecture. It just doesn’t seem quite as straightforward as British, Irish, and Scottish influence. I do think the best way to solve the problem is to take a trip and and survey the architecture of the country […]
The Academic or Eclectic Styles: Neo-Classical
The turn of the twentieth century was an exciting time for architecture. Prosperity meant that people had money to spend on new houses and buildings while paying people to design them. Public and higher education was available to more people, and for the first time, academically trained architects were available beyond the east coast bastions […]
Bungalows and Craftsman Houses
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of posts about architecture in Montgomery. For earlier installments of the series by Elizabeth Ann Brown, click here. — From the mansions of Perry Street to the cottages of Martha Street, people in Montgomery took advantage of the materials brought to them by the Industrial Revolution […]
Colonial Revival
Time and events coincided to turn the interest of American architecture away from the excesses of the Victorian Era and toward the country’s historical roots. In 1876 our country celebrated its centennial with celebrations and commemorations all over the country. If you were alive in 1976, you probably remember “Bicentennial Fever” sweeping the nation in […]
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