The house museums in the Western U.S. shown here are the technological & cultural predecessors of our bungalows. They are built of the elements that you can see in our homes hundreds of years later.
I lived most of my life in the West & its austerity greatly impacted my own aesthetic. I can clearly remember gazing upward at the ruins of the first inhabitants of the houses cut into the rocks in Arizona, when I was on a first grade field trip. Even as a wee one I was awed by their age & wished for a time machine so that I could speak with the ancient occupants & experience life as they knew it, high up on the cliffs.
Decades later, I’m still pining for that time machine.
I have visited the last 3 houses listed here & would love to see the ones in Oregon & Washington. I have not included the Gamble House in Pasadena, California because I speak of it so often on other pages. It’s well worth a visit!
I hope to get out West this year & will take many photos to share with you, but I urge to visit yourself.
LET’S VISIT SOME HOUSE MUSEUMS IN THE WESTERN U.S.
West Seattle’s Log House Museum explores the city’s history and looks toward its future
king5evening
I have always wanted to live in a log house. I’m sure that they offered few comforts & allowed creepy creatures easy access, but I am still intrigued. I can well understand Stickley’s famous quote, “There are elements of intrinsic beauty in the simplification of a house built on the log cabin idea..”
Flavel House Museum, Astoria, Oregon
David McElveen (3:51. The section on the museum starts at about 1:20)
I love houses that are furnished with the original family’s belongings.
Charles F. Lummis & Lummis House (8:29)
Jasmine Apple
I want to live in this house.
A wonderfully done presentation showing us this beautiful, Arts & Crafts adobe structure & explaining the accomplishments of Charles F. Lummis.
The oldest surviving house in Los Angeles, built in 1818.
Take a look into the history of Casa Grande Ruins
AZFamily
My aesthetic was solidly formed by the austerity of the desert where I lived as a child & young adult. I guess it explains why I grow cactus in Florida & why I love A&C!
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Restoration can be very rewarding, but, it can be soul-crushing & heavily taxing on the body. Hideous surprises & surly, incompetent tradespeople can threaten to annihilate one’s sweet nature on a daily basis. At the same time, the body is being hit by the stirring up of the 100 year old accumulation of decayed organic matter, materials that are now banned from use, materials that are currently in use but highly toxic, & then there’s the challenge of living with no kitchen.
The resulting deficiencies can cause a reduction in the much needed energy & the emotional resilience required in returning a property to an even livable condition. The common response is to head for those foods that comfort instead of nourish & to hunker down in front of the TV or electronic device of choice instead of moving the body to get rid of the toxins & work out the kinks.
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the basics of a healthful lifestyle. Maybe you need a refresher. It could also be that you could benefit from a gentle nudge or a swift kick in the derriere. These videos will provide all of them & you can take your pick!
VIDEOS ON STAYING HEALTHY WHILE RESTORING AN OLD HOUSE
Wellness Wednesday: How to Heal Your Gut Bacteria with The Sonnenburgs (39:21)
Phoebe Lapine
The Sonnenburgs are Stanford scientists who have been in the forefront of research on gut health. Their discoveries have tied together the various factors which produce good general health. Learn why what you put on your plate can help proof your body against the physical & mental stresses of old house restoration. As a bonus, they are warm & articulate!
5 Surprising Health Benefits of Walking (And Why You Should Do It Everyday) – According To Science (9:40)
Dr. Steven Hulme
A very interesting talk, with some great images, on how walking keeps us healthy.
Stanford researchers find mental health prescription: Nature (2:08)
Standford
I’m a real fan of Stanford. They are producing some great research on natural healing.
Is a Calorie a Calorie? Processed Food, Experiment Gone Wrong (1:39:37)
Stanford Health Care
Who is making this “food,” what is it made of & how is it made? Yep, this is a long video, but the information in it could change, enhance & prolong your life.
Please let me know if these videos have given you a new viewpoint on how you can gain more control over your own health.
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The bungalow is a hybrid, born of the Arts & Crafts Movement of the United Kingdom, the Craftsman Movement of the Eastern United States & the beauty of the Southern California landscape.
The cultures & technologies of the time conspired to create a philosophy which motivated an aesthetic inspired by nature, & a housing type that was suitable for all parts of the U.S. Regional differences allowed for variations in materials & style, but the basic bungalow took America by storm & has remained the favorite American home for over 100 years.
Let’s begin at the beginning & take a look at how the Arts & Crafts Movement affected the aesthetic of the time on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching even into Asia & Australia. I encourage you to watch the Gustav Stickley videos which further tie together the European & American Movements.
THE BUNGALOW & THE ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT
Arts and Crafts: Design in a Nutshell (2:29)
OpenLearn from The Open University
A quick intro to A&C.
Arts and Crafts Movement (8:15)
AP Art History
A bit more in-depth look of the Arts & Crafts Movements in Europe & the U.S.
History of the Arts Crafts Movement Part 1 of 3 (11:36)
Beautiful images & informative video, but it’s way too fast. Slow it down & learn a great deal about the Movement.
You will be linked from past 1 to part 2 & then to part 3 from there. All 3 are well worth watching.
Take a tour of world’s first Arts and Crafts Movement Museum (3:06)
FOX 13 Tampa Bay
This museum is a miracle. It tells the complete story of Arts & Crafts. Once again, slow it down to fully absorb the information & the images.
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My mama raised me right. She taught me about the suffrage movement when I was very small. Well before I went to school, Susan B. Anthony, champion of temperance, abolition, labor rights & equal pay for equal work was a familiar hero to me & even as a child, I was impassioned by her work. These videos on the Women’s Suffrage Movement tell the story.
When I get my time machine, I’m going to whiz back to 1910 & introduce myself to Grace Hare, the chatelaine of the Hare House which she generously shared with me almost 100 years later. I am so interested to know her opinions on so many issues of the day, but most importantly, women’s suffrage. She & her sisters were active in their local Women’s Club, raising funds to build the clubhouse, & these groups were very influential in the Movement.
But, what were her own, personal thoughts on the matter?
LET’S WATCH SOME VIDEOS ON THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT
The 19th Amendment (4:48)
History
A brief overview of our fight for the right to vote.
100 Years of Women’s Voting Rights | Citizen: Full-Length Documentary (56:46)
Twin Cities PBS
The struggle to gain “The most fundamental right you can have in a democracy.”
How bicycles boosted the women’s rights movement (4:09)
Vox
Susan B.Anthony said so!
The Historic Women’s Suffrage March on Washington – Michelle Mehrtens (4:54)
TED-ED
March 3, 1913-the first mass protest for a woman’s right to vote.
I urge you to watch the videos about the women of the Arts & Crafts Movement who were advocating for freedoms for woman in Europe. And, mamas, tell your daughters.
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“America’s Heartland” with its patchwork of big industrial cities & farming towns, lying midway between the Appalachians & the Rocky Mountains & north of the Ohio River.
The historic house museums in the Midwest U.S. that you will see in these videos were built by industrial magnates who took advantage of the natural resources (coal, oil, iron ore & limestone) which the area had in rich abundance as well as the immigrants who fled poverty to work in their huge factories. Emerging transportation arteries, first the canals of the Great Lakes & then the railroads, linked the Midwest with Eastern markets & firmly established it as part of the industrially expanding North allowing many to amass great fortunes.
So why would a woman whose life is consumed by bungalows be directing you to visit Victorian homes? Because I love cultural evolution. The Arts & Crafts Movement was born as a reaction to the excesses of Victoriana but you see some of the elements of these homes in a bungalow. Many of the grand homes used materials & technology that were cutting edge for their time. Twenty years later, these developments were common place in more modest dwellings.
LET’S VISIT SOME HOUSE MUSEUMS!
Columbus Neighborhoods: Sears House Kits (4:21)
WOSU Public Media
Discover Sears houses that residents of Columbus, Ohio still call home, sweet home.
Top 8 House Museums in St. Louis Missouri! (6:02)
This House
A lovely assortment of over-the-top houses! You might want to adjust the playback speed to half.
Touring the Mansion that ALMOST Changed History (16:39)
This House Tours
Almost?
Tour the Historic (and haunted?) Vaile Mansion
Will we see the ghost?
Preservation Chicago Tours the Arlington Deming Historic District, Chicago (46:33)
Sarah Belle Wilson House
A tour of modest frame homes to enormous mansions in one of Lincoln Park’s most important historic districts, developed following the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
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The house museums in the Western U.S. shown here are the technological & cultural predecessors of our bungalows. They are built of the elements that you can see in our homes hundreds of years later.
Restoration can be very rewarding, but, it can be soul-crushing &
The bungalow is a hybrid, born of the Arts & Crafts Movement of the United Kingdom, the Craftsman Movement of the Eastern United States & the beauty of the Southern California landscape.
My mama raised me right. She taught me about the suffrage movement when I was very small. Well before I went to school, Susan B. Anthony, champion of temperance, abolition, labor rights & equal pay for equal work was a familiar hero to me & even as a child, I was impassioned by her work. These videos on the Women’s Suffrage Movement tell the story.
“America’s Heartland” with its patchwork of big industrial cities & farming towns, lying midway between the Appalachians & the Rocky Mountains & north of the Ohio River.