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!
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
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.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
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.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
“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.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
I have learned a great deal about the Southeast U.S. from visiting house museums. After having read so much material on old houses, it is wonderful to visit the complete homes, most restored with the best preservation practices. Often they contain at least some original furniture & household goods. Generally you are provided with information about the family & their contributions to local history as well as a glimpse into their lives & the life & culture of the time.
I live in the Southeast, but I have toured house museums all over the U.S. & find each experience to be enlightening & entertaining. The videos are broken up by region so that you can hopefully, hop in your car & for a weekend getaway in time. This one, about the Southeast contains videos of many of the places I have been. Check back! I’m not done yet!
LET’S VISIT SOME OF THE HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUMS IN THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
FLORIDA
Cracker Country – A rural Florida living history museum (2:03)
The City of Tampa
This was my first taste of Florida history after having moved here from Los Angeles. I was rattled by the move & the 8 back-to-back hurricanes. Visiting these early homes served to ground me. My curiosity is always my best friend & Cracker Country opened wide the door to a whole segment of history & architecture with which I had no familiarity. Hm-m-m. Maybe
Truly one of the most stunning & creative houses in the world, the house is only one attraction in the Ringling complex in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to viewing the video, take a look at my post on the other attractions. If you visit Florida, you cannot miss experiencing The Ringling!
Heritage Village in Largo Fl. a trip back in time (15:03)
Dre & Lita’s Travel
This is the second place I visited when I came to Florida. I was beginning to feel more at home, in the company of these remnants of our past & the people who care for them.
Relocated to Heritage Village in Largo, Florida in 2014, now, nearly 10 years later, the restoration is complete & you can tour this bungalow, built in 1915. In the Village museum are displayed Turner family artifacts, covering every decade since the home was constructed in 1915.
KENTUCKY
Victorian House Lovers Tour of the Conrad Caldwell House Museum Louisville, Kentucky (3:22)
Victorian House Lovers
Constructed in 1895, the richly ornate Conrad-Caldwell House in one of America’s largest concentrations of Victorian homes, is a site of cultural & architectural significance to the city of Louisville.
I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit the historic house museums of the Southeast U.S. The rich history of the area is represented in these old houses & they contain much information about the development of the architecture, technology & culture that created our world today. They answer the question, WHY PRESERVE?
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
The best thing about a bungalow is its old neighborhood with row after row of historic Arts & Crafts homes, each one different from the other & the fellowship to be found there. Home tours, potlucks, monthly meetings- moving into a bungalow neighborhood gives you the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people, form strong friendships & have some great adventures.
Often, these associations have a preservation committee through from you can learn a great deal. I also urge you to participate in that committee for all the same reasons as those mentioned above. And, if they don’t have a historic preservation committee, you can start one one. Don’t know what to do? I’d be so happy to teach you! Here’s an article about some of the activities we hosted.
LET’S VIEW SOME GREAT BUNGALOW NEIGHBORHOODS!
Celebrating 100 Years of Chicago Bungalows
Chicago Bungalow Association
A delightful & warm video about Chicago bungalows.
Check out my article on these charming homes & the vibrant neighborhoods represented by the Association.
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.
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.
I have learned a great deal about the Southeast U.S. from visiting house museums. After having read so much material on old houses, it is wonderful to visit the complete homes, most restored with the best preservation practices. Often they contain at least some original furniture & household goods. Generally you are provided with information about the family & their contributions to local history as well as a glimpse into their lives & the life & culture of the time.
The best thing about a bungalow is its old neighborhood with row after row of historic Arts & Crafts homes, each one different from the other & the fellowship to be found there. Home tours, potlucks, monthly meetings- moving into a bungalow neighborhood gives you the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people, form strong friendships & have some great adventures.