“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.