VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA EDF8991C Photographic Inquiry Maria Cristina Leite University of West Florida Introduction The love for Victorian houses is a “late-century phenomenon” in the United States (Smeins, 1999. p. 11). The construction style, which defied precise classification, was toughly criticized as apology to “ugliness” and “undisguised triumph of mechanics over aesthetics” (Craftsman, 1904 and 1905. As cited in Smeins, 1999). The homes that are currently known by its nostalgic and magnificent architectural features characteristic of the Victorian era are often “found in most communities that experienced growth in the last quarter of the nineteenth century” (p.11). A mixture of a variety of styles, the Victorian architecture cannot be labeled as a style itself. The term “Victorian” refers to the period of 1837 to 1901, when Queen Victoria ruled Britain (OldHouses.com, n.d.). A combination of good taste, once questioned (Smeins, 1999. p. 11), and industrial advancements, this rich period generated outstanding buildings full of architectural details and novelties that gave most homes a very artistic status. This research aimed to explore the Victorian architecture presence in Pensacola, Florida, through the study of photos of houses built during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The main goal was to investigate the reminiscent elements of this magnificent era of industrial development, in more contemporary homes. To answer the question: Are Victorian architectural elements present in Pensacola’s contemporary homes? Pensacola Historic Society photo archives, Victorian architecture pattern books, Escambia County Property Appraiser website, and current photographic material were combined in a tentative to establish the relationship between the original late 1800s and early 1900s eclectic style homes and more current constructions, which still employ the use of some of the most characteristic Victorian architectural features. First Impressions Driving around the city of Pensacola on a sunny day is surely a pleasant experience. One can distinguish the historical load on this very charming town located at Northwest Florida, just by observing the architectural characteristics, obvious in Downtown historic area and surrounding North and East Hill districts. The glamour of European construction style marks most houses from the most simple to the most grandiose. Advancing towards the suburban areas, the journey gets even more surprising, when more contemporary constructions also reveal some of the same architectural features presented in the original historic homes. For instance, along Scenic Highway (Map 1), neighborhoods established between the 1940s and 1990s (Neighborhood Profile, n.d.) unveil more modern and luxurious homes that flaunt, in a contemporary way, some of the most remarkable features of the eclectic mixture of styles that became popular during the Victorian era. Also, smaller neighborhoods in suburban areas, such as Eastwood Place, located at East Olive Road (Map 1) comprise small houses, which despite the size, present some sophisticated stylistic influences as bay windows, brackets, and intersected asymmetrical roofs. Map 1. A. Scenic Highway B. East Olive Road Get into the Time Machine: North and East Hill Districts Bay windows, shingles, brackets, porches, columns, intersected asymmetrical roofs, and bright colors compose the scene of a walk back in time through the streets of North and East Hill Districts in Pensacola Downtown area (Map 2). Elegant buildings beautify the landscape and create a nostalgic ambiance of the old days when modern life was not even a well-established futuristic dream. Map 2. North Hill One of the largest residential historic districts in Florida, North Hill is located West of Palafox Street and has over 600 homes built between 1870 and 1930s. The area of “distinctive architectural character” is protected by zoning regulations and administered by the “City of Pensacola Architectural Review Board” to assure future development and preservation of its historical features. In the “‘lumber boom’ era”, rich forests of yellow pine, located in Northwest Florida, “provided homebuilders with choice material for construction” of imposing homes (North Hill Preservation Association, n.d.). These homes can still be admired in its magnificence and beauty. Figure 1. Home located at 222 W LaRua Street and N Barcelona Street (Photo: Maria Leite). Built1900 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.). Many Victorian features can be found in this exquisite building located at North Hill Historic District. The two-story home most noticeable decorative features are the curvy brackets beautifying the intersection of columns with the entablature. The top porch has a pediment that comes out from the roof and displays a beautiful decorative pattern. Bay windows, intersected asymmetrical roofs, and shingle sided exterior wall complete the Victorian character of the building. Figure 2. Home located at 611N Barcelona Street (Photo: Maria Leite). Built1900 (Escambia County Property Appraiser). The vivid pink color on this shingle-sided home contrasts with the white columns and wood frames. Figure 3. Home located at 619 N Baylen Street (Photo front: Pensacola Historical Society). Figure 4. 619 N Baylen Street (Photo back: Pensacola Historical Society). The back of the photo shows the address and the date the photo was taken. This house was built in 1900 (Escambia County Property Appraiser) and remains well preserved at North Hill District. Figure 5. 619 N Baylen Street (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). Clapboard siding was very common on Victorian homes exterior, as well as other decorative elements largely produced by factories to make “the new fashion attainable and affordable throughout the United States.” The home can be classified as a “shingle fashion” home (Smeins, 1999). Figure 6. 904 N Baylen Street (Photo front: Pensacola Historical Society). Back of the photo shows the address. This house was built in 1918 (Escambia County Property Appraiser). This building is an impressive piece of architecture, which presents a “turret,” a type of small tower, “scalloped shingles,” a sort of decorative edging, and “bay windows” (Smeins, 1999). Brackets and columns are also present in this construction. Figure 7. 904 N Baylen Street (Photo back: Pensacola Historical Society). Figure 8. Home located at 904 N Baylen Street (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). The flagpole was added to the original construction. East Hill Located East of Palafox Street, encompassing blocks between N 9th and N 20th Avenues and East Avery and East Belmont Streets, East Hill is a neighborhood replete of picturesque homes, which in part, also reflect Victorian era architectural styles (Pensacola News Journal, n.d.). Figure 9. 1129 E Gadsden Street (Photo front: Pensacola Historical Society). This is an exquisite image of the home in which the Pfeiffer family lived. It is possible to see the residents standing at the porch exhibiting their Victorian life style. I cannot stop picturing in my mind how the interior of the house would look like at that time. Figure 10. 1129 E Gadsden Street (Photo back: Pensacola Historical Society). There is conflicting information regarding the date this house was built. The back of the photo shows it was built in 1904. However, the Escambia County Property Appraiser website shows the house was built in 1896. The note on the back of the photography shows the names of residents in the image. Figure 11. 1129 E Gadsden Street (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). The same home transformed during decades. The brackets at the end of each column and the porch curtains shown in previous photo do not exist in the current home. The black and white original photo does not allow to precise the color of the house, but permits to observe the window frames, columns and other details had a dark color rather than the present white. Figure 12. 1300 E La Rua Street (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). Built1900 (Escambia County Property Appraiser). The house is “shingle-sided.” Dormer windows and “gambrel-roofs” were also popular during the Victorian era (Smeins, 1999) More Contemporary Homes and Victorian Architecture Elements Scenic Highway and East Olive Road Besides enjoying the beautiful scene in which an abundance of oak trees interact with the inebriating water view, one can explore the beautiful homes situated along Scenic Highway. Luxurious homes built mostly between the 1930s and the 1990s compose the exquisite architectural corridor. The modernized design including garages and some minimalist layouts, does not completely abandoned some of the most characteristic elements used in construction during the Victorian era. For instance, dormers, columns, and bay windows were largely used in these houses, as well as details that resemble the old English Cottage style. Figure 13. This home, located at Rosemont Dr. off Scenic Highway (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013), was built in 1934 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.) and exhibits an “ ‘old English’ component of Queen Anne style” (Smeins, 1999). Dormer, chimneys, and bay window are also present as characteristic construction elements of Victorian period. Figure 14. This house, located at Oak Hollow subdivision, was built in 1988 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.). It shows three dormers, which are windows coming out of the roof having a roof on their own (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). This was a very common feature in Queen Anne style houses (Smeins, 1999), and continues to be largely used in more modern constructions. Figure 15. The house located at Bohemia Dr, off Scenic Highway, was built in 1986 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.). The beautiful construction displays a mix of Tudor and Cottage styles through the brown diagonal lines contrasting with the textured beige paint and the cottage style roof that shows a flat front (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013). Figure 16. This home, located at Eastwood Place (Photo: Maria Leite, 2013), off East Olive Road, was built in 1993 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.). Smaller homes in Pensacola subdivisions also present some of the features from the Victorian era. This home’s roof has a flat front, which was a feature of Queen Anne Cottage style (Smeins, 1999). Figure 17. Also located at Eastwood Place, the house built in 1995 (Escambia County Property Appraiser, n.d.) in a much smaller proportion shows reminiscent of Victorian features, such as intersected roofs and bay window. Despite the use of more modern materials as vinyl, suburban home aesthetics still follow the shingle sided pattern, at least in appearance. Conclusion Researching the residential architecture of Pensacola was rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Such a rich topic requires extraordinary effort to collect data to be analyzed in order to make more conclusive findings. For instance, regarding the process, I should have started by visiting the Pensacola Historical Society to learn about some specific homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so I could photograph how they look like today, and then analyze the architectural elements mostly used in more modern houses in other areas in town. I learned a lot about how to organize the data while conducting photographic research. Initially, I was so excited with my topic, that I got my camera on a pretty day, and drove around town, randomly photographing houses that pleased my eyes the most. At that point, I did not have a research question yet. From the first group of images, I started categorizing by the most recurrent architectural features, such as roofs and windows. From this first phase, I figured out I would like to find these old style elements in more modern types of construction. Learning how to conduct photographic inquiry effectively was the main point in this assignment. One semester is surely not sufficient time to conduct such a time consuming study, but can be enough to learn about details of the process and fundamental aspects that must be taken in consideration. This work has flaws due to its limitations of time, but it taught me that a camera on a pretty day must be used in conjunction to an objective research question and a good plan of how data should be collected. In my limited conclusion, I state that if the eclectic Victorian architecture is obviously still present in Pensacola’s historic areas, the reminiscent of its most remarkable features are surely part of modern construction. Industry improvements brought new materials to reproduce decorative elements and designs in a more cost effective manner. The old homes built originally with wood, became the inspiration for the contemporary luxurious houses with view to the water. Dormers, chimneys, or imposing columns and porches bring back the nostalgic flair from Victorian days. Also, some of the most modest homes may present a touch of elegance through the use of more affordable materials that reproduce the aesthetic effect of shingle sidings, decorative brackets, roofs, and windows. Some bay windows may not necessarily face the water, but certainly add a lot of charm to any suburban area home. References Smeins, Linda E. (1999). Building an American Identity: Pattern Book Homes and Communities 1870-1900. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press OldHouses.com (n.d.). Victorian Houses Styles and Examples. Retrieved from http://www.oldhouses.com/styleguide/victorianhouses.htm Neighborhood Scout (n.d.). About Bohemia / Yniestra. Retrieved from http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/pensacola/bohemia/#desc North Hill Preservation Association (n.d.). District Map. Retrieved from http://www.nhpapensacola.com/district.map/ Escambia County Property Appraiser (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.escpa.org/CAMA/Search.aspx Pensacola News Journal (n.d.). The Newcomers Guide to the Pensacola Bay Area: Pensacola and Its Communities. Retrieved from http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/99999999/newcomers/906260311 Maps Google Maps (n.d.). Map 1: Scenic Highway and East Olive Road, Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ Google Maps (n.d.). Map 2, North and East Hill Districts, Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ Photographic Images Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 3. 619 N Baylen Street (Photo front). Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 4. 619 N Baylen Street (Photo back). Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 6. 904 N Baylen Street (Photo front). Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 7. 904 N Baylen Street (Photo back). Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 9. 1129 E Gadsden Street (Photo front). Pensacola Historical Society. Figure 10. 1129 E Gadsden Street (Photo back). Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 1. 222 W LaRua Street and N Barcelona Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 2. 611N Barcelona Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 5. 619 N Baylen Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 8. 904 N Baylen Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 11. 1129 E Gadsden Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 12. 1300 E La Rua Street Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 13. 8621 Rosemont Dr. Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 14. 4390 Devereux Dr. Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 15. 4560 Bohemia Dr. Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 16. 533 Eastwood Place Leite, Maria (2013). Figure 17. 524 Eastwood Place