The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-21
House-Building Fashions
Noted by Local Architects
Change Recently Taken Place the Styles
Indianapolis Residences Suggested

II
ssAA@A architects and building contract
sczn&oI Ors-for il is said that there are
49, more frame houses in this city
than in any other Of its size in the coun-
try-is undergoing a change. When man
undertakes to build a house, of course, his
wife has ideas on the subject TO
which attention must BE- given
that is. il the house is being built
as a home and not for renting purposes or
for speculation. As she has to stay in it
most of the time, she can very readily tell
what is wanted and what is not, and she
can also figure out what is most convenient
about a house and how it can be arranged
so rs to be more easily kept in order. Her
feminine instinct prevails in styles of
/ houses as ii does in patterns Of dress goods;
she wants exclusive design, and it is this
that is bringing about the changes in the
| styles Of houses in indianapolis.
| 1t used 10 be that either the cottage or
the two-story frame was what everybody
wanted; in many instances people built
double frame dwellings so that they could
rent one side and live in the other But
architects say that the days for the double
houses are gone by and that they are now
seldom erected. The new house that is
coming in vogue, and which for the last
year has been built almost exclusively,
is something on the order of a colonial
style. but does not have the large columns
in front these houses did. The new
house is Of an old English design and is
the kind OF structure that built in that
country during the Georgian days. 1t re-
sembles IN some respects the Elizabethian
design of house, but is said to be more per-
feet and desirable. 1t is also something
new and as yet only those who have some
pretensions to wealth can afford to build
houses in the old English style.
| The majority of dwelling houses that have
been built in this city in the last year have
| been erected by people who all their lives
have lived in the heart OF the town, but
now the city is growing at such a rapid
| rate that it is driving them from their old
homes and they are seeking dwellings in the
| suburbs and outskirts of the city. 1t is
said the number of people who sold their
downtown property and moved away to the
| less thickly settled parts of town was re-
markable in the last year. Men about
| town contend that this shows the growth of
Indianapolis more than anything else, and
| that whenever the noise gets so that people
can't live near the heart of a city it is be-
coming a metropolis. The architects say it
| is getting so that there are no living houses
with the exception of apartment houses
| being built anywhere near downtown and
that the whole tendency of people is to get
out of the heart of the city.
At present apartment houses or flats are
proving very popular with a great many
people. and it is said that during the COM
ing spring and summer a large number will
be added to the already extensive list in the
city. The indications point to the fact that
all of these flats will be occupied. 1t is
said that they cannot be built fast enough
to supply the demand and that as soon as
they are completed they are filled. A
.well-knOwn architect says the strange thing
| about the flats is that they occupied
by families with moderate means and those
who are compelled to live near the center
on account of their business.
ADVANTAGES OF FLATS.
1.-THE people who for the most part oc-
cupy flats he says. ARE those who must
be near the business center so that they
can get to work on time in the morning
Another thing that 1 have noticed about
apartment houses is that they are not, as
a general rule, dwelt in by the old Indian
| apOls people who have always owned a
homestead and had a plot of ground about
it. The latter, for the most part. continue
| TO own their homes and prefer to move
from the heart of the city, where il is more
| comfortable and where there is less. noise
The majority of people who occupy flats
are those who work on salaries and great
many of them have come from other cities
here, as is often done by those who work
for large corporations. The man who de-
ponds on salary finds that he can live in
a fiat cheaper than he rent house. for
his fuel and his light are included in his
rent and he does not have to look out for
them in addition, which is great conven-
fence. And this class of people, instead
! of buying property of their own, would
rather go into an apartment house because
their income would not permit them to buy
! anywhere near the heart of the city, and on
| account OF their work they are compelled
| TO be close enough so that they can get
| to it without trouble Take it all around
| the fiat is the most convenient place for this
| class.
MY experience" the speaker went on
in the last two years has been that the
people who are building houses are those
| who are pretty well off financially and de-
| sire a home where they can have things
| TO suit themselves, also where they can
have a spot of ground on which in the sum-
| mer they can have flowers and some preten-
| siOns TO a lawn. Not a few families who are
| only in moderate circumstance like such
| things and have them, only a smaller
| scale. In most OF the suburbs you find men
| who are working on salaries who will have
| homes of their own if they do have
| TO start TO work a few minutes earlier in
the morning than when living in the heart
| of the town
Il have found that some men take con-
| siderable pride in such matters and will
| themselves do what landscaping is neces-
| sary TO piece of ground. Some of them
| show great mack in such things, and l have
seen men make little suburban home very
attractive and beautiful just from their
| own work. But as | said before, the ma
| Jority of people who live on salaries pre-
| fer living in flats because during the winter
! months II is much more convenient No
| fuel has TO be looked out for. and then
| the street-car service does not have to be
| depended upon to get to town. A fiat in
/ most cases is within walking distance and
! this is a great help where one has to start
| out in the snow before any paths are broken
| and stand around in the cold waiting for
! street car"
The average house that has been built
/ in the last year in this city, il is said
has cost about $4,000. where a few years
| ago the average was not above $1,000. The
| reason for this great difference is that Deo-
/ pie are putting their houses up i'm better
| condition now than formerly and are using
| finer materials. What has much To do in
| bringing this average higher i'm the last
| year. it is said is that people are not now
! building houses as a matter of speculation
| but instead are building them for homes
/ and are therefore sparing no expense or
care in putting them up. Another thing
| that has had a great tendency to raise
i fln MI of h. -