Tudor Revival found at 5734 North Washington Blvd
Tudor Revival. Another one of the many revival styles found in Indianapolis is the Tudor Revival. Original Tudor architecture dates from the 15th and 16th centuries in England, while the revival of the style in the United States gained prominence in the late 19th century into the first couple of decades of the 20th century. The style is frequently found on residential architecture, but is also seen on educational or religious structures. The Tudor Revival can include a wide variety of details, so we will touch on some, if not most, of the range of the style today.
The exterior walls of a Tudor Revival typically employ brick as a primary material, although stucco and stone can be found in select examples. Brickwork patterns or stone ornament commonly accent the brick exterior walls. The Tudor Revival features a steeply pitched gabled roof, typically of slate tile, with a prominent chimney with ornamental details. Gabled roofs will regularly feature a side or cross-gable, occasionally alongside dormer windows.
The depth of ornamental features utilized in a Tudor Revival allows each structure to create an unique varation of the style. Gabled ends might feature false half-timbering, which can use a stucco wall covering with raised wood panels. Entrances or windows might include stone details, including quoins. Entrances can include arched openings, while windows commonly utilize casement style, wood or steel windows. An oriel window or simple bay window might be found on larger Tudor Revivals. Floral motifs can be found in stonework to add an additional layer of ornamentation.
I particularly love the Tudor Revival in Indianapolis as it is found frequently in the neighborhoods bounded by Broad Ripple Avenue to the north, North Keystone Avenue to the east, 38th Street to the south, and North Meridian Street to the west. In pondering the many Tudor Revival examples within this boundary, I found two that help illustrate the typical use of the style.
The first is located at 5734 North Washington Boulevard. This adorable cottage home is a typical presentation of the Tudor Revival, including a prominent cross-gable on its primary façade (west elevation). This residence includes a steep, gabled roof, with slate tile, and a large brick chimney that embellishes the primary elevation. Although the exterior is of brick, stonework is found surrounding the arched entrance. Casement windows with stone details finish off the typical Tudor details of this Indianapolis home.
Tudor Revival at 5715 North Pennsylvania Street
Another Tudor Revival example is found at 5715 North Pennsylvania Street. This brick home includes two cross-gables on its primary (west) façade. Ornamental brickwork adorns the southern (right) cross-gable. The steep, gabled roof with slate tile also includes two dormer windows, each with a pair of casement windows. Quoins surround the doorway and select windows on this home.
Add it to your vocabulary – how might one use today’s Building Language term in their everyday life?
The neighborhood was filled with Tudor Revival homes, suggesting it was built sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Greetings. I live in Canada in a modest 50s modern neighbourhood. A developer has purchased an old school across the street and is currently building the first model home. From the roof it appears that the houses are going to be an eyesore version of Tudor revival. The roof is 1 1/2 stories high, cross gabled, and steeply sloped but has no windows. The cross gables are fake; the house is a rectangle and the gables are shallow. The framer tells me that there is no living space planned for the attic, and there are too many cross sturts to ever build there.. There is a Tudor/Dutch style slope close to the eaves. Is there a name for such a monstrosity? I would like to use the proper terminology when I speak to the developer and city councillors who stated that the houses would be built in the character of the neighbourhood. Thank-you for your help
Well, Anne, sounds like you have a neighborhood going in without any regard to the design, whether it be of the house or fitting in with the existing environment. I would assume that with your description of “modest 50s modern neighbourhood,” you are generally describing one story, ranch style homes, generally with a strong emphasis on horizontality? I hope I’m not too far off here. So, obviously the new construction doesn’t fit — its incompatible design to the existing neighborhood (that’s an official phrase for you!)
It sounds like they found an architectural style they knew people like (and would thus, sell), and the tudor is always a favorite. Unfortunately, these developments (we have them in Indianapolis area, too, although not too often, here is one example: http://www.westclay.com/village_of_west_clay.aspx), try to create the false sense of place of a historic district by drawing upon historic design features in a hap-hazard way.
I hope this helps! As I am not sure which province you live in, it might be worthwhile to find a local, provincial, or national preservation/heritage/conservation organization contact them to ask questions if they have encountered this in other areas and how they responded!