When driving through a neighborhood of Bungalow, American Four Square, and Revival houses in Irvington, it completely shocked us to find this rare Art Moderne (Streamline Moderne) house on Bolton Avenue. No, it’s not a former gas station or commercial building. It’s a relic of the Modernist movement of the 1930s. Aerodynamic-inspired features gave this style its name, but this house looks about as aerodynamic as grandma’s attic.

Below is a quick-and-dirty list of features found in Streamline Moderne houses compared to the features found in our WTH house.

-Art Moderne is characterized by horizontal emphasis and is often asymmetrical. In this case, the horizontal nature of the house is overshadowed by overgrown hedges, towering trees, an inexcusable wood privacy fence, and vinyl cornerboards/window cladding in a distinct color from the rest of the house.

-Typically for this style, walls are smooth and typically of stucco finish.  This house is covered in vinyl siding, which for once adds too much detail!

-The style defining flat roof is still present, but the same cannot be said for a coping ledge which most likely capped the walls.

-Plate glass or *gasp* glass block windows are often used in this style. Our example has replaced single-pane casement windows with colonial vinyl and added a bay window. (Dear home owners, changing out your windows will not make your home a Bungalow or Queen Ann Victorian).

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland