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A covered front porch that extends the full width of the house is common in Foursquares. But a number of them have partial porches or ones that wrap around to the side. And there is an option to have a center door or one on the other side of the house. A center dormer (that infuses light and air into the attic) that also has a hipped roof to match the house’s main roof. Both the overall footprint and individual rooms are squarish, giving the house its name, though it’s sometimes known as the Prairie Box.
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Whether it’s made of wood, brick, or stucco, the Foursquare has an important place in the history of American domestic architecture. We know that the Foursquare was one of the most popular styles in the U.S. in the late 19th century and well into the first third of the 20th century – and beyond. It was a style loved by the urban middle class for its affordability, adaptability, and eclectic touches.
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Low-Pitched Hipped Roof
Enter the Foursquare, one of the most popular styles in the U.S. from the mid-1890s through the late 1930s during the economic boom that resulted in a greater demand for housing. Imagine the United States in the late 19th century in the midst of a growing economy and modernization. Urban communities were developing fast with more Americans leaving rural areas to pursue employment opportunities in the cities.
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Each room, therefore, became a corner room with two cross-ventilating windows found on the two outside walls. This was no small consideration in the days before air conditioning (or even electric fans). Interior appointments and fixtures could be simple, but most borrowed at least some elements from the Craftsman, Colonial Revival, or even — in the 1920s — the Art Deco design movement.
Room at the Top for a Classic American Foursquare
To be sure, they were well suited to accomodate Prairie and Craftsman styling, which was popular during the heyday of the Foursquare. Thus the iconic versions often feature massive stone porch columns, banding and other emphasis on horizontal lines, and low-pitched roofs with wide overhangs and exposed rafters. The Foursquare also has some of the most eclectic variations of any style.
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These grand Foursquare homes then paved the way for simpler, smaller forms for wider consumption that we commonly see. On top of these more efficient construction practices, American Foursquares were even more economical since they gave a bigger “bang for the buck”. Because a cube encloses the most amount of space with the least amount of material. Plus, Foursquare homes were a “no-frills” plan, not requiring the time and cost to craft the complex and ornate trim of the Victorian.
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However, as described above, in practice Foursquares were commonly not a perfect shape. They were more deep than wide in order to maximize space of the typical streetcar suburb lot. The typical Foursquare house (also commonly known as an American Foursquare) generally has the following exterior and interior features. As with all types of architecture, there are several variations. In the past, some people have superficially referred to these houses as “boxy.” But a more thorough observation today reveals a carefully balanced, almost Zen-like refinement to their “simple” design.
The American Foursquare or American Four Square (American 4 Square) is an American house vernacular under the Arts and Crafts style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. This architectural vernacular incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles. The interior plans of Four-Squares are as regular as the exteriors. In the purest interpretation of the style, four square rooms were placed on the first floor and four on the second.
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Born in the time of Sear’s & Roebuck’s massively popular mail order catalogue and during the Industrial Revolution’s heyday, the American Foursquare was an everyman’s house. Though not technically an architectural style on its own (it’s a subtype of The Prairie Style), the American Foursquare is so prevalent that I thought it deserved its own page. Large foursquare home with brick and wood shingle exterior. • QUIET STYLE Yes, there are Foursquares with lots of art glass, jutting bays, and tiled roofs, but in general the “style” of the house is quietly announced in the use of simplified motifs, whether A&C, Prairie, or Colonial. The American Foursquare may have a no-frills exterior appearance. But inside this unique “square type of house” are details and decor accents that made it so popular in the late 19th century – and considered very charming and iconic today.
The “square type of modern home” captivated a growing urban middle class that loved its affordability and efficiency of construction. Because the Foursquare had a simple design, it was cheaper than the Victorian homes that had all the elaborate trims and decorative details. And before long, the Foursquare – with its modest and understated design, clean, straightforward lines, balance, and classic proportions – was built from coast to coast. 'The upper floor could contain three bedrooms and a bathroom in the corner, though sometimes a bathroom was squeezed next to the stairwell on the ground floor or between two bedrooms, freeing up space for a fourth bedroom. While some houses were designed with a central entrance and hallway, such a plan used space less economically than those with the stairs to the side. Houses in the Sears Modern Homes catalog, like the Hillrose shown here, were marketed competitively from 1915 to 1920.
Its size also allowed it the ability to fit into town and city lots, which suited it well for the times as more people were moving to the cities and suburbs for manufacturing jobs. Two additions would increase the living space from 1,810 square feet to 3,054. Built in 1915, the symmetrical house had the classic configuration of four rooms downstairs and four up, plus a dormered attic under a hipped roof and an ample front porch.
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