Sitcom Suburbs

I've driven up and down Millersport Highway many times and never noticed how little variation there was in the homes between Eggert and Bailey. What I saw was undoubtedly "little boxes" in about three or four different styles with some minor variations, in some cases exact copies, of each. In the above photo, with minimal searching, the first and fourth house in the picture, starting from the left, are exact copies of each other, setting a trend that continued down the street, some right next to each other. It's just fascinating how much people wanted to buy their own home in the post WWII era.

However, even though these cookie cutter homes are bunched together on this stretch of Millersport, I think it accomplished the objective of house, yard, and neighborhood, seeing as how the lot sizes are even pretty average by today's standards, the neighbors are close by and the family has ample space in their own quarters. Depending on what each family values home, yard and neighborhood, then that would determine the extent to which these Millersport homes satisfied the ideals of the sitcom suburbs. The developers sure used the lots they had to fullest, leaving land untouched. That being said, I think today's suburbanites have a little different idea as to what their land should be as well as their home and neighborhood. Land values are high in today's suburbs, but that is because the more land one has, the more valuable the property and the house is. The new suburbanites, many of whom have lived in the suburbs most or some of their lives , see a need for more land because that is what most post WWII homes were lacking, a nice chunk of land, maybe 3/4 to 1 acre. With that amount of land it is possible to put a pool and swing set and maybe even a patio and still have room for a good football game. Often, with a large plot of land, people can have the freedom to build a bigger house, which keeps with the original ideals, but molds them to fit the current times. As far as neighborhoods go, some people dislike being close to neighbors, or anyone for that matter, and some people can't get close enough with their neighbors. I think this particular example of proximity between homes is a good example of not too far and not too close.

Overall, the Millersport homes are still viewed as starter houses for many modest families who are new to married life and/or parenthood. They are moderate and give a nice taste of the home as a place of peace and relaxation, land where the children can play, and neighbors whom one can ask to watch the children or two eggs for a cake. Those same ideals are still in place today, but just modified to be bigger and a little better to fit the changing times of today and the future. 

Buffalo Architecture

I decided to take the second option and go exploring around North Buffalo, the Villages of Williamsville and Kenmore, as well as the Town of Tonawanda. North Buffalo is an architectural gold mine because of the variation of styles and span of time in which they were built. Also, some of the houses were not done justice by the pictures because of the sheer size of some of these houses; they just seemed to keep going back, across or both as I looked from different angles.

These American Foursquare styles are numerous around North Buffalo and Kenmore. This particular house is in Kenmore on Parkwood Ave. which is just west of Colvin and just north of Kenmore Ave. The features on this house are almost uniform for all other houses of this style, which includes two and a half stories, the boxy, symmetrical structure and the off center entrance. Some have a front porch, which this one does,as well as a what looks to be a wood- burning fireplace, which may be a result of the early 20th century construction date of this home.

This particular Victorian was on the corner of Woodward and Florence Pkwy. in the Parkside neighborhood of North Buffalo. This particular house would be considered a Queen Anne because of the porch on the front of the house, which is essential to any Queen Anne Victorian. However, there was no tower on this house, but even through the color choice was exactly spot on, one could still see the ornate spindle work and the texture of the exterior. This was an example of the camera not be able to do justice to the enormity and beauty of the house which was built anywhere from 1894-1899, so says the neighbor.

 Located at 232 Crescent Ave., this is an example of the Stick style Victorian home ranging from 1860 to 1890 and a very clean example of what the angularity should be on this type of home, in that it is very pleasing to the eye. It seems to have a wood construction and the "stick" exterior if evident at the top of the house. Also, as of November 1, its paint is in keeping with  a stick style, has a nice contrast in its colors.

This house at 440 Lincoln Pkwy. in Buffalo, was found by accident and is a more recent example of the federal style of architecture. The slope of the roof has a medium pitch to it and the windows are the standard five across the top and four on the bottom for this type of house. Also, each individual window has twelve panes of glass, seeing as how it was nearly impossible to make large panes of the glass in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but this one I believe was built in the 1920's.

This house, at the corner of Linden and Amherst St. was another come across by accident, is not really anything on the list that can be matched perfectly, but in my opinion it could be considered a Georgian home because of the symmetrically placed chimney,at the end of the wall and symmetrically placed dormer windows at the top of the house. If I had to venture a guess, it would that this house was built in the 1910's to 20's.

This house shocked me when I looked across the street because it looked extremely similar to the Darwin Martin House. However, this house is located at 30 Tillinghast Pl. just east of Colvin by Nichols School. It has the Prairie features with the broad horizontal forms, low square chimney and overall a very horizontal appearance. Also, it just seems to have an organic appearance with the nature around, not seeming as if it was cleared to make way for, but as a structure that is just there and blending in with nature, which was the intended design.

 This example of a ranch style home is in the Town of Tonawanda of Glendale Dr. It is all brick and only story. the ranch is all brick and has a spacious floor plan because of just the one floor.

This Tudor style house is located at 331 Lincoln Pkwy in Buffalo. It has designs in the brick, specifically above the windows and small windows, both characteristic of the early 20th century Tudor style. Also, the deep pitched is also evident along with the prominent chimney.

 Lastly, this house, built in 1872, originally as a church (it says "Ye Olde Church" above the doorway) on S. Cayuga Rd. in Williamsville, baffles me as to what type of architectural style it best fits. I am going to take a shot and say that it could be a later Greek Revival, without the columns because of the placement of the window at the top of the structure, which is similar to the Theodore Roosevelt inauguration house. However, the offset nature of the windows and the door could be 17th century ideas that the New Englanders thought looked good in that time.

After two hours of driving and picture taking, I realized the many styles of architecture and the detail and craftsmanship with which many of these homes were built. It allows one to appreciate the former wealth and taste of past Buffalonians.


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