The American Four Square came out of Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie Home style:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Foursquare
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_School
The hallmarks of the style include a basically square, boxy design, two-and-one-half stories high, usually with four large, boxy rooms to a floor, a center dormer, and a large front porch with wide stairs. The boxy shape provides a maximum amount of interior room space, to use a small city lot to best advantage.
In many ways it is the ideal home. Maximum interior space which you get with any square (only a Circle includes more space per outside dimensions). While most were custom built, the basic design permitted easy flow of people from one area to another. It is almost an early open concept design (before that term was invented). For these reasons it was the most popular design used in North America from about 1890 to WWII (home construction came to an almost compete stop in 1927 (another sign that the Great Depression started BEFORE the great stock market crash of 1929). Picked up a little bit in 1938-1939 do to FDR's great stimulus program that year AND the start up of a then Government Program (And would stay such till 1968) know as Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae was the first agency that would buy 20 year mortgages. Prior to Fannie Mae Mortgages tended to be one year in duration, and had to be renewed each year. This requirement of renewal and the demand on the banks for cash, lead to massive number of foreclosures in the early 1930s. Thus Fannie Mae stopped such foreclosures for it stopped the practice of one year mortgages for homes.
Fannie Mae started out in 1938, did financing in and during WWII, but do to the pressure of WWII, home building stopped in 1942, then restarted in 1946. Thus stop, go, stop, go (1927 Stop, 1938 go, 1942 Stop, 1946 go) is the reason it is hard to say when the four square STOP being built, some were built as late as during WWII for use by workers. On the other hand a lot of WWII construction and post WWII construction was of Ranch styles homes, for being one stories without a basement, they could be built quickly and given the demand for housing post WWII sold quickly. Thus the Ranch replaced the Four Square in the late 1940s.
The Four Square never regain it popularity mostly do to the Automobile. The porch was heavily used when people WALKED to work (it gave cover to remove umbrellas and other wet items) but not "needed" when people drove to and from work. The Four Square looks odd with a Garage, almost like the garage was an after thought (and generally it was). Thus the Colonial became the preferred housing starting in the 1950s. The Colonial and the Ranch dominated most housing Constructions till the McMansions started in the 1980s.
Back to the Four Squares. The Four Square could be had in many sizes, from quite small to McMansion sized. Very popular with all classes of people till people embraced the Automobiles as they main way to go to and from work (1954 is generally given as the year where more people purchased more new autos to replaced old autos over people buying they first autos).
Thus from the 1950s onward, people wanted their homes to reflect that they owned an automobiles and the four square could only do that is a separate garage. In my area, I have seen a lot of Four Squares in Rural Areas, with separate garages. I have seen them in urban areas with separate garages.
Back to Detroit. That this area had a lot of Four Squares implies this was a booming area between the 1890s and the 1930s. An upper middle class area that has basically been abandoned since WWII. This is strange for most housing lasts about 150 years. Housing can last longer if long term repairs and updating is done (Basically gutted and redone), and last shorter if given no care (You do not even paint it). Most poor people end up in housing built about 100-150 years before they move in. The housing has seen plenty if use and abuse but still has value. After about 150 years the housing, unless gutted and rebuilt, has almost no value except for the land it is on.
Four Squares are about 20-30 years away getting to the age that they need to be torn down or gutted. Thus the number of abandoned Four Squares in this video is remarkable, they should NOT be in such condition, that should be 20-30 years from now NOT now (1890 plus 150 is 2040). Most Four Squares are still in very good shape, becoming the home of the poor given their age and location. Most do NOT need a complete rebuild (and that many of the homes in the Video are Four Squares, shows how solid the Four Squares were built).
Just some comments on this video.
= new reply since forum marked as read
