What Are America’s Most Iconic Homes?
According to the National Building Museum, these houses, more than most, have impacted the way we live
- By Megan Gambino
- Smithsonian.com, April 27, 2012
(Model by Studios Eichbaum + Arnold, 2011. Photo by Museum staff.)
George Washington’s Georgian-style plantation home near Alexandria, Virginia, is, arguably, the most emulated house in America. “This house can be seen in various forms all across the country in every region,” says Mellins. “There are Howard Johnson’s restaurants that are going on this. There are banks. There are funeral parlors. This becomes sort of a typical architectural image.”
In the 1920s, Sears, Roebuck and Co. even sold a mail-order home modeled after Mount Vernon, confusingly called “The Jefferson.” As the catalog billed, the eight-bedroom, two-bath southern colonial “spells success.” The design called for a whitewashed brick exterior, borrowing from Mount Vernon’s look. Washington’s home is sided in wood, but the wood is covered with white paint laced with sand to give the appearance of stone blocks. The Sears blueprint also included a front porch that bore a resemblance to Mount Vernon’s back porch, facing the Potomac River. “The outdoor porch is a key element of the American home that resonates through to today,” says Mellins.
Comments (4)
Ah, the East coast bias. California's Sea Ranch influenced nothing. The Greene and Greene houses set the standard for the style that would be come a "California Craftsman" home. Individual G&G homes may be hard to put on the list, but they are neither less deserving nor less iconic than those on the list. Look only to the Robert R. Blacker house ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._Blacker_House ) or the Gamble house ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamble_House_(Pasadena,_California) ) for examples. Indeed, the Gamble house is a public museum, and one of the best examples of the style, form, methods, and techniques that would come to define West coast style for the next century beyond its construction. How many houses on this list can say the same? --Thom
Posted by Thomas on May 15,2012 | 01:18 AM
Agree with most on the list but Richard Morris Hunt's contributions with the Vanderbilt's "Biltmore" in Ashville, N.C. or "The Breakers" in Newport, R.I. can hardly be ignored. Probably America's first most influential but if not tragically passed-over architects Benjamin Latrobe's "Decatur House" in Washington, D.C. was home to many powerful early American lawmakers. Julia Morgan's "San Simeon" also known as Hearst Castle could also stand shoulder to shoulder with Vizcaya!
Posted by Marc Legris on May 10,2012 | 07:56 PM
Um, I think you missed Falling Water in the list, Arline.
Posted by PTBoat on May 7,2012 | 10:09 AM
I don't disagree that these homes are quite iconic and impressive, but I cannot fathom a list of iconic homes not including one of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Maybe not as old or as big, but certainly one of the, if not The most iconic of homes.
Posted by Arline Esposito on May 3,2012 | 06:12 PM