Renaissance Style: History of the Four Square

Posted by Kelly Asmus on Aug 2, 2011 in Latest News, Renaissance Style, _Special | 1 comment

The American Four Square was manufactured by Sears Roebuck and sold in its catalog. Sears shipped in component parts to locations across the country. Sears manufactured an estimated 100,000 of these houses in various models and sizes. These houses were shipped in boxcars with a book of instructions. All the parts were pre-cut and numbered for self assembly. The houses were popular from the mid 1890s to the late 1930s. Prices ranged from $650 to over $5,000. Many are still standing today.

A Four Square is characterized by its 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. Other common features of the Four Square include a hipped roof and arched entries between common rooms. Many have built-in cabinetry and Craftsman style woodwork.

The layout was simple and straight forward. The first floor consisted of a dining room, living room, kitchen and foyer punctuated by a center hall leading upstairs where four bedrooms and one bath could be found. The bathroom was usually located between the bedrooms on one side of the house while the stairway separated the other two bedrooms on the opposite side.

Some models included a bathroom on the first floor. The top floor was basically a large open space with one to four dormers punctuating the roofline. The basement had windows on all four sides and provided excellent ventilation that cooled the house in the hot summer months.

The boxy shape was designed to maximize square footage on small city lots. The houses were popular in urban areas but made their way to rural America as well. The basic design of the Four Square was a reaction to the complexity and excess found in Victorian and Revival style homes that were popular in the later half of the 19th century. The clean lines of the Four Square incorporated elements of design found in Prairie School and Craftsman style homes.

Renaissance Homes builds new vintage style four square plans with energy efficient features in the Portland metro market. Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building.