The house on 2016 N. Phillippi St. is the epitome of post World War II United States housing style. It was adopted as an easy on the budget plan for baby boom families coming back from or living through the war. Its basis is that it is a simplistic, affordable, yet functional home. The concept truly allowed Americans to achieve the “American Dream”. The ranch style home in general gained popularity by accommodating the average American while providing abundant space in rural suburbs around major cities.
Records show that this house was built in 1952 however; the deed to the home says that the actual built date was in 1949. The home had its first remodel done in the 1970’s when the second owners converted the back porch to a family room, made the garage into a master bedroom, and added a two car garage on the south side of the home. The current owners moved in, in 1994. They completed the remodel to the homes current specifications. They gutted and remodeled the kitchen, as well as the basement.
Hardwood floors were installed in the complete upstairs. The driveway was changed from a traditional one, to a more modernistic circular one. Adding a third car garage kept in line with the need of the 1990’s. The final remodel was done on a front courtyard with iron awning as well as extensive landscaping and a new back porch providing entertainment space.
Before very much development was done to the neighborhood the land was used for agricultural purposes. The majority of the land was owned by Dugan and Eva Mae Lewis in the mid 1940’s. The Lewis’s divided the land into many lots and sold them off separately. Prior to the construction of the property, the purchaser had to agree to a restrictive covenant signed upon purchasing the land. For instance, no structure costing less than $3000 dollars shall be constructed on any lot; also no persons of any other color or race besides white will be allowed to own property. The only exception is if servants are permitted by the lot owner to reside on the property.
The major changes made to the house were due to the new family moving in. The original house was a relatively small house square footage of approximately 1500. The current house has over 5000 sq. feet of living space. Due to the rising population after the 1950’s many of these homes went through remodels to add additional living and entertaining space for more occupants. Larger families need more room. Due to the rising popularity of automobiles in the twentieth century, many of these homes went through renovations to accommodate a few extra vehicles for each family. This neighborhood is well kept and still has a few first time home owners. Many homes have been subject to new families with new needs. It shows a vast change in American culture as it occurs over the years. This project felt a bit like a time machine and it has shown us many things that were previously unknown to the current tenants.