Potter–Williams House (Davenport, Iowa)

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Potter–Williams House
Potter-Williams House yard.JPG
The hill the house was built into is seen on the right.
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Location 427 E. 7th St.
Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates 41°31′59″N90°35′26″W / 41.53306°N 90.59056°W / 41.53306; -90.59056 Coordinates: 41°31′59″N90°35′26″W / 41.53306°N 90.59056°W / 41.53306; -90.59056
Area less than one acre
Built 1872
Architectural style Greek Revival
MPS Davenport MRA
NRHP reference # 84001522 [1]
Added to NRHP April 5, 1984

The Potter–Williams House was a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. This Vernacular style Greek Revival residence was built in 1873. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, [1] and has subsequently been torn down.

Davenport, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Davenport is the county seat of Scott County in Iowa and is located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. It is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population estimate of 382,630 and a CSA population of 474,226; it is the 90th largest CSA in the nation. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend George Davenport, a former English sailor who served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, served as a supplier Fort Armstrong, worked as a fur trader with the American Fur Company, and was appointed a quartermaster with the rank of colonel during the Black Hawk War. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685. The city appealed this figure, arguing that the Census Bureau missed a section of residents, and that its total population was more than 100,000. The Census Bureau estimated Davenport's 2011 population to be 100,802.

Vernacular architecture category of architecture based on local needs, construction materials and reflecting local traditions

Vernacular architecture encompasses the vast majority of the world's built environment, and thus resists a simple definition. It is perhaps best understood not by what it is, but what it can reveal about the culture of a people or place at any given time. The sheer range of global building types and developments--from Mongolian yurts to Japanese minka to American roadside commercial strips--suggests that vernacular architecture is everywhere, but tends to be disregarded or overlooked in traditional histories of architecture and design. As geographer Amos Rapoport has famously written, vernacular architecture constitutes 95 percent of the world's built environment: that which is not designed by professional architects and engineers. While such an understanding has its limitations, it nonetheless indicates the vastness of the subject and helps us recognize that all aspects of the built environment can impart something about the society and culture of a people or place. If nothing else, vernacular architecture cannot be distilled into a series of easy-to-digest patterns, materials, or elements. Vernacular architecture is not a style.

Greek Revival architecture architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture. The term was first used by Charles Robert Cockerell in a lecture he gave as Professor of Architecture to the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1842.

Contents

History

Waldo M. Potter, the editor of the Davenport Gazette, had this house built from 1872 to 1873. [2] Alexander F. Williams, a partner in the wholesale and retail hardware firm Seig & Williams, bought the house in 1878. He continued to live here into the 1890s. Williams initially was involved in dry goods, but eventually moved into hardware. Seig & Williams was formed in 1869 and sold heavy hardware. Williams oversaw the buying for the company.

Architecture

The house was neither a pure representation of the Greek Revival style nor was it a typical expression of the style built by local builders. Instead, it was an adaptation based on the unusual topography of the site. [2] From three sides the house was three stories tall, but the west side was built into a hill, so it appeared to be only two stories. It also stood out in a neighborhood that was mostly made up of small to medium-sized frame houses.

The Potter–Williams House was a T-shaped structure with a gabled roof and a three-story porch in the reentrant angle. The gable ends featured a wide, molded frieze. The first floor was composed of battered stone walls while the upper floors were brick. All of the windows were rectangular, and those on the second floor were taller than the windows on the other floors. The lintels were all composed of stone, and were probably influenced by the Italianate style that gained in prominence in Davenport after the Civil War. [2] Another decorative feature that was popular in other Greek revival houses in the city was a narrow molding strip that suggested a frieze. The hood over the west entrance of the house reflected the American Craftsman style.

Gable Generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns. A gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it.

Porch a room or gallery at the front entrance of a building forming a low front

A porch is a term used in architecture to describe a room or gallery located in front of the entrance of a building forming a low front, and placed in front of the facade of the building it commands. It can be defined more simply as a "projecting building that houses the entrance door of a building or as a vestibule, or hall.

Frieze wide central section part of an entablature

In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon the architrave and is capped by the moldings of the cornice. A frieze can be found on many Greek and Roman buildings, the Parthenon Frieze being the most famous, and perhaps the most elaborate. This style is typical for the Persians.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "Potter–Williams House". National Park Service . Retrieved 2015-02-11. with photo
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