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The Ranch-Type House: Evolution, Evaluation, and Preservation

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THE RANCH-TYPE HOUSE: EVOLUTION, EVALUATION, AND PRESERVATION by MICHAEL KEVIN CHAPMAN (Under the Direction of Wayde A. Brown) ABSTRACT As buildings from the ‘recent past’ approach fifty years in age, the question of how to preserve these cultural resources is raised. This thesis considered one of those ‘recent past’ buildings: the Ranch-type house. Based upon an examination of the origins and development of the Ranch-type house and the architects who designed them in Georgia, the thesis specifically addresses the problem of evaluating and preserving this resource and how its significance can be evaluated. Utilizing archival materials and secondary research, this thesis demonstrates the framework within which these goals can be achieved. INDEX WORDS: Architect, Georgia, Historic Preservation, House, Modern, Ranch, Ranch- type, Ranch type, Recent Past, Suburban, World War II. THE RANCH-TYPE HOUSE: EVOLUTION, EVALUATION, AND PRESERVATION by MICHAEL KEVIN CHAPMAN B.A., The University of Georgia, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2007 © 2007 Michael Kevin Chapman All Rights Reserved THE RANCH-TYPE HOUSE: EVOLUTION, EVALUATION, AND PRESERVATION by MICHAEL KEVIN CHAPMAN Major Professor: Wayde A. Brown Committee: John C. Waters Douglas C. Bachtel Richard Cloues Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not have been able to complete this thesis without the help and support of a number of people. My major professor, Wayde Brown, has offered advice and analysis from the first outline to the final draft. To my thesis reading committee, John Waters, Doug Bachtel, and Richard Cloues I am grateful for your time and consideration. I am especially grateful for the knowledge and expertise offered by Richard Cloues. Dr. Cloues’s study of the Ranch-type house has been indispensable during the course of my research. My close friend Mike Vigilant has been particularly helpful, providing editorial advice and reading draft upon draft of my thesis. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my parents and close family members for offering support and encouragement to all my academic and professional undertakings. I am particularly fond of the adage, “When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know one thing: he did not get there by himself. Someone put him there.” My achievements were made possible by many wonderful people. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Terminology .................................................................................................2 Historic Preservation and the Ranch-type house .........................................2 Methodology ................................................................................................4 2 Evolution and development of the Ranch-type house nationally ............................8 Origins..........................................................................................................8 Evolution ....................................................................................................11 Plan Form ...................................................................................................13 Elements .....................................................................................................15 Interior........................................................................................................18 Relationship to the outdoors ......................................................................21 Automobiles and the Ranch-type house ....................................................24 Cliff May ....................................................................................................25 Suburban Expansion ..................................................................................28 Regionalism in architecture .......................................................................34 3 Ranch-type house forms in Georgia ......................................................................36 v Evaluating the house forms ........................................................................42 Stylistic elements of the Ranch-type house ...............................................44 Influence of the architect ...........................................................................46 Regional taste .............................................................................................48 4 Georgia architects and the Ranch-type house ........................................................51 James Harrison Finch .................................................................................52 Clement J. Ford ..........................................................................................60 George Thomas Heery ...............................................................................65 Jean League Newton ..................................................................................69 James R. Wilkinson ...................................................................................74 Modern architecture in Georgia .................................................................78 5 The challenge of evaluating and preserving the Ranch-type house .......................79 Evaluating Ranch-type houses ...................................................................80 Applying the criteria ..................................................................................84 Historic preservation challenges ................................................................88 Ranch-type houses and new construction ..................................................89 Recommendations for preserving the Ranch-type house...........................92 6 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................103 Lessons for Ranch-type house preservation ............................................106 Answering the research questions ............................................................107 Conclusion ...............................................................................................109 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................112 PHOTO CREDITS.......................................................................................................................119 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Ranch-type house .............................................................................................................1 Figure 2: Bandini House ..................................................................................................................9 Figure 3: Casa Estudillo .................................................................................................................10 Figure 4: Asymmetrical plan .........................................................................................................13 Figure 5: Picture window in Ranch-type house .............................................................................14 Figure 6: Zones of activity in a Ranch-type house ........................................................................15 Figure 7: Decorative shutters .........................................................................................................16 Figure 8: Ford House .....................................................................................................................16 Figure 9: Artist rendering of a Ranch-type house ..........................................................................17 Figure 10: Ranch-type house with gable roof ................................................................................18 Figure 11: Kitchen featuring the latest appliances .........................................................................19 Figure 12: Living room/ dining room ............................................................................................20 Figure 13: Kitchen in Ranch-type house .......................................................................................20 Figure 14: Front porch, columns, and decorative shutters .............................................................21 Figure 15: Sliding glass door and patio .........................................................................................22 Figure 16: Sliding glass door from interior....................................................................................22 Figure 17: Ranch-type house and outdoor activities ......................................................................24 Figure 18: Ranch-type house with carport .....................................................................................24 Figure 19: May’s plan book that popularized the Ranch-type house ............................................28 vii Figure 20: Plan books of Ranch-type houses .................................................................................29
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