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Barrie through the ages: |
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|Lake Simcoe | Innisfil | Essa | Oro-Medonte | New Tecumseth | Clearview | Springwater | Barrie | Alcona | Stroud | Churchill | Cookstown | Alliston | Midhurst | |
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Turn of the century (the second last turn of the century) |
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The Victoria style of architecture was characterized by fine sculputural detailing. I think of it as doiley-design. The curly "gingerbread" trim in the eaves is characteristic of Victorian-era homes. The death of Queen Victoria and the early years of her son Edward's reign coincided with a revolution in architectural design. The Arts and Crafts movement, also known as the Mission style or Craftsman style, was a rebellion against the frilly excesses of the Victorian period, and is characterized by straight lines and plain no-nonsense design. It's not a co-incidence that Burton Avenue in Allandale, with its Edwardian Homes, is also the home of King Edward school. Bradford Street in Barrie and Burton Avenue in Allandale (ok it's really still Barrie) are as much fun as an art gallery if you're a fan of old houses. |
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Have you bought a house in the last 10 years? If not, there's a revolution that you should know about. Read about Buyer Agency and how it saves you money |
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The 19Teens |
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The Arts and Crafts Movement/Craftsman influence continued to dominate after 1910 and was adopted with a vengeance by window manufacturers. Small upper sash mullions are reminiscent of Stickly chair backs. The shutters in the pictures were not original to the houses' design. If you buy one, don't change the porch windows, but please do remove the shutters. Real shutters would cover the entire window area when they were closed, and they do close. Anything smaller, or immovable, is a renovation from the 1960's. |
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The Roaring 20's |
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The era of the 'porch swing'. The designs didn't change, but the houses got bigger as their owners typically were richer. |
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The dirty 30's |
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The big brick houses of the earlier decades were an expression of the owner's wealth and importance in the community. The houses built in the 1930's were built during the Great Depression, a period of great insecurity about the future, and with great restraint. Lumber and reduced standards prevailed, but the Craftsman style still prevailed. |
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The 1940's |
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The 1940's buyers celebrated the end of the second World War, and the emergence of the Mortgage. Prior to the 1940s, if you wanted to buy a house, you paid cash. The revolutionary 1940's mortgage allowed a buyer to borrow up to an extraordinary 20% of the purchase price of the house. Contrast that with today's buyers who can mortgage up to 95% of their house's value, (and borrow up to 110%) and the evolution in house design between 1940's houses and 2008's houses is more understandable. |
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The 1950's |
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The automobile is credited with the creation of subdivisions in the 1950's but, in reality, in the abscence of automobiles, other forms of transportation would have evolved to ferry homeowners out of the inner core of cities to the subdivisions. It was actually the invention of the Residential Mortgage that allowed inner-city folk to persue their dreams of moving out of their apartment in the city to a bit of land in the country. Mortgages created demand for an affordable place outside of the city. To fill the need, entrepreneurial builders became Tract Housing Developers. They begat the subdivision. The 1950's were the best and last years for the Craftsman style of architecture, and turned the frugality of the 1940's bungalow (a house with living space on one level, by Canadian definitions) into an attractive brick home. It was a revolutionary concept, and set the stage for the 1960's. The styles of the 1940's didn't change much but the quality of construction did. Brick and sandstone exteriors replaced the frugal wood siding of the 1940's. Hardwood floors replaced linoleum. |
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The 1960's |
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Buyers became more numerous and architects became more bold in the 1960's. It wasn't just a revolutionary time for drug use, mini-skirts, or for hippies having rock concerts in farmers' fields. Someone conceived of the "split-level" house that combined the best features of the two-story house with those of the bungalow. "Contemporary" designs emerged and became identified with the 1960's and 1970's, which is an oximoron. The Craftsman style was abandoned as "old fashioned" and the jet set mentality, James Bond matrini bars in basements took over people's imagination. Lot sizes stayed the same and houses got larger. |
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The 1970's |
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In the 1970's, Tract Developers became more numerous, and competition emerged. How best to make more money in a competitive situation? Sell more units! Lot frontages shrank. As a designer, how do you incorporate an essential garage into the design of a house? You put it under the house. The split level houses of the 1960's opened up a new world for homeowners. Until then, the basement was where you put the furnace. In the 1970's, builders realized they could build the house a bit higher, put larger windows in the basement, and sell it for a lot more. Same smaller sized lot, same house, more money. A generation grew up in their parent's basement, because of the larger legal window, and they created Mike Myer's "Wayne's World." |
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The 1980's |
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The 1980's are a bit of an anomaly in Barrie. In 1985, a major tornado stuck the city. Builders downgraded their designs and materials. While this was going on, it was the money-is-everything era in the rest of North America. The builders seemed to have pulled back on their expenses. Bay windows were prominent during this period, as was vinyl siding. Concrete brick made it's appearance, then builder realized the smaller concrete bricks were more expensive to lay and were corroded by road-salt. |
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The 1990's |
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The 1990's were the Technology-Stock boom years. Quick money made on vague promises. Houses became larger and more pretentious, while the actual valuable part of the property (the lot) became smaller. Architects finally began to pay attention to the eye-candy curb appeal aspects of their designs. Arches reappeared over windows, hinting at a fondness for the earlier designs of the Craftsman design between 1900 and 1959, and the direction house designs were heading. Double garages overtook single garages as the standard. Brick became part of the decorative design elements of the house, instead of just weatherproofing materials. The contrasting blocks on the corners (coining) are characteristic of houses build during the 1990's. |
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The New "Century Homes" |
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Forget about the film "Back to the Future." How about, 'Fast forward to the Past?' It took a hundred years to go from tall high peaked roofs, gingerbread trim, pillars and porches, on a large lot, to all of the same stuff on a small lot. Wow that's progess. The original "Century Home" occupants would think they were on another planet though when they saw the technology used to build the new replicas of their old homes, and to make the house live and breath after it's built. We're almost into the second decade of the third millenium. Custom builders are now incorporating "green" technologies into their designs. When those efficiencies start spilling over into the realm of the "Tract Developers" the houses of the future will start another revolution comparable to the one in the 1960's. The Jetson's house won't look so unfamiliar. The Victorian replicas are a short retraction in styles. When you jump onto a trampoline, you sink down towards the ground, moving negatively. Then it throws you back up into the air, by retracting, and you fly up into a positive place you've never been before. We haven't seen anything yet! |
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Until about 10 years ago, when a buyer was working with a Realtor and submitting an offer on a house, the buyer's Realtor was actually working for the seller. Both Realtors involved in the deal were playing the role of "commissioned salespeople," treating the buyer as a consumer and trying to get the best deal for the seller. It was caveat emptor; buyer beware. Today, Realtors play more of a consultative role and the better ones don't consider themselves to be salepeople. The seller's Realtor doesn't sell the house so much as they help the seller position the house in the marketplace to its best advantage to get the highest price for it. More importantly for you, today's buyers have their own Realtor. When, as a buyer, you retain a Realtor under contract, they are obligated to protect your interests and to help get you the best deal. They are obligated to ensure that you avoid properties with problems that will cost you money after you buy, unless you know about them up front and adjust your offer to compensate for your after-purchase expenses. They are obligated to inform you about what other buyers are paying for similar houses, and to ensure that you do not offer too much. The best part is, your Realtor's commission is still paid by the seller, not by you, the buyer, except under rare circumstances. What does that mean when you're looking for a house? In the past you would have called up the "agent" whose name was on the for-sale sign and put in an offer through them. Today, you understand that he's working for the seller. That would be like calling your spouse's lawyer to represent you in a marriage breakup. You now would call a Realtor to represent you in the deal. If you're wise, you will call an experienced Realtor who has evolved with buyer agency and has incorporated it into a system like my Fast-track program. You can learn more about buying in todays market through my FAQ page, or you can just call me with your questions!
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'© WRinehart2008 All rights reserved.
Reproduction or distribution without the express written consent of the author is prohibited under international copyright law
