The American Foursquare

The American Foursquare house, as featured on Marquette's Champion Street.

This housing style was popular from the mid-1890s on until around 1940. It is typified by a boxy design, a front-facing dormer window, and a hipped roof (in the Upper Peninsula, the roof is pitched much more steeply due to the snowy climate). The square design maximizes the use of a small city lot.

Many of these houses could be ordered by mail from catalogues such as Sears and Roebucks. They were delivered by train and came ready to build, for a cheap price.

Marquette Housing

Marquette is home to a lot of beautiful, varied houses. Some streets are more spectacular than others, namely Arch Street and Ridge Street.



An Italianate and Second Empire-themed house on Ridge Street. In this area, there is a lot of combining of styles, resulting in a unique appearance.



There is some very ornate woodwork on this porch.



The residents of Marquette go all out with their Halloween decorations!



A great Second Empire house on Ridge Street, made from sandstone.



Another great sandstone house on Ridge Street.



A Gothic Revival House, also on Ridge.



The historic Dandelion Cottage on Arch Street, built around 1880.

Greek Revival

Today, in American Architecture class, we discussed the Greek Revival style. Its roots in this country can be traced back to the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson and built in 1788. Generally, the style started to appear in both public and private buildings around 1820. Based on both Roman and Greek temples, the Greek Revival style was especially prevalent in government buildings and banks. This style of architecture represented democracy, stability, and trust -- an image that the newly-formed United States of America wanted to convey both to its citizens and to other countries.

The Greek Revival style was also used for private residences. Many of these houses, built by the rich and elite of America, were mansions of grand proportions. Others were more humble and less ornate. The Kempf House, built in 1853, is one of Ann Arbor's most celebrated structures. This small Greek Revival residence on South Division Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plaque outside the Kempf House reads:

Cast iron grills in an ancient Greek floral motif highlight the frieze of this temple-front Greek Revival house. Built in 1853 for Henry D. Bennett, Secretary and Steward of the University of Michigan, it became the home and studio of local musicians Reuben H. and Pauline Widenmann Kempf in 1890. [. . . ] The city of Ann Arbor purchased the house in 1969, and in 1983 it became the Kempf House Center for Local History.

A Sampling of Spectacular Homes

A Queen Anne style house in Hastings.



An octagon house south of Mayville, in Tuscola County. It now serves as a bed and breakfast.



A beautiful house in Plymouth. The roof has a very organic form.



This is the Davenport House in Saline, a Second Empire style mansion. It was built in 1875 at a cost of $8500.