Recollections: August 2023

The Laflèche House, 400 St. Charles Street, Winnipeg

The Paillé Farmhouse near (left) and the Caron House, 362 St. Charles Street

The American Foursquare house is instantly recognizable, and the similarities of these three in St. Charles are uncanny. The top one, of course, is our childhood home at 400 St. Charles Street. Below that is the Paillé house, located near the Perimeter Hwy. bridge over the Assiniboine River. [1] We remember it as the Vic Mager home. Their family (Vic, Cecile and son Marc) moved to the area in 1950 and lived in St. Charles for 43 years. Sadly, this cream-coloured brick house was sold to the City of Winnipeg and demolished. The red brick home, on the southern end of the block at 362 St. Charles Street, is the Caron House, also called The Nazareth. Early on, it was once used as a dormitory and for overflow classes by the St. Charles Convent nearby.

Louis Jules LaFlèche (1866–1955) and his wife Florestine (née Caron, 1876–1954) had a dozen children, and needed the large house (and its big kitchen!) at 400 St. Charles Street. Sons included Lucien, Camille, Irenée, Adrien, Louis Philippe, Gerard, Raoul, Jude, and Noel. Their three daughters were Marie Aimee, Angèle, and Odile. Scanty online research suggests that the eldest was Lucien (1897–1941), and the youngest was Odile (1915–2000). Odile was born in the house on May 7, 1915 and once promised me that it gave her the right to haunt it some day.

Louis and Florestine came west from Louisville, Quebec in 1896 and 1894, respectively, and were married in St. Charles in 1897. [Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 1947, p.8.]

The Laflèche and Caron homes were built in 1915, and it appears that the long-gone Paillé farmhouse is of the same era. Otherwise, we know little of this very familiar-looking third one. This trio is a fine collection of the American Foursquare (or Four Square) housing type.

Origins of the Foursquare

The American Foursquare (mid-1890s–1930s) appealed to middle-class families looking for simple, practical, and affordable housing. This type was economical to build, and provided maximum interior square footage on smaller lots. The housing style was especially popular between 1900 and 1920. Considered a modest, builder’s basic square house, it went by many names, and was not termed “Foursquare” until 1982 in an Old-House Journal magazine. [2]

Frank Lloyd Wright, whose earliest work “pioneered a humbler, boxier, more down-to-earth alternative for domestic architecture,” [3] has been credited for the style’s emergence. The Long Beach Historic District has called the distinctly American Foursquare a sub-style of Wright’s Prairie style that was developed around 1900 in Chicago.

On the other hand, Thomas Walter Hanchett points out that the first Foursquares preceded Wright’s Prairie homes, and might have influenced him, not the other way around. [4]

The Peter Goan residence [5] designed by Wright in 1893 in La Grange, Illinois has features we recognize in Foursquare homes, including a pyramidal roof with dormers, and a full-width porch and balcony. Wright emphasized horizontal lines on its exterior, but the cube shape dictates.

Wright designed the Peter Groan residence in 1893 (shown here in 1940). The house next door looks familiar, too.

Wright supported the idea of providing well-designed affordable houses for the masses, and designed plans for seven standardized house models. Between 1912 and 1916 over 960 drawings were produced by his firm. These were not as plain as Foursquare homes, and his main-floor plans were more open, but the idea was similar to mail-order kit house methods. The enterprise was operated and managed by a partner, Arthur L. Richards. World War I diverted building materials, however, and the partnership ended badly, with Wright suing his partner for fees and revenue owed. Only 25 System-Built Homes were constructed. [6]

Inspired by the broad, flat Midwest landscape, Wright eventually turned away from traditional house styles, and is best known for a new Prairie style that hugged the ground and emphasized horizontality. The Foursquare, on the other hand, was not concerned with nature and integration into the landscape.

As Bob Vila explains, “The Foursquare was a reaction against the exuberance of the Queen Anne style, full of decorative architectural elements and complex rooflines. That rambling asymmetry was out, and rectilinear was in.” [7]

An impressive row of c. 1885 Queen Anne Victorian homes in Savannah, Georgia [8]

The Foursquare was especially popular in the Midwest. It could be promoted as a large family farmhouse, or as a space-saving design for a city lot. An economic boom in the U.S. in the early 1900s created a demand for housing from a growing middle class, while advances in transportation allowed suburban developments.

A plain Foursquare house was economical to build and its cube shape enclosed a maximum amount of space with the least amount of material. Its simple design was a blank canvas that could be personalized.

While there are common characteristics typical of Foursquare houses, there was also a lot of variation and hints of historical influences. Even so, designs were often promoted as being modern. “The Foursquare,” writes Kate Wagner, “is notable for being one of the first affordable, middle-class home types to feature both electricity and a standard sink–toilet–bath bathroom, amenities previously afforded only to the elite.” [9] Catalogue plans often pointed out that each bedroom had a closet. Kitchens were sometimes separated from other main-floor rooms by pantries or stairwells. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was not soon forgotten. Basements were used for furnaces that exhausted to a chimney that also provided exhaust for the kitchen stove.

400 St. Charles can be studied as a customized, but archetypal Foursquare. Compared to the utilitarian home/dormitory at 362 St. Charles Street, also built in 1915, extra attention was paid to this family home.

Many identifying features of the American Foursquare style are evident in the Laflèche house.

Main floor of 400 St. Charles Street

The builders dispensed with an open staircase and reception hall in favour of an enormous extended kitchen. Note its windows in all four directions. Even the pantry, which connected the kitchen to the dining room, had a window. The house had coal-fired steam heat and there is no fireplace. A vestibule at the front door provided protection from cold weather, as did windows on the north end of each porch. The home had a toilet off the master bedroom (shown), but in 1915 its small sink hung off the bedroom wall beside it. The shower and sink drawn here were built in the room’s original closet. Built-in L-shaped closets flanking the front window were a 1960s addition.

East wall of the kitchen, 1962, prior to renovations.

The photo above reveals some original features, including tongue-and-groove wainscoting, a farm sink, and the small window that looked east toward the street, similar to a second by the back door that looked north. The ivy is climbing the chimney, where a round plate covers the original stove pipe connection.

South façade, 1986

This view illustrates how the large kitchen intersects the otherwise cube-shaped house, adding interest and functionality. The east wall of the solarium aligns nicely with the edge of the kitchen. Unique among the trio of Foursquares in St. Charles is the ornate brickwork here. The red base, corner quoins and a double brick course at sill height are Georgian details that add interest to plain walls. This red brick may be what was used on the entire house at 362 St. Charles.

A 1952 photo of the northeast angle really makes the home look like a cube. Only the front façade of a Foursquare is symmetrical.

The house sat at the northeast edge of its 250' x 120' property. Evident here is the cedar shake roof and the brackets under the eaves. The builder seems to have ordered identical windows in bulk. A pair of them marks the dining room.

The two lower windows on the front façade, however, were the largest and featured art glass, a Craftsman touch. This stained glass is protected by storm windows and the deep front porch.

Den window, 1986. The master bedroom has the same feature.

Compared to the utilitarian home at 362 St. Charles Street, built the same year, extra attention was paid to 400 St. Charles Street.

400 St. Charles has some great masonry. Note the contrasting mortar: cream for the red brick, red for the cream brick, but red for the red bands so that they look solid. Windows have limestone sills and a handsome brick fan detail above them.

Second floor of 400 St. Charles Street. The square plan and front symmetry are obvious here.

Foursquare houses usually had four good-sized bedrooms and the home's only three-piece bathroom on the second floor. In 400 St. Charles, the house has four smaller upstairs bedrooms, and a rather useless centre hall with eight doors radiating from it. One door is for a staircase to the unfinished attic.

The original upstairs bathroom at 400 St. Charles prior to renovations. This vintage clawfoot tub was welcomed by Clare Geddes as a trough for his cattle.

Reducing the bedroom dimensions upstairs provides space for a large open solarium over the kitchen. A sealed floor has a drain to the eavestroughs. Its north and east walls are brick, which suggests that the kitchen’s walls below might also have brick behind their plaster, as a fire prevention measure.

Elements of an Archetypal Foursquare House

Cube shape. On narrow city lots a square box shape was an economical and space-saving shape that maximized interior living space. “The standard American Foursquare truly is a square in form often measuring 28' x 28', 29' x 29', or 30' x 30'.” [10] On narrow city lots, though, the width was sometimes reduced. Wings, porches, bays, and lean-tos might be added, but the basic square shape remained evident.
Floor plan. A classic Foursquare has a “four-over-four” plan. The first floor would typically include an entrance hall with stairs, living room, dining room, and kitchen with pantry. The living room and dining room were often connected in some way. A bedroom on the main floor was not typical. Bedrooms and the full bathroom were on the second floor. The upstairs bathroom was often located over the kitchen so that plumbing could run from one to the other. Main floor plans often include a “washroom” which may be a mudroom and/or laundry area and not a full bathroom.
Symmetry. An obvious feature is the symmetry of the front façade. This is not always the case, but can be a tell-tale feature. It is especially striking in our trio.
Expansive porch. A deep, full-width porch, one story in height, with wide stairs, is another identifying characteristic. Any second porch at a rear entry is usually smaller. Plain, square, tapered wood pillars and matching balustrades of 2-inch-square balusters are typical. Porch ceilings are typically tongue-and-groove wood.
Basement. A full basement provided space for a furnace and coal bin, a cistern, vegetable cellar, storage, but no proper living spaces. A floor might be bare earth.
Pyramidal roofs. Foursquares were always 2½ stories tall, with a low-pitch pyramidal roof with cedar shakes. Attics were unfinished, but with a staircase from the second floor to reach them, they could be developed or used for storage.
Wide eaves. Wide eaves provided shade for the second-floor bedroom windows. Eaves and soffits could be open showing their rafters (as in Craftsman houses), or closed but with decorative brackets.
Dormers. A central hipped dormer on the front façade, and another on the rear, are common. Sometimes all four sides had dormers. These allowed light and air into the attic and added interest to the house’s boxy appearance.
Windows. Double-hung wood windows, one-over-one, are common. Multi-pane uppers (4, 6, or 8 over one) are a Craftsman detail, as is art glass. Sometimes windows were paired. Shutters are rare.
Front entrance. A central entry was usually (but not always) the case and adds to the symmetry. Doors were similar to other 1920s styles, with glass and raised wood panels. Any sidelights and transoms would match the door.
Cladding. Foursquares had simple decoration and little ornamentation. A variety of materials were used, such as wood siding or shingles, brick, or even concrete block. Mission-style homes had stucco siding.
Garage or port-cochère. A garage with a low-pitched roof would match the materials and style of the house. A port-cochère (an attached carport) typically would be an extension of the porch.

Variations on a Theme

Craftsman/Bungalow influences

Incorporated in early Foursquares (ca. 1900–1915): boxed posts, exposed rafter tails
Low-pitched roof
Front-facing, roofed dormers
Exposed rafter tails or brackets under wide eaves
Tapered, square porch posts. These might be full-height wood or brick, half-height brick piers with tapered wood posts, knee walls rather than wood railings and balusters
Art glass or multi-paned windows

Prairie (Frank Lloyd Wright) influences

Low pitched roof with wide eaves
Emphasis on horizontal lines
Massive square porch columns
Porch with a slab roof
Geometric ornament
Art glass

Colonial Revival influences (popular in early Foursquares)

Classical (round) columns
Gable with pediment over porch entry
Cornice with dentils or modillions (brackets)
Dormer with Palladian-style window

Georgian influences

Symmetrical façade
Stone/brick construction
Decorative brick courses
Contrasting corner quoins
Cornice with dentils or brackets

Catalog Kit Houses

Popular magazines and newspaper ads advanced the idea and popularity of the new Foursquare style. And if you were accustomed to ordering from catalogues and receiving goods by train, well, why not order an entire house that way? Catalogues of house plans and kits that included all you needed helped spread the Foursquare across the U.S. and Canada. Many catalogues included other buildings, like schools, barns and hen houses. A home kit might include 30,000 pieces, all packed and shipped in one trainload.

We have no evidence that the three Foursquare homes in St. Charles were mail-order kit homes. (Part numbers on the beams would have been a clue.) Plan books with similar houses might have influenced design choices, though, and their builders clearly understood the type.

Sears homes in Elgin, Illinois (3:08)

In the U.S., several retailers sold kit houses of all kinds. The two largest were Sears, Roebuck & Co., and Aladdin, but there were several others, including a few lumber companies. Catalogues illustrated a full range of housing styles and sizes. Selling points included modern features like electrical, plumbing, efficient furnaces, bedroom closets and quick-to-install drywall.

Sears was an early, major player in the American mail-order house business. The kit home idea proposed by employee Frank W. Kushel in 1906 resurrected its unprofitable building supplies department. By 1908 it offered its first specialty catalogue, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans.

From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold about 70,000–75,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vacationers. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets.

Sears was not an innovative home designer. Sears was instead a very able follower of popular home designs but with the added advantage of modifying houses and hardware according to buyer tastes. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the home owner in full creative control. Modern Home customers had the freedom to build their own dream houses, and Sears helped realize these dreams through quality custom design and favorable financing. [11]

The Hamilton, a 1908 Sears design, was said to be “a favourite in all parts of the country” and “the best ever built in recent years under $3,000.00.” A footnote added, “Any of the houses shown in this book can be arranged with bathroom for a small additional charge.” Perhaps the cook would have preferred a first-floor wash room instead of a second pantry. [12]

In Canada, the T. Eaton Co. was well positioned to add houses to its mail-order offerings. Their 1919 Plan Book of Ideal Homes for “Homes designed for the West” offered a wide variety of home styles, the American Foursquare type among them. Like Sears, Eaton’s catalogue also included kits for a one-room schoolhouse, full-size barns and other farm buildings. Plans could be purchased for one dollar, refundable when an actual order was placed. Buyers could also request custom plans for variations or designs of their own.

Eaton’s 1919 plan book. Prices were not listed, but quotations could be requested, with guaranteed prices on the lumber and millwork. The full catalog is available online from the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. [13]

Buyers needed to study the details. Building materials shipped by train included thousands of pieces, from kitchen sinks to varnish, but the price might not include locally-supplied cement, brick, plaster, and labor. Better-quality materials were options that cost extra. Eaton’s illustrations in their 1919 plan book did not include brick exteriors.

Eaton’s modern Eastbourne house had an off-centre front door and large entrance hall in an otherwise four-over-four layout. The exterior featured wood siding on the lower floor, shingles on the second, with a belt course trim between them. Houses with a band that sits at window sill level (a “sill-course”) instead of floor level are called Shirtwaist homes, a nod to the higher waists of Edwardian skirts. This style is especially celebrated in Kansas City.

The 34' x 30' Earlscourt boasted a second-floor balcony above the front porch, a closet in each bedroom, a vestibule inside the front door, a washroom off the kitchen, and a pathway through the pantry between the kitchen and dining room. The attic offered room for even more bedrooms.

Eaton’s Eager house plan included stairs to the unfinished attic. With a closed main-floor staircase and no entry hall, there was room for a bedroom on the main floor. Notable is a separate large kitchen (with two porches) extending beyond the basic square structure.

There was keen competition between the mail-order retailers and lumber companies who published house plan catalogues. The Aladdin Company, headquartered in Bay City, Michigan, also operated in Canada, and their extensive listings rivalled Eaton’s. Both companies offered a wide range of mail-order buildings in several styles.

In their American 1915 Aladdin Houses catalog, [14] optimistically subtitled “Built in a day,” the company boasted of how warm their houses are.

The “built in a day” slogan was far-fetched; a 90-day construction target was more likely. But Aladdin’s Readi-Cut System promised simplicity, efficiency, and less cost:

Canadian Aladdin Co. Ltd. likened its Readi-Cut System to the way skyscrapers were built. Materials were pre-cut at the mill and sent by rail to the building site, ready to be assembled. [15]

The Farmstead plan from Aladdin’s 1915 U.S. catalog. This extensive 130-page catalog included farm buildings, tiny cottages, garages, furniture and built-ins, furnaces, lighting and bathroom fixtures.

Like Eaton’s, Aladdin’s designs favoured wood siding, explaining, “All excavation and masonry work must be done on the site. No money would be saved by our including stone, brick or concrete, for every section of the country produces these materials and prices vary but little. We furnish the foundation plans and will give you estimates, if desired, on the quantities of materials required. Fireplaces and chimneys can be placed wherever wanted in ‘Readi-Cut’ houses.”

It wasn’t just the usual big retailers who offered kit houses. Lumber companies recognized the threat of losing local business to mail-order companies. In Winnipeg, the Western Retail Lumberman’s Association (WRLA) saw a business opportunity and entered the competitive field. [16] The Association’s local lumber dealers offered good materials and construction, along with personal service and helpful advice.

Among the varied plans offered by the WRLA are three familiar-looking models:

“The kitchen of this house will prove the ideal of every housewife, for in addition to the wash room at the rear there is a large pantry and dumb waiter provided.” The large McLeod model had a spacious entrance hall and wide staircase with a side door to the basement.

The front door of the Regina house opened directly into the dining room. Having no entry hall provided space for a first-floor bedroom and a generous kitchen. The balcony was accessible via an upstairs bedroom.

The 30' x 30' Lanigan was another “ideal country home” that minimized hall space in favour of large rooms, including a “wash room” on the main level and “bath room” on the second floor. Its balcony was at the back of the house rather than over the front veranda. The unusual horizontal banding is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.

Buyers had a wide choice of suppliers and plans to choose from, even for a basic Foursquare house. They could pick and choose features from the many catalogues to customize a unique house of their own. The variations in an otherwise plain box are impressive.

End of an Era

The American Foursquare was produced widely between the mid-1980s to the late 1930s. Thomas Walter Hanchett [17] writes that the style was among the nation’s most popular through the 1900s and 1910s. Following World War I, however, criticism of its simplicity grew, and it fell from favour by 1930. One factor may have been the fact that returning soldiers had seen picturesque French and English houses that made the plain Foursquare box look rather stark.

Hanchett quotes author H. Allen Brooks [18] as attributing changing tastes to women and the influence of magazines that encouraged them to take a more active role in the style of their homes.

Another reason for a shift in public tastes, Hanchett suggests, is the Jazz Age of the 1920s, when a general rebellion against tradition included the architecture of the 1890s and 1900s. Those styles now seemed commonplace and outdated. As well, rising construction costs and industrial production suppressed individuality and variety in housing.

The Foursquare that lent itself so readily to mail-order kits simply fell out of favour. The Depression and new style trends in the 1930s brought an end to what had been a good run. Fewer buyers could afford large homes, and another style of the era—cozy, smaller bungalows—gained popularity.

Having grown up in a beautiful Foursquare, I endorse Hanchett’s concluding remarks:

Today thousands of Four Squares still exist across America. Most people seem to remember growing up in one or know someone who lives in one. The simple exteriors and spacious interiors still make the houses easy to maintain and comfortable places in which to live. As architectural historians and the public at large begin to learn more about the era in which they were built, we will also come to appreciate the beauty of their simplicity. [19]

My only disagreement? A vintage Foursquare well over 100 years old is not easy to maintain.