Downtown Homes

Evansville, IN

Algernon Sidney Butterfield Sr. House

500 SE 1st St.
1903 Neoclassical/American Foursquare

At the turn of the twentieth century there was a rebuttal to the excessive house plans of the Victorian era. House plans became much simpler and plain. One plan that came about during this style change was the "American Foursquare." For the Butterfield House, the architect, Frank Schlotter, began with a simple red brick cube shape and then garnished the structure with corner Ionic pilasters, a gable dormer and a beautiful rounded second floor bay window. He then accommodated those features with classical elements such as columns, pediments, and a frieze. A flat-roofed classical porch was simply, yet attractively, set off by thin fluted Ionic columns.

Mark Gross House

606 SE 1st St.
1896 Queen Anne

This late Victorian house possesses a variety of foreign architectural styles seen throughout history. The house has diverse facades, assortments of textures and a mixture of styles indicating the style of the house altogether to be a perfect example of the Queen Anne style. A pepper-pot dome appears at the top of the house distinguishing an English Elizabethan style. However, the horseshoe arches framing the windows are Moorish in fashion. Even Gothic suggestions are found in the quatrefoil cutout in the gable. Supporting the alluring loggia roof, Byzantine pedestaled columns further display the abundant array of architectural elements involved in this house. Other examples of the Queen Anne style utilized in the design of the Mark Gross house are the enchanting turrets and towers, the captivating steep, multiple-pitched roof lines, the asymmetrical balance of the house, and the inviting one-story porch.

North Storms House

304 SE 1st St.
1860 Romanesque

Built in 1860, North Storms purchased the house in 1888. Incorporated by the request of the new owner, Storms changed the facade in 1889 to the present day view. The facade has a determined restraining composition which has a direct and statute manner. This mood is accomplished by the use of quarry-faced limestone with intensely diverse red brick adjoined with stylized traits including the robust Romanesque-style arch built of rock-faced stone voussoirs(wedges), supporting thick columns of shiny red granite, the drawn-out ornate indication of a turret and the off-center tower. The chimney adds more style to the house on the south end with a geometric pattern completed in terra cotta.

Watkins F. Nisbet House

310 SE 1st St.
1878-79 French Second Empire/Victorian

This house was built between 1878-79 in a French Second Empire and Victorian style for Watkins F. Nisbet, his wife, 8 of their 10 children, and 3 servants. The intricate facade intrigues the eye everywhere it rests. The ornate slate mansard roof, refined dormers, and the bracketed woodwork under the roof eaves pulls the view upward to the most detailed portion of the house. Continuing this mixed complex style down the front of the facade are a variety of different sized windows and front and side bays. A lavishly designed front porch displays more heavily detailed woodwork linking the top portion of the house to the grounded section of the house. A unique interior feature is the extravagant walnut stairway that makes a three-story curving ascent through the house. The luxuriant collection of delicate gilds from the French Second Empire and Victorian styles achieve a rich representation of architectural design in history.

John Morford Stockwell/John H. Morgan House

605 SE Riverside Dr.
1850-51 Greek Revival/Italianate

This regal house is one of a scarce number of existing buildings from the mid-1800's with a Greek Revival style. A few of the most apparent Greek Revival features are the balanced facade with a classical front portico, Doric pilasters edging the corners of the house, and slender pedimented window enframements. The stucco over brick exterior walls are also representational of Greek Revival. The gable and brackets, however, are more stylistically linked to the later Italianate period.

Major Albert C. Rosencranz House

421 SE 1st St.
1890 Queen Anne

An excellent example of the Queen Anne style, this brick house is overflowing with different elements of architectural styles. The variation in the dimension of the house, a diversion of textures and numerous roofs directly identify with the blended Queen Anne style represented here. The different textures used to trim the exterior of the house are quarry-faced sandstone, brick and shingled surfaces. A slender, round tower with a conical roof protrudes from the house creating more asymmetry and distinction. Below the eaves wraps a terra cotta frieze that has a foliated design. The original design of the house had either a wood or cast iron front porch to uphold the virtue of the house. In 1924, it was replaced with a brick porch.

John G. Venneman/Reuben P. Hughes House

420 SE Riverside Dr.
1870 Italianate

Architect Henry Mursinna's most outstanding design element of this Italianate style house is the three-story side tower that mimics in structure the church bell towers (campaniles) originating in Italy. The upper story of the house has a trio of round- arched windows crowned by a low-pitched roof. The American Italianate style of architecture is evident in the the design of the roof line, bracketed cornice and the refined protrusion of the front bay. There is a cast iron portico and balustraded terrace that was constructed in 1908 by a different architect named F. Mason Gilbert.

Charles Viele House

400 SE Riverside Dr.
1855-56 French Second Empire

Originally this house was Italianate in style and was meant to resemble an "Aladdin-like palace." The home had a gabled roof with edges ornamented in barged work. The facade was garnished by an iron veranda which is still present today. Interior decorations for the Italianate style included marble mantelpieces, gas chandeliers, pier mirrors and white woodwork that was polished so well it shined like marble. At the beginning of the 1870's, after owner Charles Viele took a trip to Europe and at the peak of French-influenced style in this country, he decided to have his house remodeled around 1873-76. This is when it is believed to have had its present day French-style remodeling. The transition to the French Second Empire style predominantly included the construction of the mansard roof, attaching corner quoins, and classical window enframements of preformed metal. The mansard roof reveals intricate dormers, metal cresting, cornices, polychrome slate, and eaves bracketing. The original tiered iron veranda is still present as noted above. The northside chimney is adorned with scalloped sea shell motif. The side bay is embellished with beautiful stained glass most likely dating to the 1870's. In retaining the integrity of the exterior, the interior was remodeled and furnished with imported French decor. Adding to the French style exterior, lavish yard statues were imported from France, as well. Some of these outdoor statues are still enriching the house today. A metal pool is a trace of a fountain that had 29 jets and was put in for Viele in 1873. Viele's impression is left here and can be seen with his initials C.V. over the doorway of the Riverside entry way and on various outdoor statues.