| Once Upon A Time: Living in a Storybook |
The whimsical Storybook style of architecture made its appearance in the 1920's and became
very popular in America, especially in California, but in other areas, as well. The famous
fairytale cottages designed and built by Hugh Comstock in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, are
excellent examples. What is generally known as the Storybook style has come to cover several
types of architecture. Some are known by other names, but the styles frequently overlap and
are often grouped under the Storybook designation; other names are the Hansel & Gretel style,
Cotswold style, Tudor Revival style, Ann Hathaway style. Of all of these, most of which have
been around for centuries, the true 1920's Storybook style is the most whimsical and the one
most deliberately intended to make the residents feel as if they're living in a storybook cottage.
Although the styles are different, the thing they have in common - and the reason people
sometimes refer to them all as "Storybook style" - is the fairytale image each conveys. Whether
it's a small, thatched-roof cottage, a larger Tudor style or, even, a faux castle design, they each
take us back to the fairytales of our childhood, conjuring up images of Snow White & the Seven
Dwarfs' cottage or Rapunzel letting her hair down from the tower window or Hansel and Gretel
discovering the witch's cottage in the forest.
My sentimental favorite is the Tudor style house on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, with its
matching playhouse in the yard. When I was a child, I dreamed of having a playhouse just like
that one. I soon learned which side of the St. Charles streetcar to guide my mother to for the
ride down the Avenue and then I'd anxiously wait to get a glimpse of it -- and hope the streetcar
stopped for a passenger at that corner, so I could have a longer look -- Imagining all the while
that the neat little playhouse was my own.
Childhood memories hold a certain magic, no matter how old we are, which is why most of us
can't resist pausing to take a look at a Storybook style house. And which is why, when I travel
down St. Chales Avenue today, I still look forward to seeing that sweet little playhouse.
You'll find a few different architectural styles on this page. I hope one of them will conjure up a
fond childhood memory of fairytales and storybooks. Nancy
very popular in America, especially in California, but in other areas, as well. The famous
fairytale cottages designed and built by Hugh Comstock in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, are
excellent examples. What is generally known as the Storybook style has come to cover several
types of architecture. Some are known by other names, but the styles frequently overlap and
are often grouped under the Storybook designation; other names are the Hansel & Gretel style,
Cotswold style, Tudor Revival style, Ann Hathaway style. Of all of these, most of which have
been around for centuries, the true 1920's Storybook style is the most whimsical and the one
most deliberately intended to make the residents feel as if they're living in a storybook cottage.
Although the styles are different, the thing they have in common - and the reason people
sometimes refer to them all as "Storybook style" - is the fairytale image each conveys. Whether
it's a small, thatched-roof cottage, a larger Tudor style or, even, a faux castle design, they each
take us back to the fairytales of our childhood, conjuring up images of Snow White & the Seven
Dwarfs' cottage or Rapunzel letting her hair down from the tower window or Hansel and Gretel
discovering the witch's cottage in the forest.
My sentimental favorite is the Tudor style house on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, with its
matching playhouse in the yard. When I was a child, I dreamed of having a playhouse just like
that one. I soon learned which side of the St. Charles streetcar to guide my mother to for the
ride down the Avenue and then I'd anxiously wait to get a glimpse of it -- and hope the streetcar
stopped for a passenger at that corner, so I could have a longer look -- Imagining all the while
that the neat little playhouse was my own.
Childhood memories hold a certain magic, no matter how old we are, which is why most of us
can't resist pausing to take a look at a Storybook style house. And which is why, when I travel
down St. Chales Avenue today, I still look forward to seeing that sweet little playhouse.
You'll find a few different architectural styles on this page. I hope one of them will conjure up a
fond childhood memory of fairytales and storybooks. Nancy
| I was able to find the locations of some of these homes. The one above is in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Picture above & the one below, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |
| Beverly Hills, California |
| The Cottage of Lost Play The air was neither night nor day, But faintly dark with softest light, When first there glimmered into sight The Cottage of Lost Play And those old shores and gardens fair, Where all things are that ever were, We know not, you and me, We know not, you and me. -- J. R. R. Tolkein |
| Olalla, Washington |
| Chicago, Illinois |
| When at home alone I sit and am very tired of it, I have just to shut my eyes to go sailing through the skies, To go sailing far away to the pleasant Land of Play; To the fairy land afar, where the Little People are; Where the clover-tops are trees and the puddles are the seas, And the leaves, like little ships, sail about on tiny trips. -- Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Picture above & the one below, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |
| Penticton, British Columbia, Canada |
| The house on St. Charles with the matching playhouse I so coveted as a child. Gabe Hausmann, of Hausmann's Jewelers, had this home constructed in 1915 and added the little replica as a playhouse for his daughter. Mr. Hausmann lived here until his death in 1946. His daughter grew up - as children will insist on doing - and outgrew her playhouse days. I'm told that she went on to work in her father's jewelry store. In the sentiments of Robert Louis Stevenson: "For, long ago, the truth to say, She has grown up and gone away; And it is but a child of air Who lingers in the garden there." |
| LINKS: Charlie Chaplin's Hansel & Gretel Cottage Antique Home Style Childhood Pleasures Thatched Roof Cottages of Scotland & Ireland |
| Photos on this page are courtesy of: StorybookCottagesOfCarmel, AMKuchling, Lori, RamblingsFromAnEnglishGarden, bulliver, AwesomeTopTenLists, amazonaws, deviantart |
| Please don't use the "Send Page" feature of your computer to send this entire page in an e-mail message or document format. If you'd like to share it, please just send the link. The link to this page is: http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Storybook.html |
