Dr. Daniel D. Reiff
Special to The Citizen
The splendid major historic homes in Auburn of the 19th and early 20th century â from Federal, Greek Revival and Gothic Revival through Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles â are outstanding testaments to the artistic and cultural achievements of the cityâs builders, architects and owners. But of equal importance, for the overall âlookâ of Auburn, is the wealth of attractive modest homes from the 1890s through the 1940s that people continue to live in. Where did the designs for these ï¬ne âsmallerâ homes come from?
In the ï¬rst half of the 20th century, a middle- or upper-middle class family who wanted to have an attractive, well-designed six- or seven-room house built for themselves had a number of choices. Although oneâs ï¬rst inclination might be to âconsult an architect or builder,â there were in fact a number of options â some