Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE. Described as the anonymous architecture of the working classes, vernacular buildings were traditionally made of brick and were rectangular. Ornamentation was usually linked to GREEK REVIVAL ARCHITECTURE and included gable treatments or a row of dentils, wooden decoration which resembled teeth, along an eave. Entrances were placed on the gable ends or the sides. When additions were made, they were usually placed at the rear or as an L-shaped wing off one side. Porches were common as were two-story porches set into a rear corner of the house.