Thursday, December 9, 2010

Storybook style

Picardy Drive is near Mills College and is known for two things---its over the top holiday lights display every Christmas and its architecture. Most of the homes on this street are built in what is called Storybook Style, developed in the early 1920s.  Houses in this style typically have towers, pitched roofs, half timbers in stucco, rounded doorways, and stylized use of brick.  Storybook can be found in two or three small developments and many individual homes around town.  This picture was taken before today's rain storm arrived.

9 comments:

  1. My husband worked on a storybook house in South Carolina. It was one of my favorites.

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  2. I love this style of homes. I did not expect to see this from Oakland however. Thanks for sharing your photos.

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  3. Oh, wonderful house! I like the small windows:-)
    Wish you a great weekend!

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  4. are they expensive?

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  5. Looks like a neat place for an architecture-themed photowalk.

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  6. I've never heard of this style. It's easy to imagine a different storybook character popping out of each door.

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  7. Not much in the way of a front yard though, visibly... ? Do they have back yards ?

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  8. wow!!! I would like to live there! The Witch's House from Beverly Hills is my favorite storybook home. It looks for all the world like a haunted fairytale cottage! The house was sold in July 1998 for $1.3 million to Michael Libow, a real estate agent.

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