Found out my house is called a hall and parlor

[farmerjohn]

When i bought my house,back in 1988, i wonder why the main house had a closet in the dining room.I could tell the kitchen was added on later. A Hall and Parlor,a basic vernacular house.That consists of two rooms, a person would use this kind of house for a starter home.And add on later when they had more money. I wonder how many other people out there,has this kind of house.

[James]

Hall and parlor plans are fairly common. Lots of them have survived, like you said, most with additions. My place is a classic hall and parlor plan with a gambrel roof.

[melissakd]

Neat-o!


Hall-and-parlor houses are rarer here, a few hundred miles west of James, but the oldest house in my neighborhood is a brick hall-and-parlor from the 1840s or 50s. It survived because the neighborhood was platted in such a way as to place it on the back of the lot, and a big Queen Anne was built in front of it. Everyone assumed it was just the carriage house/garage....but as the local preservation society says, "Not many garages have a fireplace."


Congratulations on the new info!

MKD

[farmerjohn]

melissakd---do you have a picture of the house? I never seen that type of house with a fireplace.

[James]

Most of the old hall and parlor plan houses around here have fireplaces, or did when they were built. Back when they were common around here that was pretty much your only heat source.