The Garden City Movement - your thoughts and some examples (houses, construction)
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Until recently, I never knew that these communities of late 18th early 20th C homes had a name, but it seems that they do.
Homes built in inner ring suburbs in the teens and twenties and the decades directly preceding or coming after them, apparently stem from a movement that began in England in the late 19th Century called the Garden City Movement. This movement seems to have coincided chronologically and aesthetically with the Arts and Crafts movement and stressed many of the same values - incorporating natural beauty into the subdivision by the use of greenbelts, wide tree lined streets often with a grassy median, construction of man made lakes and waterways, sidewalks and community parks that encouraged outdoor activity and social interaction as well as some self contained features such as houses of worship, a school, and entrance and exit gates that serve more to define the continuity, than to keep others out.
Many of these cities or inner ring suburbs have homes designed in one of the following architectural styles - neo colonel, Arts and Crafts, shingle style, Dutch colonel, neo Tudor, stucco Spanish influences or cottage and occasionally Cape Cod Style.
These planned communities often had restrictive covenants that prevented the use of certain colors, and promoted the maintenance of ones home and garden.Sometimes these covenants also restricted the sale of the homes to non-white or non Protestant or at least Christian buyers. I think in most cases these have been revoked.
Garden City Movement enclaves were sometimes a distinct municipality, but at othertimes they are a subdivision located within a city or incorporated village.
Some Garden City Movement communities that I have visited or that I know of are Redburn NJ, Norris TN, Garden City, NY, Shaker Heights OH, Forest Hills Gardens NY, Greenbelt MD, Florence Park NY, Bellerose Village NY, Mountain Lakes NJ, and Jamaica Estates NY.
There are also quite a few with in or on the outskirts of Rust Belt Cities that still contain beautiful homes but have fallen on hard times. There are some in and near Youngstown Ohio that I have noticed that seem ripe for restoration and can be purchased for very little money. I am sure that there are many others tucked across the US and Canada,
Does anyone else share my appreciation of Garden City Movement comminties, have any thing to add to this subject, or know of other communities of which I am not aware?
Pictures would be a real treat! Does any one live in one?
I think that they are a real piece of our architectural past and their solid pre- world homes have, even us the worst communities, the most neglected and rundown hold on to their beauty and are solidly constructed.
i think they are beautiful and most of them are way out of my pricepoint. even the ones that arent need so much work, that it would be a shame to buy them and then not be able to put the money they need into them.
i live in a new subdivision that is like you are discribing. i cant complain too much. there are a couple of things i would change a bit but for the most part it is nice and astethically pleasing.
believe it or not it was cheaper to buy a brand new home than an older one like you discribed and no work to be done except decorating.
Probably the last gasp of the Garden City movement were the three "greenbelt communities" built during the Great Depression. You mentioned one of them...Greenbelt, MD...
Here is an in-depth pix & history of the one one outside of Cincinnati:
isn't that community in kettering outside Dayton one of those 1930 projetcs ?
Also, Sheena12, can you let me know what streets are the ones in Youngstown ? Would Firestone Park in Akron count ?
Also , I oved the Pics of Greenhills,North of Cincy. I am always looking for info. Much thanks to the poster for those.
I am looking for a detatched long split entry, old type windows with horizontal slats in the old section. it had a terraced front yard and it could posibly have been made into one from a sis by side , it was that long. Was the rebholz house.it may have been demolished for new construction.
Does anyone know why some streets are noy showing up on Street view in this area. I know it is not gated.
There is also an amazing old area in suburban Philly , but actually in NJ which is really amazing. it may have already been mentioned here. Built for shipbuilders, think.
I am also interested in company towns like Goddyear, Firestone or Pullman. there is suppose to be one near the town where Ronald reagan grew up but I have yet to find it.
I am just a hobbyist and I love the input from the urban planning students and pros . etc.
isn't that community in kettering outside Dayton one of those 1930 projetcs ?
..you're thinking of Greenmont Village. I think it was inspired by the Greenbelt communities, but was a different initiative...heres alink to a post on it at another planning forum.
Garden City Michigan is not very nice, kind of balnd and boring. Not sure if that is one of your garden cities.
Shaker heights is nice, but I like Bratnahl better (except when I am trying to spell it). Not familiar with the others you mentioned so I cannot really grasp what you are describing.
The description suonds somewhat like Floral Park in Santa Ana CA. Is that what you are describing? If so, it is wonderful.
Most upper middle class suburbs of 1900-1940 incorporated elements of the Garden City movement. It was heavily influential in the layout and design of the neighborhoods including the architecture of houses. Other areas to look at include the Country Club district of Kansas City, North Baltimore (Roland Park, Guilford and Homeland) of Baltimore, many of the Mainline suburbs outside Philadelphia and Druid Hill in Atlanta.
There is the former town of Walkerville, Ontario. Now a part of Windsor Ontario, it was established by Hiram Walker, of Canadian Club fame. This is where here set up his distillery.
While still a beautiful neighbourhood, when I look back at pictures of it in the 1890's-1900's, it has lost much of its "garden city" feel, and beauty. Which seems crazy to me, as beautiful as it still is!
Last edited by Magnatomicflux; 03-21-2013 at 02:45 AM..
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