Bungalow mania gripped most of the United States in the first three decades of the 20th century. The versatile house type appealed to homeowners, developers, and architects alike – and the historic advertisements for what was essentially an unpretentious building form bring joy to any lover of purple prose and hyperbole.
One California-based architect, F. G. Brown, trumpeted his designs as “perfect gems of home comfort and attractiveness” in an ad that ran in the May 1908 issue of House Beautiful. A young chemistry professor at the University of Kentucky and his wife saw Brown’s ad, and ordered a set of plans. Their bungalow still stands, 113 years later, on Transylvania Park near campus.
The Maxson Bungalow does impart a “California flavor” unlike many other bungalows in the immediate vicinity.
The frame, 1.5 story bungalow was constructed by a local builder for Dr. Ralph Nelson Maxon and his wife Jessie. I’m not sure when the house was completed, but the couple welcomed their first son in August 1908.
Bungalows were a radical departure from the ordered layout of many houses from the late 19th century – although I’m not a fan of the “open plan concept” that has folks tearing out every wall in a historic house (my first bungalow suffered that fate after I sold it), bungalows really provided a much more open and easy use of space than most American houses at the time (see plan by Clay Lancaster, below).
Clay Lancaster included the Maxson House in his work The American Bungalow, and drew this first floor plan of the house.
While the plan of the Maxson House is very typical for an early 20th century bungalow in Lexington, the exterior details elevate it to exotic territory, with Japanese influences on the house type readily apparent. The two cross gable dormers flare to a point, and the side gable roof of the house features a flare at the ridgeline (or a “kick” if you prefer).
Another angle of the Maxson House.
The full-width porch (a must for a bungalow) has wooden posts on battered brick piers, sheltering the three bays on the façade. The porch has been altered; the original wrap-around to the side of the house removed at some point.
The original ad that inspired Ralph and Jessie Maxson.
The shingled brown bungalow is nestled under large hemlock trees, which make the house feel as if it sprung from the ground itself. It’s amazing that in an area of Lexington that has undergone so much change (much of it wrought by the nearby university), this house is still extant, bringing a piece of Southern California architecture to the Bluegrass.
We lived in that house from 1972 to 2012. What a treasure.
Wonderful article!
Neat house! Realtor.com says it was built in 1909 and that fits as the birth certificate for William Taylor Maxson (the Maxson’s first son) says the family was residing at 522 Rose Street when he was born August 26, 1908.
That house is magic. Love it a lot .
Wish I lived in one just like it.
I’ve got a four square in Howard County Mo.
I’ve restored it. .. It’s been a wonderful journey .
Wish it had Hemlocks.
Thank you and I’m in.
Wm. Ousley
Living in a bungalow for the last 22 years I have come to love the style. A copy down the street also had all the interior walls taken out to make it open plan which made me gasp in horror when I saw it.
When the weather improves I will go see this beauty.
Thanks!
A song of praise! Thank you! There is a bungalow for sale in my home town that’s as untouched inside as one can expect to find: Go to realtor.com & then 200 W 7th, Fulton, MO. Built 1914. Please tell me what the structure between the LR and DR might be called. Going thru, to the left and right are bedrooms. Not shown is the fabulous front porch that runs along the street on the length of house. Two blocks away is a fine Presbyterian college for men, so the street is grassy, treelined-lovely. In my young adulthood there was still foot traffic, and the woman who lived there would watch and join in. She had wicker chairs & benches with colorful paisley cushions and scarves. Just as bungalows were in India. Unfortunately the porch is not shown – the east end is imagined as the “front”.