Craftsman-Style Homes: A Move Away from Mass Production

We’ve all learned about the Industrial Revolution and how factories contributed to the growth of civilization, etc. But not everyone was happy about how craftsmen were being turned into factory workers. As the 1800s marched on, some people began to lobby for a return to items made by hand by a skilled craftsman or woman. This push against industrialization was called the Arts & Crafts Movement in England, and was later popularized in the United States in the early 1900s by furniture-maker Gustav Stickley in his magazine called The Craftsman.

It was clear that the focus was on improving the lives and lifestyles of ordinary people. “The Craftsman stands pledged to the support of art allied to labor, it is intended by the editors that each issue shall contain writings upon the present or the past status of the working classes, as well as expressions of thought devoted to plans for improving the condition and increasing the pleasure of the world’s producers” (The Craftsman, March 1903).

The magazine expressed the hope that “man himself may never degenerate into the tool or machine. Individualism is the watch word of the new century,” from a review of The Craftsman in the Brooklyn Eagle, December 10, 1901.

Here in California, the architect-brother team known as Greene & Greene was the pioneer of the Craftsman movement. Their most famous creation is the Gamble House in Pasadena, which is a National Historic Landmark. Craftsman-style homes were especially popular in Southern California, where a roof with a shallow slope was not the problem that it could be in an area with heavy snowfall.

Common features of Craftsman homes are: 

• Low-pitched roof, often gabled
• Wide eaves with prominent decorative beams, brackets, or triangular knee braces underneath
• Full front porches
• Square porch posts, sometimes wider at the base, and sometimes seated on concrete, brick, or stone piers (supports)
• Covered with exterior shingles or siding

According to the City of Santa Barbara’s Historic Architectural Styles guide: “Craftsman architecture played a pivotal role in the architecture of the early 1900s. As a style, it has left behind a legacy of beautiful and expressive details — especially in wood — that continue to inspire architects, builders, and homeowners to this very day.” There are more than 100 Craftsman homes listed on the city’s Designated Structures of Merit list.

There are few areas of Santa Barbara that do not have examples of Craftsman homes. The Bungalow Haven Historic District is the neighborhood that has some of the best examples of this style of home. The neighborhood is located in Santa Barbara’s Lower Riviera District, roughly bounded by East Micheltorena Street and De la Vista Avenue as Bungalow Haven’s north boundary, Victoria Street on the south, Colina Lane on the east, and Olive Street on the west. Other fine examples can be found along Valerio Street between State Street and the 101 Freeway. Craftsman homes were usually painted in somber tones of brown, mustard, olive, etc.

Please do not disturb the residents of these homes.

Betsy J. Green is a Santa Barbara historian, and author of Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood, Santa Monica Press, 2002. Her website is betsyjgreen.com.