Architectural Corner: Romanesque Revival
Romanesque architecture was a style synonymous with 10th-12th century Medieval Europe, found across the continent. From 1840-1900, the style began to stretch around the world. From the 1840s-50s it became particularly popular in the US, when German immigrants brought their artisanal skills to the New World.
Featured both in public and private structures, Revival buildings featured round arches, corbels & historically accurate features such as lozenges chevrons. Either of decorated brick or stone construction, they boasted 3rd or 4th story towers with arched openings, low roofs, dramatic chimneys and asymmetric designs. The style was particularly popular in churches all around the world in the 1800s. Pretty much every TV haunted house ever is this style…
MLS Statistics – November 2023
DFW MLS Statistics – October 2023
Architectural Corner: Mission Revival
Drawing inspiration from the missions of old in California through both Southwestern and Spanish Colonial styles, Mission Revival pays homage to the rich Hispanic history of the Golden State. Ranging from single-family residences to train stations to hotels, this style became very popular in the 1920’s and 30’s, invoking a romanticized feel of California long ago.
Characterized by stucco walls (usually white), deep windows and doors, shallow rooflines covered with red clay roofs and even bell towers, Mission Revival is very distinctive. Inside one usually finds rough, exposed wood beams along ceilings, wide hallways, Terracotta tile flooring, dramatic archways and tons of natural light.
Unlike many fad revival styles that died out, Mission Revival is still wildly popular among new construction.
Vague Specifics – October 2023
Regardless of interest rates or the economy, DFW is growing rapidly, and this will keep our real estate market in the nation’s top-5 for the foreseeable future. Great houses that are priced well are still receiving multiple offers, and inventory is still very low.
I’ve been trying to contact my database regarding November’s election; the property tax relief bill that was passed by the Texas Legislature is up for a vote. I won’t presume to translate it, see Ballotpedia’s description:
November 7th – Election Day
Proposition 4
A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to:
- increase the homestead tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000;
- authorize the state legislature to limit the annual appraisal increase on non-homestead real property;
- exclude appropriations made to increase state education funding from the state appropriations limit; and
- authorize the state legislature to provide for four-year terms for members of the governing body of an appraisal entity in counties with a population of 75,000 or more.
Of all my phone calls, there have been 2 people who, despite being homeowners, are voting no. One of them stated it’s paving a way for a school voucher program, the other that it will take away from local school funding. I don’t have any information supporting either, but that doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. As someone who tries to act in good-faith, I ask you to do your own research. If you agree with them, or have your own reason, I’d really appreciate an explanation. Paying less in property taxes is about as universal a issue as I can imagine, although politicians love shoehorning their own projects into otherwise universally-loved ballots.
Hard to believe it’s already Halloween. The World-Famous 7th Annual John Angell Real Estate Pumpkin Carving Competition will take place shortly, expect the competition to be fierce as always.
MLS Statistics – September 2023
The Origins of Halloween
Most people are aware of the pagan roots of Halloween, but it’s not that simple. Earliest roots can be traced back 2,000 years ago to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Celebrated on November 1st, it marked the end of summer, the harvest, and the beginning of their new year. They believed the night before, the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. To commemorate, Druids built enormous bonfires, where Celts burned crops and animals as sacrifices to their Deities. Animal sacrifices were all the range across cultures back then…
By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had mostly conquered the Celts, and over the course of the next 400 or so years, the holiday was combined with two Roman holiday known as Feralia, also commemorating the passing of the dead, and Pomona, honoring the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees (the origin of bobbing for apples).
On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Bonface IV established All Martyr’s Day. It was later changed to November 1st by Pope Gregory III. By the 9th Century, as Christianity had spread throughout Europe, these many holidays were blended into one. To add one more holiday to the list, in 1000 AD, the Church proclaimed November 2nd All Souls’ Day, also to honor the dead.
All Souls’ Day was celebrated rather similarly to Samhain, with large parades, bonfires, and costumes such as angels, devils and saints. All Saint’s Day was also called All-Hallows (or All-hallowmas, translated from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before was dubbed All-Hallows Eve. Over time, it just called Halloween.
I’m impressed if you’ve gotten this far. This story ended up being far longer that it was interesting, but if you have one thing to take away from it, my job is done.
Architectural Corner: Renaissance Revival
Drawing inspiration from Renaissance humanism and also called neo-Renaissance, Renaissance Revival first appeared in the 1800s, several hundred years after original Renaissance first appeared in Florence & Central Italy.
Extraordinarily ornate and unapologetically formal, the style was characterized by a rectangular, symmetrical floor plan, with masonry and/or stone exteriors, highlighted by terra cotta or cast stone details. They also had low-pitch or flat roofs hidden behind cornicles (decorative projections on top of walls, elaborate windows), and were typically massive in size.
There are examples of Renaissance revival all over Europe and the US, including the Rothschild Estate, the Vanderbilt Estate, the Schwerin Palace in Germany and the National Theater in Prague.
MLS Statistics: August 2023
