Denis

Built around 1890-1900 for a middle-class farming family. Style is _Folk Victorian with Queen Anne details_. You can see it in the bay window on the first floor, the fishscale “shingle work” in the gable, and the diamond-pane window on the second floor. Those were the “fancy” touches from mail-order catalogs like Sears or pattern books by Palliser & Palliser.

This wasn’t a mansion for a tycoon. It was for someone who made money from crops/livestock, not railroads or steel. Cost was probably $1,500-$2,500 new = ∼$50k-$80k today. Wood frame, balloon construction, brick chimney. The bay window gave the parlor more light. The steep gables shed snow.

The decay tells the second half of the story. Roof collapsed → rain got in → wood rotted → windows broke. That usually happened after 1950s-1970s when rural populations dropped. Kids moved to Detroit, Chicago, NYC for factory jobs. Parents died, no one wanted to maintain a big old farmhouse. By 2020s it looks like your photo: skeleton of rafters, vines growing inside.

*Compare to our other buildings:*
Marble House 1892 Newport = built with 400 workers, still a museum
This farmhouse 1895 Iowa/Ohio = built by 4 carpenters, now a ruin

Same era, same country, opposite fate. Gilded Age wasn’t just Newport. It was also millions of families building wood houses on 40 acres.

*21 buildings now: 500 BC → 1919*
From tombs for kings → farmhouses for families. From “remember me forever” to “we lived here once”.

Built 1847-1855, designed by architect James Renwick Jr. in _Norman Revival_ / _Gothic Revival_ style. Congress used the money from James Smithson, an English scientist who left his fortune “to the United States of America, to found... an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge”.

Renwick chose red sandstone and pointed arches to make it look like a medieval European abbey. Why? In 1850s America, Gothic meant “serious + scholarly”. It had 9 towers, battlements, and thick walls - basically a castle for science, not for war.

The building burned in 1865, just 10 years after opening. The roof and library were destroyed, but the stone walls survived. It was rebuilt and became the admin center for all Smithsonian museums. The photo you have looks early 1900s - you can see soot stains from the fire and the iron ladder for maintenance.

Unlike Marble House + Frick House that showed private wealth, this showed public knowledge. Same 1850s era, but totally different purpose.

#1855

Built 1869 for Captain John T. Rucker, a Confederate veteran and cotton merchant. It’s _Folk Victorian + Carpenter Gothic_ style. That’s why you see the tall vertical siding, decorative wooden brackets under the eaves, and that small jig-saw cut balcony. All wood, no stone - typical for post-Civil War Georgia when brick/stone was expensive.

Rucker built it right after the Civil War ended. Decatur was rebuilding, and this house showed “we’re back”. The overhanging eaves and brackets are Carpenter Gothic details, but the boxy shape is pure folk/vernacular - local builders copying pattern books, not trained architects.

The house stayed in the Rucker family until the 1950s. Then Decatur grew, land got valuable, and the house was left behind. No one lived in it for decades. The tarp + overgrown trees in your photo are from the last 10-15 years. Rain, termites, and neglect did the rest.

Unlike the Gilded Age stone mansions we covered, this one is about survival, not status. Wood rots fast without care. That’s why so few 1860s-1870s wooden houses survive in the South.

*New contrast for our timeline:*
Naqsh-e Rostam 500 BC stone → still standing
Rucker House 1869 wood → falling apart 150 years later

Stone for eternity vs wood for a generation. Both tell stories about money, but also about materials.

*20 buildings now: 500 BC → 1919*
From Persian kings to Georgia cotton merchants. Big empire to small town, but both used buildings to say “I matter”.

#1869

Built 1888-1892 for William K. Vanderbilt and his wife Alva. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt in _Beaux-Arts_ style, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. That’s why you see symmetrical arched windows, stone balustrades, dormer windows, and perfect lawn geometry. It’s called “Marble House” because it used 500,000 cubic feet of marble from 8 countries.

Cost: $11 million in 1892. That’s ∼$350 million today. 50 rooms, but only used for 8 weeks every summer. The Vanderbilts came to Newport to “compete” in parties and architecture. Alva Vanderbilt hosted huge balls here to prove women could control wealth and society.

The awnings and potted trees in your photo are classic 1890s. They kept the sun off marble interiors + showed they could afford staff to move plants daily. After 1908 Alva gave it to her daughter Consuelo, then sold it. It opened to the public in 1963 as a museum.

So from Frick House in NYC to Marble House in Newport: same Beaux-Arts style, same era, same story. New money copying European palaces to say “we’ve arrived”.

Unlike Naqsh-e Rostam built for death, these were built for summer parties.

#1892

Old Federal Building and Post Office — Detroit

Construction of Detroit’s Old Federal Building and Post Office began in 1890 and was completed in 1897. Designed by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim, the massive structure was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, distinguished by its heavy stonework, monumental arched entrance, and imposing 243-foot clock tower that dominated the city skyline for decades.

By the 1930s, however, the building was considered too small and outdated to meet the growing needs of the federal government. It was demolished between late 1931 and early 1932, though portions of its exterior were preserved and can still be found at Lorch Hall at the University of Michigan. Today, the building remains an enduring symbol of Detroit’s architectural heritage and the grandeur of its late 19th-century civic design.

Built 1884-1888 for lumber baron Albert J. Sloan. Designed in _Queen Anne + Stick Style_ with heavy Tudor Revival details. That’s why you see the mix: rough stone first floor, half-timbered upper floors, steep gables, conical turrets, and all those uneven rooflines.

Sloan made his fortune in Michigan’s white pine lumber boom. He wanted a house that looked like an English country castle. It had 18 rooms, 8 fireplaces, and was one of the most expensive homes in the state at the time - about $40,000 in 1888 = ∼$1.3 million today.

The house stayed in the Sloan family until the 1940s. After that it changed hands a lot: private home → boarding house → abandoned. Michigan winters + no maintenance killed it fast. By the 1990s-2000s it looked like your photo: roof collapsed, windows gone, stone crumbling.

The “ruin” look is recent. When new, the woodwork was painted, windows were glass, and the stone was bright. Queen Anne style loved asymmetry and texture, so the decay makes it look even more “fairy-tale castle” now.

*How it fits our set:*
Marble House 1892 = perfect stone, still restored
Vanderbilt House 1882 = demolished in 1926
Sloan House 1888 = left to rot, becoming ruins

3 fates of Gilded Age mansions: preserved, destroyed, or forgotten.

*19 buildings now: 500 BC → 1919*
From tombs carved to last forever → mansions built and abandoned in 50 years.

#1888

Ellicott Square Building — Buffalo

Completed in 1896, the Ellicott Square Building is one of Buffalo’s most prominent historic office complexes and a lasting symbol of the city’s late 19th-century prosperity. Known for its grand architecture and expansive interior arcade, the landmark has remained in continuous use for more than a century and continues to play an important role in downtown Buffalo today.

Photo from the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago —

This historic photograph captures a scene from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, a landmark event that showcased groundbreaking achievements in architecture, engineering, and culture. Often referred to as the “White City,” the fair left a lasting influence on urban planning and helped shape the architectural identity of cities across the United States.

Utah Territorial Insane Asylum — Provo

The main building of the Utah Territorial Insane Asylum was completed in 1885, with additional wings added before this 1896 photograph was taken. As one of the region’s earliest psychiatric institutions, the complex reflected the architectural style and mental health care practices of the late 19th century. After nearly a century of service, the historic building was demolished in 1981.

Part of downtown Cincinnati in the early 20th century versus today —

This comparison highlights the dramatic transformation of downtown Cincinnati over the past century. Once characterized by dense blocks of historic architecture and bustling commercial streets, much of the area has evolved through redevelopment and modernization, reflecting the changing priorities of urban growth and city planning.