West of Westcott
Stop #23
708 Sumner Avenue / Charles W. Howell house
- Built: ca. 1920
- Architect: Unknown
This Tudor Revival house, easily recognizable by it asymmetrical design and the generous use of half-timbering (or faux-half-timbering) represents a popular style after World War I, especially among the professional classes. Perhaps every home could not be a castle, but businessmen could pretend to a little piece of English estate. Long before the popularity of Ralph Lauren fashions and the Downton Abbey television show, Anglophelia was common among the American upper middle class – especially those whose ethic and cultural roots – not matter how far back – were in England.