I think most people in the thread tend to agree here.
I really crack up at the (over)use of gables. It’s probably just a design trend, but I’ve heard the theory that its people who are suspicious and insular by nature trying to live the illusion of being in a village.
Very true. Many people felt that what was promised to be a un-biased look at the complex issues involved in a neighborhood in the process of gentrification was turned into a divisive race/gay issue. It is hard to explain really without being in this neighborhood and knowing the people here. The commitment to this neighborhood by so many people who have bought here and restored these beautiful old homes is amazing. They’re not “flippers”, most are here for the long haul and they’re very concerned about maintaining the diversity of this area and improving the quality of life for everyone living here, regardless of race.
I don’t want to hijack this thread further, just keep in mind that documentary does not equal an unbiased portrait.
MeanJoe
That is funny, I agree with your first statement and disagree completely with your second statement. 
As for the Soprano’s house - to me that is what McMansions are attempting to be. Where Tony has a huge house, it is semi-secluded with its own private drive and mature landscaping providing some privacy from near-neighbors. There is not much “Mc” in his mansion, it seems to me to be an expensive custom-built home. Whereas the McMansion wants to capture the same “look” it is done in McDonalds fashion - slap together cathedral ceilings, gables, stone (facade) fronts, and a 3 car garage. Wrap it in wax-paper and plop it under heat lights next to a hundred other similar homes.
IMHO of course.
MeanJoe
Very interesting thread.
Way I look at it, a “McMansion” is a house that lacks the sort of quality features that I find attractive or add distinctive character to a house - for example, leaded glass windows, quality brick and stone construction, mature trees on lot and in neighbourhood generally, real wood panelling.
On the other hand, a McMansion has size, fancy large kitchens and bathrooms, high ceilings, high-tech wiring and toys. The sort of things that would be appealing for a quick viewing on a real estate ad page.
I think of it this way: could you picture a family living happily in this house for thirty years? Does the house have a distinctive character or charm that is worth preserving when making renovations? In fifty years, will people think of this house as a heritage property?
If the house is marketed as being upscale and the answer is “no” to these questions, it is more likely to be a McMansion.
My own neighbourhood is quite safe from McMansiondom, as it was built up by an eccentric genius of a developer in the 1930s with a very distinctive “style” (I like in what is known as the Kingsway neighbourhood in Toronto). The man, a Mr. Home Smith (love that name! So appropriate! 
), was certainly an Anglophile and probably a snob - but he built damn fine houses: no-one was allowed to build without his personal approval. No two are the same, and yet they all have very distinctive character.
Here’s a wiki entry on the place. Kingsway - Wikipedia
Some people I knew thought I was nuts buying there, as the houses are quite tiny compared with the McMansions you could get with the same cash in the burbs: plus, the house is of course old (built in 1932) and needs lots of work.
To me while some of the descriptors such as the large two to three car garage placed prominently in front and the cathedral ceilings are found in a McMansion, I don’t think it is a McMansion unless almost all houses in the subdivision look alike and are on small lots.
A friend of a friend who lives in Ashburn lives in one. All the houses look the same from the street and it has a huge cathedral ceiling entry way which has a lot of wasted space.
However, around here, $300K doesn’t get you anything larger than a 2br condo and $500K will get you a pretty good sized townhouse or a fixer upper of a house.
I don’t consider the houses that people build in infill lots close to the city or where they tear down an old house to build a larger new one to be McMansions as they aren’t being built in a large group in a homogeneous neighborhood.
As someone that used to swing a hammer and work inside McMansions I can add a few more common denominators.
They will have an elaborate brick, stone, or brick AND stone veneer on the street side of the house, all other sides are vinyl siding.
The street side has expansive decorative windows, the rear of the house has small widely scattered windows.
All interior doors are the cheapest hollow-core doors available.
Basically they are built to look pretty from the street, and the rest of the house is ignored.