# Name of architectural style of house?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 19, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192 "2010-11-19T03:42:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/1 "2010-11-19T03:42:45Z")
Here’s a [house](http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Peterborough,+Ontario&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=60.060082,92.724609&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Peterborough,+Peterborough+County,+Ontario&ll=44.334715,-78.320117&spn=0.032292,0.045276&z=15&layer=c&cbll=44.334813,-78.320215&panoid=--0kfQ-Ypb13npZeUsi7bA&cbp=12,30.18,,0,5) in a suburb of Peterborough, Ontario. It was built in the early 1960s. I have seen others in the same suburb, and elsewhere in Ontario.
What is the name of the style? Carport, low-slope roof, projecting beams under the soffit… often these particular houses were split-level as well. If it was all on one level like this other house [just up the street](http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Peterborough,+Ontario&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=60.060082,92.724609&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Peterborough,+Peterborough+County,+Ontario&ll=44.335237,-78.320632&spn=0.032292,0.045276&z=15&layer=c&cbll=44.335298,-78.32065&panoid=P9fs1UIqaJnbYBujNfs1dg&cbp=12,45.7,,0,4.91), I’d say a “ranch-style bungalow”, but it’s not a bungalow. The whole development is mostly “mid-century Modern”, but is there anything more specific for this particular house?
Is there an established nomenclature for the later suburban styles?
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/2 "2010-11-19T04:39:50Z")
Nothing that I’ve ever heard, and I hang with a lot of folks who would use such terms.
Architectural style names are generally bestowed decades or even centuries later, unless it’s a deliberate revival or mimicry. Even _mid-century_ is a term that’s only come to have a recognizable meaning in the last decade. About the best I can do for this is _60s-era ranch._
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/3 "2010-11-19T13:57:53Z")
The extended roof shows some effort to make it look like an [airplane bungalow](http://forum.arts-crafts.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4706079532/m/829105022). But I agree with **Mr Downtown** ; it’s a ranch.
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### Author:  [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/4 "2010-11-19T14:11:17Z")
Many elements of this style were popularized by [Joseph Eichler](http://totheweb.com/eichler/) in California. The web site calls the style _modernist_. I’ve always heard the style called _Eichler_, but his could be regional.
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### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/5 "2010-11-19T15:05:25Z")
I recall those houses-what was the utility of a carport, in a snowy winter climate like Canada?
The blowing snow would as like drift around your car, and shoveling it out was a pain in the ass.
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### Author:  [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/6 "2010-11-19T15:28:22Z")
I think it the carport was just an economy measure. An attached garage requires extra planning approval and considerable extra expense. The little bit of extra roof the carport requires is a relatively small expense. The carport did contribute to the low, sprawling style this era of bungalow was trying to evoke.
These were not necessarily ‘starter’ homes but were for the mid to lower end of the middle class market. They were on big, alleyed lots usually so adding a detached garage later was quite feasible, and you will often see this in these neighbourhoods.
The roof would still keep the majority of snow off a vehicle.
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/7 "2010-11-19T19:08:57Z")
As well as let you get in and out of your car without standing in the rain/snow.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/8 "2010-11-20T12:50:25Z")
It’s closest to a “California Rambler”, which is a designation for a particular type of ranch-style house.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-architectural-style-of-house/561192/9 "2010-11-20T15:13:33Z")
^I disagree. A California Rambler has to, um, ramble. So it will have a main wing with living room and another with bedrooms, often connected by a lengthy corridor, and maybe a third wing with kitchen/dining, so that it sprawls across a large yard and encloses a patio. These Canadian houses are simple rectangles on narrow lots, with at most a stubby extension into the backyard.