Storybook architecture is a style popularized in the 1920s in England and the United States. Houses built in this style may be referred to as storybook houses.

Description

The storybook style is a nod toward Hollywood design technically called Provincial Revivalism and more commonly called Fairy Tale or

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

. While there is no specific definition of what makes a house storybook style, the main factor may be a sense of playfulness and whimsy. Most seemed snapped out of a craggy old-world village with intentionally uneven roofs, many cobblestone, doors and windows which may look mismatched and odd-shaped. It took a foothold in California, particularly in Los Angeles, during the 1920s and 1930s. A primary example can be found in the 1927 Montclair, Oakland, firehouse, and in a more traditional English cottage-style in the 1930 Montclair branch library.

Idora Park Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. It was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement P ...

in north

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

, is a four-square-block storybook architecture development begun in 1927 on the grounds of the old amusement park. Other examples in Los Angeles are the Snow White Cottages, designed in 1931 by architect Ben Sherwood;

Charlie Chaplin Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...

, built in 1919 by architects

Meyer & Holler Meyer & Holler was an architecture firm based in Los Angeles, California, noted for its opulent commercial buildings and movie theatres, including Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theatres, built during the 1920s. Meyer & Holler was also known as ...

; the Charlie Chaplin Cottages, built in 1923 by Arthur and Nina Zwebell, a husband-and-wife architectural team; and the " Hobbit House" built between 1940 and 1970 by Disney artist Lawrence Joseph.

Architects and examples

The primary architects that worked in this style are

Harry Oliver Harry Oliver (April 4, 1888 – July 4, 1973) was an American humorist, artist, and Academy Award nominated art director of films from the 1920s and 1930s. Besides his outstanding work in Hollywood, he is now best remembered for his humorous w ...

, Ben Sherwood, William R. Yelland, Walter W. Dixon, Hugh W. Comstock, and Carr Jones among many other local architects.

Los Angeles area

Oliver is noted for his Spadena House in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, and the Tam O'Shanter Inn in

Atwater Village, Los Angeles Atwater Village is a neighborhood in the 13th district of Los Angeles, California. Much of Atwater Village lies in the fertile Los Angeles River flood plain. Located in the northeast region of the city, Atwater borders Griffith Park and Silver L ...

. Harry Oliver worked on more than 30 Hollywood films as an art director or set decorator between 1919–1938. The Spadena House, also known as the Witch's House was originally built to function as offices and dressing rooms for Willat Studios, a silent film studio in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

. It was moved to Beverly Hills in either 1926 or 1934 (accounts vary) and has served as a private residence since that time. The Tam O'Shanter Inn, also a Storybook building, was designed by Oliver and built in 1922.

was also responsible for Van de Kamp bakery's trademark windmill buildings which were designed during the same time period. Sherwood is noted for the Snow White Cottages built in 1931 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Another example are cupola-topped storybook homes in a lot in Culver City constructed between 1946 and 1970. They are collectively known as the Hobbit Houses.

San Francisco Bay area

William Yelland is noted for his (Thornburg) Normandy Village and Tupper & Reed Music Store, both located in Berkeley. Yelland designed homes in Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley,

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

, Hayward, Woodland, Modesto, Clarksburg, Sacramento, Kensington and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. W. W. Dixon is noted for his work with developer R. C. Hillen in creating the Dixon & Hillen catalog of home plans. Dixon is noted for Stonehenge & Stoneleigh villages in

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santia ...

as well as Picardy Drive in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

. Carr Jones is noted for the post office (now Postino Restaurant) in

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. He also designed and built one-of-a-kind homes in Oakland, Berkeley and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

such as the impressive Houvenin House at 85 Wildwood Gardens in Piedmont. He also built the

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...

home in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

. Hugh W. Comstock is noted for his "Fairy Tale," storybook architectural style, that has been closely identified with

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

Gallery

File: Storybook houses.JPG, Storybook houses in Oakland, California File:Stoneleigh.jpg, Storybook houses in Alameda, California File:Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, California LCCN2013630533.tif, Hugh W. Comstock's

The Tuck Box The Tuck Box is a historic American Craftsman, Craftsman Storybook architecture, Storybook style commercial building in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was built in 1926, by master builder Hugh W. Comstock. The building was designate ...

storybook house in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, California

References

External links

Oakland California Storybook House neighborhoodStorybook Style homeowners club maintained by John Robert Marlow
by Daniella Thompson, Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association {{Authority control House styles American architectural styles Novelty architecture