A flounder house is a term used in some areas to describe a type of house with a roof with a single slope, rather than the double slope of

gabled roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

. Some are oriented so that the shed roof runs perpendicular to the facade, in these tallest wall of the house lacks windows and doors. The house may align with a property edge, sit at the back of its lot, or align with other houses on its street. Others have a different number of apparent stories on the facade and the rear elevation, with the ridge line running parallel the facade. Though modern examples exist, most flounder houses date from the 18th or 19th century. They can be found in cities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from the

Mississippi River Valley The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its conflue ...

to the East Coast. The flounder house's

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

is the similarly asymmetrical flounder fish.

Origin

The motivation for building flounder houses is debated. Common folklore follow one of three themes: "a result of an early restrictive building ordinance, the original owner's plan for future expansion, or a desire to reduce

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inhe ...

es." In fact, shed roofed buildings are often simply the cheapest to construct. Residents of various cities with shed-roofed houses believe that these houses are indigenous to their city.

Examples

Shed-roof houses can be found across the United States, including in St Louis, Missouri;

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

;

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

; Charleston, South Carolina; Fredericksburg and

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

;

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

;

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285. History New Castl ...

; and Boston, Massachusetts. The term "flounder", though, is not used in most of these locations. 277 flounder houses have been cataloged in St. Louis, Missouri as of July 2015. The Cassey House is a flounder house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1960, Alexandria, Virginia, may have had 75 flounder houses, dramatically fewer than the 1500 flounder houses estimated to have existed there in the 19th century. A parsonage built in 1787 claims the distinction of oldest flounder house in Alexandria.

Legacy

The Cultural Resources Office of St. Louis began a survey in 2015, in order to better preserve the city's flounder houses. Individuals have also taken interest in flounder houses, sometimes incorporating historical houses into modern renovations. In ''The Carlisle Chronicles,'' a 1986 mystery trilogy by Norma Johnston, the protagonists' family lives in a flounder house designed to avoid a glass tax.

References

{{Reflist American architectural styles House styles House types

Origin

Examples

Legacy

See also

References