Page 114 - State College, PA Design Guidelines

06.28.2018 •

are usually present. Doors may be centered or placed to the
side.

• Hipped roof without full-width porch: About 20 percent of
Colonial Revival houses are simple two-story rectangular blocks
with hipped roofs; porches are usually absent or, if present, are
merely small entry porches covering less than the full facade
width. This subtype predominates before about 1915.

• Side-gabled roof: About 30 percent of Colonial Revival houses
are simple, two-story rectangular blocks with side-gabled
roofs. Details tend to be exaggerated prior to 1910 and more
“correct” afterward. This subtype was built throughout the
Colonial Revival era but predominates after about 1915 and was
widely built after 1930.

• Centered gable: Less than 5 percent of Colonial Revival houses
have a centered front gable added to either a hipped or side-
gable roof. These uncommon Revival houses mimic high-style
Georgian or Federal prototypes.

• Gambrel roof: About 10 percent of Colonial Revival houses have
gambrel roofs. Most are one story with steeply pitched gambrels
containing almost a full second story of floor space; these have
either separate dormer windows or a continuous shed dormer
with several windows. A full-width porch may be included. This
subtype is known as Dutch Colonial.

• Second-story overhang: This subtype is loosely based on Post-
medieval English prototypes, commonly built with the second
story extended slightly outward to overhang the wall below. The
subtype was relatively rare until the 1930s when stylized, side-
gabled examples became very popular.

• One-story: The preceding subtypes are all based on familiar
two-story prototypes, but one-story Colonial Revival houses are
also common. These are generally Cape Code cottages, loosely
patterned after early wooden Cape Code folk houses of eastern
Massachusetts, usually with the addition of Georgian or Federal-
inspired doorways.

• Three-story: A small percentage of Colonial Revival houses are
three stories. These include narrow urban houses and more
typical forms modeled after three-story Federal prototypes.
These typically have low-pitched, hipped roofs which appear
almost flat.

• Built-in garage: In 1940, an FHA bulletin illustrated two ways to
integrate a garage into the main block of a side-gabled Colonial
Revival house.

108 STATE COLLEGE, PA • HERITAGE STATE COLLEGE DESIGN GUIDELINES