Old World Wisconsin/Damon House
I thought it would be interesting to compare some of the houses that I saw at Old World Wisconsin with the Damon house in Wauwatosa. While at Old World Wisconsin, I was particularly drawn to the Koepsell farmhouse in the German area. I found the timber and brick method of construction to be not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also very efficient in terms of materials and structure. 
The biggest difference that comes to mind when thinking about these two houses is the amount of refinement that the Damon house had over the Koepsell farmhouse. Both houses were constructed in the mid 1800’s in relatively the same geographical location, but they look like they came from two different time periods. The Koepsell house held on to it German routes while the Damon house showed a few traits of Greek Revival. The custom trim work and faux columns hinted at some Greek inspiration. It adopted more a New England Colonial style in terms of the roofline and fenestration. Im not saying that the Damon house is a superior building by any standard. I just found it interesting that a time when some houses payed attention architectural ornamentation and details, others were focused purely on function. I guess the same could be said about some structures today, but not to the extremes that these two houses were. According to David Handlin, who wrote American Architecture, the lack of ornamentation on the Koepesell house could be based on several factors. These factors would include financial status, location relative to other members of the community, lack of central government and lack of trained architects.
I thought it would be interesting to compare some of the houses that I saw at Old World Wisconsin with the Damon house in Wauwatosa. While at Old World Wisconsin, I was particularly drawn to the Koepsell farmhouse in the German area. I found the timber and brick method of construction to be not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also very efficient in terms of materials and structure. 
The biggest difference that comes to mind when thinking about these two houses is the amount of refinement that the Damon house had over the Koepsell farmhouse. Both houses were constructed in the mid 1800’s in relatively the same geographical location, but they look like they came from two different time periods. The Koepsell house held on to it German routes while the Damon house showed a few traits of Greek Revival. The custom trim work and faux columns hinted at some Greek inspiration. It adopted more a New England Colonial style in terms of the roofline and fenestration. Im not saying that the Damon house is a superior building by any standard. I just found it interesting that a time when some houses payed attention architectural ornamentation and details, others were focused purely on function. I guess the same could be said about some structures today, but not to the extremes that these two houses were. According to David Handlin, who wrote American Architecture, the lack of ornamentation on the Koepesell house could be based on several factors. These factors would include financial status, location relative to other members of the community, lack of central government and lack of trained architects.
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