The History Chicks

Greetings from Missouri!

I didn’t get too far from my house in Missouri before I  stumbled across our first postcard subject. Beautiful, multi-hued Victorian homes are just waiting to be admired all over the country, and I got to do just that in Plattsburg,  a small town halfway between Kansas City and St. Joseph.

These homes were built in the mid 1800’s to early 1900’s  but didn’t officially get their name, Painted Ladies, until the 1970’s in the book Painted Ladies: San Francisco’s Resplendant Victorians by Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen,with photographs by Morely Baer.

Book from the '70's which looks kinda vintage from this 2011 angle

The authors have since written a more current version, photographs by Douglas Keister:

Second verse, similar to the first

The term ” Victorian”, when you talk architecture, really is a catch- all for homes made in many different styles, and materials. Grand estate homes, to small cottages, to row style homes made of stone, brick, wood in Classic to Gothic architectural styles. All different, all Victorian. The color schemes changed as times changed. Typically there are several colors on Painted Ladies, all working together to show off the trim and architectural uniqueness of the home.

In this very short podcast, I’ll tell you a bit about the history of these homes, of the town of Plattsburg, and of other pockets of these stunning houses all over the country.

Here is the link to check out the Victorian homes of Lizzie Borden’s town: http://fallriverpaintedladies.com/

And here is the link to the Morris Arboretum, they have a miniature train display dotted with Painted Ladies. http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/gardens_railway.shtml

I really do believe that there is  beauty where ever you go, all you have to do is open your eyes. Ok, sometimes you also have to turn your head to the side and squint. But I didn’t have to do that the day that I drove into Plattsburg.  I went dreading sitting in the blazing hot sun at, yet another, baseball game. I left having been treated to a gift. Beautiful old homes,  preserved and displayed for anyone who had the pleasure of driving by.

Susan