53 N Euclid Avenue

The brick Foursquare home owned by David Seman and Keri Harmicar is located at 53 North Euclid Avenue. It probably was built around 1909 by Henry F. and Lillian Matthews. Keri and David have only lived in their home for 3 years but have already infused it with their creative style. The sunny enclosed porch invites you into the living room and entry where they gather with friends to enjoy music and cocktails and cuddle with their furry child Henry Buckminster. Much of the artwork you’ll see throughout the house was painted by David. Be sure to notice the display of bereavement cards and letters from the 1960s that have been passed down through all of the owners since then. Lots in the Roseburg Plan were in high demand, and 75 houses already had been built by 1912 (Figure 5). On March 1, 1908, the Pittsburgh Press noted that “the Roseburg plan especially has developed into one of the most popular residence sections [of Bellevue], and there is a good demand for property there. The lots are level, with paved streets, building restrictions, sewers, sidewalks, electric lights and all modern improvements. Ten room houses are to be had at exceptionally reasonable prices, and these homes are fitted up in an elegant manner and with all conveniences. The location can be easily and expeditiously reached by three car lines, ... all the cars running by the Roseburg lots.” Lots in the Roseburg Plan were subject to building restrictions designed to discourage rental units and cheap construction: all houses 53 N Euclid Avenuehad to be set back 20 feet from the street; they had to be built of brick, stone or cement, with no frame houses permitted; and the construction cost had to be at least $5,000. The Seman/Harmicar home is a good example of one of the early 20th century’s most popular residential building forms, the American Foursquare, ubiquitous throughout Bellevue, Avalon, and Brighton Heights. Foursquare is a house form rather than a style, and different styles of stylistic ornamentation could be (and were) applied to houses of this type. Although the Foursquare is typically associated with the Prairie style, most local examples display Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and Queen Anne decorative elements, often mixed together in the same structure. The Foursquare was descended from vernacular Classical Revival forms of the mid-19th century, and since the simple form was ideally suited to mass-production, it was a popular mail-order offering of the 1900-1930 period. The hallmarks of the Foursquare are its cube-like shape and interior plan of four rooms per floor plus a side stairway. It was ideally suited to the typical long and narrow house lot found in streetcar suburbs during the 1900-1930 period. Nearly all examples feature a pyramidal roof with one or more dormers, and a full-width or half-width porch across the facade. In the case of 53 North Euclid, the front porch has been enclosed. According to historian Alan Gowans, “despite commonly having only three instead of four columns across the front, asymmetrical placement of porches, irregular fenestration (window arrangement), and side bay windows breaking up boxy outlines, the fundamental visual effect is balanced and symmetrical.” Despite their inherent similarity of form, Foursquare houses exhibit an almost infinite variety of wall treatments, porch designs, and fenestration.