A Painted Lady - 132 State Street

If you were on a mission to visit the State Auditor of Accounts, you probably wouldn’t expect to find such a serious-sounding official in this whimsical, dollhouse setting, right?

Such is the charm of small capitals and small government. Notice the steep roof, the covered porches, and all the towers and spindles and froufrou. These are all clues that this house was constructed in a style known as Queen Anne Revival, which was very popular in the country during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The paint job gives it the added distinction of being what’s known as a “Painted Lady”, a term commonly applied to colorfully repainted Victorian style houses.

Off the Beaten Path: If you’d like to see more of this style, you’ll find them in some of the residential streets surrounding the downtown area, particularly around Liberty and Loomis Streets. These neighborhoods are quiet, leafy, and picturesque. In them, you’ll find a diverse display of architecture, including a few Painted Ladies demurely screening themselves behind flowering trees and foliage.