My house has a fraternal twin...

Northwood Shores - WPB

I have lived where I am currently living now since August of 2000.  Before that, I lived just south of downtown and before that at 7th South and H.  When I purchased my home, someone mentioned that they knew of a twin to it in the Northwood area of West Palm Beach.  Back then, I took a drive up there and found this house and thought that it was indeed a curiosity.

Over the years, I didn't think much about it.  I did, soon after I purchased my home, chase down a set of the original house plans in the city's property file for my address.  If you are interested in the history of your house - from various permits to the original plans or plans for an addition, you may be surprised to know the city can provide a lot of information for you.  There are missing periods due to a fire and of course some questionable record keeping practices over the years, but for the most part the records are intact - and they happened to be in that condition for my house.  I had the plans sent out to a printer and have had the two sheets framed.  They hang in two different parts of the house.

Northwood Shores - WPB

Interestingly, after studying the plans, it is apparent that the contractor who built the house in West Palm Beach adhered more to the actual written plan than the contractor that built my house.  The similarities are the general layout, placement of the garage and the courtyard area in front of the house - really its distinguishing feature.

The differences might be due to the fact that my house was initially started for one buyer and somewhere along the way that deal might have fallen part.  According to the information that I have been able to put together, the house was finished in the early part of 1951, but not occupied until 1952.  The first house owner's name does not match the name indicated on the plans.

For whatever reason, there are things that are part of the built house in WPB that are not on mine.  The plan shows two chimneys - the WPB home has one, mine has none.

College Park - LW

On the plan and on the WPB house, there is a stepped-back treatment around the side and back of the house which was a common device for more window area to catch the breeze before the advent of air conditioning.  Mine happens to be squared-off, which ended up making a larger master bedroom and Florida Room area than indicated on the original plan.  This could have been a cost-saving move as the undulating walls would have taken more time, effort and materials than what was designed.  But I still like the result.

College Park - LW

The original plans called for a ledge beneath the front bedroom window - which the house in WPB has and mine does not.  Mine has some ledges built into the courtyard area, but not as many as the WPB house.

Northwood Shores - WPB

When I drove by the WPB house in 2000, I remember seeing the remains of a wooden "fence" between the columns in the courtyard area.  This is shown on the original plan as being wood.  But you can see that my house has a perforated brick fence between the columns which has fared time better than the wooden design used on the WPB house.  Landscaping now fills the void between the columns there.

College Park - LW

The two pictures below show the differences in the two courtyard areas and ways that the two houses were constructed.  One of the subtle differences is that the floor in my house was elevated so that you have to walk up a step from grade from the driveway to the courtyard and then two more to enter the house.  The WPB house is built entirely on the same grade.  Both have a brick facade along the front of the house, but the WPB house has a much larger/taller "beam" between the brick face and the roofline - mine is much narrower which I think lends to a more pleasing proportion.

Northwood Shores - WPB

The smaller window in the corner of the courtyard is identical in both houses, mine is just obscured by landscaping.  You can also see the WPB house's chimney - where mine is without.  However, I do have a fireplace in the living room.  Sometimes, around Christmas, I think this could be a metaphor for my life - having a fireplace with no chimney means Santa must make extraordinary effort to deliver gifts.  I wonder if the children that lived in the house ever thought about that?

College Park - LW

The garage differences are unique too.  The WPB house is again according to plan, with an offset garage door and rounded edges to the garage door - along with tighter horizontal lines.  You get the "feel" with my house, but it is clearly a more simplified design and construction.  On the plan, it indicates that the area inside and to the right of the door was meant to be a "mud room" sort of bathroom.  I am not sure that is the case with the WPB house, as I have never been inside.

Northwood Shores - WPB

College Park - LW

It is also revealing that these two homes were built in these two neighborhoods around the same time.  Both were considered nice places to live, with the Northwood area of WPB having known to be inhabited by many doctors since the neighborhood was between two hospitals.

Bill and I used this as a destination for a bike excursion this weekend.  I was able to talk to an across the street neighbor and left a message on the homeowner's voicemail.  I haven't heard back from him - maybe he thought I was casing the joint or something.  But I would like to get a chance to look around inside and see what other differences there are between the two.

One thing that I would like to check out is whether or not the ceiling in the living room of the WPB house is anything like this.  This was a big selling point for me when I saw it and those that visit always comment on the beamed ceiling.

I called the WPB Historic Preservation office this morning and asked if they had any information on this house.  They did not.  It is not currently in a historic district - it begins west of Poinsettia - this property is east in Northwood Shores.  They also didn't have the usual "green card" for the property - which is a little odd.  It would be interesting to know how closely chronologically they were built.

I'll let you know what I find out.