From The Archives

1892 John Sydney House

Typically earlier Queen Anne Style homes are recognized by their asymmetrical foot prints and romantic and whimsical flourishes in architecture with circular towers emerging from the roof line and elaborate wrap around porches with finely turned columns and an apparent obsession with brackets and filigree spindle work. The Maple Avenue Historic District in Hannibal, Missouri has some notable examples of this highly detailed type of Queen Anne Style. When John Sydney built his home at the prestigious Center Street address he chose a more simplified version of Queen Anne. Like its more elaborately detailed neighbors his house has an asymmetrical footprint, but there is no tower and the front porch by comparison to its neighbors is austere. Old House Journal devoted an issue to this more plain type of Queen Anne, dubbing it the Princess Anne. The more austere façade appeals to many people's taste for simplicity and it undoubtedly requires less maintenance. The interiors of these houses were embellished with elaborately detailed woodwork readily available because of the machines and power of industrial age.

Although Mr. Sydney chose relatively plain exterior details, he chose to embellish the interior with elaborate moldings and a magnificent staircase. The elegant details start at the front door with its unusual pattern of multiple raised panels interspersed with beveled glass. The woodwork surrounding the doors is highly detailed. The staircase rail above the oak paneled wall has an unusual pattern that appears similar to a Moorish arch but the center of the arch has a turned spindle.