Not a cookie-cutter tract

Not a cookie-cutter neighborhood...

The housing stock of the neighborhood I live in could not be more different than the stock of the neighborhoods I grew up in. Most of Southern California is carpeted by housing tracts that all feature bland variations of whatever architectural theme captured the developer's fancy. As a result, multiple interpretations of the "Mediterranean" look dot the landscape, with seemingly the only difference between tracts the color of the tile roofs or the stucco walls. Occasionally one might see dull Cape Cods, or some dreary modern look that was wholly uninteresting (think Brady Bunch.)

In my new neighborhood, the houses were predominately built from about 1880 through 1950. Further, most of the stock remains and was not torn down for McMansions. The architectural styles range from Victorian to Dutch Colonial to Italian Revival, and some which defy categorization.

This particular house has a sort of Queen Anne look to it, with the funky turret. Very cool.