While the Colonial Revival continued, the formality of that style began to give way to the informality of the Craftsman style, with the Colonial Revival the second of the two most frequently expressed architectural styles in the West End. Many houses reflected the influence of both styles, such as the impressive J. J. Gentry House (48), built in 1917 according to the design of C. Gilbert Humphreys, the ca. 1917 Maslin-Tudor-Martin House (357), also a C. Gilbert Humphreys design, and the 1912 P. Oscar Leak House (318). But many others more fully embraced the Craftsman ideal, which included simplicity, informality of plan, and emphasis on the natural qualities of building materials so as to be in better harmony with the natural surroundings. The Craftsman influence was reflected in the design of many two-story houses, but it was even more closely aligned with the one or one-and-a-half-story bungalows. Good examples abound in the West End. One of the better examples of the two-story variety is the ca. 1926 Ray B. Diehl House (210), The two-story frame house has a low hip roof with widely overhanging eaves, groups of casement 1qindows, and a heavy granite front porch. The well-preserved interior features boxed beam ceilings, high paneled wainscots, and built-in dining room cupboards. The ca. 1922 Nicholas Mitchell House (311) is typical of many of the two-story Craftsman-inspired dwellings in the West End. It has a stuccoed first story, a wood shingled second story, the ubiquitous low hipped roof with widely overhanging eaves, grouped windows, and a porch with wood posts on granite plinths and a plain balustrade. Up the street from the Mitchell House, the Harry H. Davis House (314) is one of the most outstanding examples of the Craftsman style in the neighborhood. The 1923-1924 one-and-a-half-story frame dwelling has a combination of weatherboard and wood shingle siding, a multi-gable roof with overhanging braced eaves and plain bargeboards, grouped windows, stained glass, and a porch with tapered wood posts on brick plinths and a solid brick balustrade.
The West End possesses a wealth of 1910’s and 1920’s bungalows in a wide range of types. Many are classic examples of the Craftsman style. Two of the best are the W. B. Hawkins House (219) and the W. Kerr Scott House (493). The Hawkins House is a wood shingled example with bargeboarded gables, an offset porch, and granite foundation, steps, and chimney. The Scott House is a pristine example with coursed wood shingled siding, overhanging gables with bargeboarded eaves, battered and crossetted door and window surrounds, and a granite front porch, chimney, and front steps. Other bungalows which make good use of granite are the J. D. Slawter House (418) and the Philip T. Hay House (519). In the West End many bungalows appear identical, or nearly so, to others in the neighborhood. A striking example is the Hollenback-Garner House (516) and its next door mate, the Harry A. Cunningham House (517). These houses exhibit a common bungalow form. Each is a one-and-a-half-story frame structure with a weatherboarded first story, a coursed wood shingle upper story, a broad gable roof with widely overhanging eaves, a matching front dormer, grouped windows, and an engaged front porch with paired posts on brick plinths and a plain balustrade. One of the most interesting groups of bungalows in the West End is the row of five houses at 1316 to 1334 W. First Street (439-443). These closely knit and recently renovated houses together display a wide variety of bungalow forms, materials, and details.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination (1987)