Radnor Winston

National Register of Historic Places: 12/29/03

Description

Radnor Winston MapThe Radnor - Winston Historic District is located on a parcel of land, which gently slopes from Notre Dame Lane down to Radnor Avenue. Some old growth trees remain. The roadways are laid out in the gridiron fashion. The District lies east and south of the neighborhood known as Mid-Charles, north of Kernewood, and approximately a half block west of the York Road corridor with further indention as its northeastern extremely because of the historic Gallagher site. The College of Notre Dame forms its northern boundary. In the southeastern extremity of the District is a cul-de-sac. Its southern boundary is made pronounced as no streets in the District permit passage to any adjacent community to its south.

Originally, four roadways, running east and west between the College of Notre Dame and York Road (Notre Dame Lane, Winston Avenue, Rossiter Avenue, and Radnor Avenue), provided entrance and exit routes into the District and protected it from transit traffic. The District, developed largely as a subdivision, has architecture all of which is residential. The houses that remain from the period prior to subdivision development add to the interest and character to the District. That fifty percent of the houses are designed in the Bungalow Style sets the overall character of the District. Eighteen percent of the houses are American Foursquare and six houses are Dutch Colonial Style.

Significance

The Radnor-Winston Historic District evolved along with the provision of a convenient mass transportation system along York Road. Accessibility was further enhanced by the construction of Winston Avenue from York Road west to two large parcels of land. Most of the construction occurred during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The selection by an early resident and local architect-builder of the fashionable Prairie Style set the standard for most of the development of what had been a rural setting. The resulting Bungalow Style houses strongly reflect the increasing importance of an ideal setting for the American family and its us of simple. Natural materials and comfortable colors in harmony with natural settings.