Browse Items (299 total)
- Collection: Houses, Rockford, Illinois
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Walker Parlor
The home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. The parlor with a highly decorative fireplace, gas light fixtures, a picture rail to support framed art, and lace curtains at the window. The mirror over the fireplace calls…
Blanche Walker's Bedroom
Blanche Walker's bedroom at 410 South Third Street. Bedrooms were private rooms in the nineteenth century home. The curtains are not as fancy as the ones used in the parlor.
Blanche Walker's Bedroom
Blanche Walker's bedroom at 410 South Third Street. The walls are plain as wallpaper was generally used only in the public rooms of the house.
Walker Sitting Room
The home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. Possibly a sitting room next to the parlor. The parlor is the more formal of the two rooms. An animal skin rug is laying across the threshold between two rooms.
Walker Sitting Room
The home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. Possibly a sitting room. The doorway at right leads to the front hall. It is possible that a large mirror is at left with the same woodwork frame as the doorways.
Walker Front Hall
Front hall of the Alexander and Venetia R. Walker home at 410 South Third Street. The parlor opens off this room, keeping guests in the public areas of the house.
Walker Dining Room
Dining room in the home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. The highly decorative fireplace indicates that this is a public space. The cabinets store and display serving dishes.
A Room for a Wedding
The home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. Possibly a sitting room. Blanche Walker and H. Stanton Burpee were married in front of the windows on June 9, 1897.
Cozy Corner at the Walker House
A room in the home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. This may be a private sitting room for family members to relax. A cozy corner is against the wall. The Victorian cozy corner usually featured a couch or broad seat,…
Bedroom at the Wheeler Home
A bedroom in the Willard Wheeler home at 228 South First Street. Wallpaper used in a bedroom during the nineteenth century usually meant that it was the master bedroom.
Victorian Cozy Corner
Cozy corner at the Willard Wheeler home 228 South First Street. Cozy corners were popular 1880 - 1920 as oriental patterns and items became more easily available in America. The cozy corner has a broad seat or couch and many large pillows covered…
The Wheeler Home
The parlor or dining room at the Willard Wheeler home at 228 South First Street.
Wheeler Sitting Room
A sitting room at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street. Tassels and fabrics were an important part of decorating rooms during the late nineteenth century.
Wheeler Parlor
Parlor at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street.
Wheeler Parlor
Parlor at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street. At left is the corner of a piano. A dog rests on the rug in the doorway.
Wheeler Sitting Room
Sitting room at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street.
Wheeler Sitting Room
Sitting room at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street. The doorway in the foreground is draped with fabric lined with tassels. This fabric can be dropped to cover the entire entrance and provide some privacy inside the room.
Wheeler Home Sitting Room
A corner of the sitting room at the Willard Wheeler home, 228 South First Street. The draped fabric at the left could be dropped to provide some privacy. An unidentified woman sits at the desk with papers.
Brown Dining Room
Dining room at the William Brown house, 326 South Third Street. The room is set up for a large gathering. Lace curtains on the windows were a typical decoration in the late nineteenth century. Decorating with tassels and fabric in doorways was very…
Brown Dining Room
Dining room at the William Brown house, 326 South Third Street. Folding chairs are set up for a large gathering.
Nordstrom Victorian Cozy Corner
A cozy corner at the Gust Nordstrom home, 218 West Street. A couch lined with tassels and large throw pillows is at the left. Lace curtains at the windows were typical of the late nineteenth century. Mass produced machine made lace was available,…
Nordstrom Dining Room
Possibly a dining room at the Gust Nordstrom home, 218 West Street. An animal skin rug is on the floor in front of the fireplace. As heating technology changed fireplaces became nostalgic and a focus point of the room. As a focus point, the…
Nordstrom Home
Nordstrom home at 218 West Street. A view of the arrangement of public rooms in the house. Doorways are draped with fabric and bead curtains which can be closed to provide some privacy to the room.
Miss Pearl Biller's Room
Miss Pearl Biller's room in the Nordstrom home at 218 West Street. Room walls provide a large surface for decorating. The flower swag border at the top of the wall adds color to the room. During the mid to late 1800s, homes were highly decorated to…
A Public Room of a House
A main room of an unidentified home where the family could relax. Mementoes are displayed throughout the room indicating that this is public space where visitors would be welcome. Light is provided by the fireplace and the table lamp.
A Piano for Entertainment
A parlor with a piano in an unidentified home. A piano provided entertainment for visitors and was a focal point in the room. Portraits are displayed on piano and on floor.
Victorian Decorating Style
An unidentified sitting room and parlor. The tassels in the doorway are decorative and serve to divide the space from one room to another. The use of animal skin rugs was a way to bring nature into the domestic setting of the home.
Andrew Family Gathering
An unidentified dining room. Decorations cover every surface including the ceiling, walls and windows. Seated around the table is a gathering of sisters and sister-in-laws of the Andrew family. Left to right are Jane Andrew (Mrs. John Picken), Janet…
Harold Clark Library
The library in the Harold Clark home at 939 North Second Street. This home was designed by Rockford architect Jesse Barloga in 1933-1934. The home was designed for Lewis Harold Clark and his wife Effie. Harold Clark was the son of J. L. Clark, who…
Emil Johnson
Emil Johnson sitting in a large wooden rocking chair.
Emil Johnson Family
Emil, Martha, and George Johnson in their sitting room of the house they rented on 1412 Parmele Street in Rockford.
George Johnson Confirmation Day
George and Emil Johnson in their sitting room on George's Confirmation Day. The house they rented was located at 1412 Parmele Street.
Antimacassar
George Johnson on his Confirmation Day. The sitting room in in the house the Johnson family rented at 1412 Parmele Street. The furniture is draped at the head and arms with decorative fabric called antimacassar. The purpose was to prevent the soiling…
Emil and Martha Johnson Wedding Anniversary
Emil and Martha Johnson in their sitting room on their 25th wedding anniversary. Antimacassars are being used on the armchairs.
House Porch
Two men with a little girl are seated in a porch attached to a house. The enclosed porch appears to be a place for the family to relax. A porch allowed for the viewing of the outdoors while enjoying the comforts of the house interior.
Spafford Sitting Room
The Spafford House at 501 North Prospect, Rockford. Above the sitting room fireplace is a portrait of Mrs. Jessie Spafford.
Tudor Architectural Style
Mathilda Oleson's home where Irene and her son Selwyn Seek lived in 1926, located at 5413 North Second Street. Interurban rails are in the foreground. The architectural style is a variance of Tudor. The house is cross gabled with strong timbering on…
Folk Victorian Architecture
The home of Wilbur W. and Hilda E. Seek at 1408 Sixth Street. Wilbur (1885 - 1976) and Hilda (1889 - 1964) moved into the home circa 1932 and lived there the rest of their lives. The architectural style is Folk Victorian based on the decorative…
Siding Tiles
The home of Wilbur W. and Hilda E. Seek at 1408 Sixth Street after remodeling. The decorative trim on the roof line and front porch have been removed. The porch was enclosed and windows put in which maintains the openness a porch provides. The wavy…
A Family's Backyard
A child in a home's backyard. A solid wood plank fence at right separates a home space from a neighbor and provides some privacy. The backyard provides recreational space for a family while the front yard was usually not fenced and acts to connect…
A Family Stroll
An unidentified baby in a buggy near a front porch. Sidewalks provide a sturdy flat surface for pedestrians to walk on away from vehicles. Cement was a popular building material for sidewalks in America since the early 1900s.
The Backyard
A baby on a lawn in a residential neighborhood. The solid fence at the left served to provide privacy in neighborhoods where the houses are built close together. The outbuilding at the right would have housed a horse and carriage before automobiles…
Chauncey Lee Calkins Birthplace
The birthplace of Chauncey Lee Calkins (1891 - 1985) located at 204 North Street (now Park Avenue) in Rockford.
The Yard
Pictured left to right, Miriam, Bernice, "Me", Stuart, and Philip. The setting where people are photographed is important. Many family photographs are taken in the home's yard. Including the house in the picture provides a connection to the people…
The Trahern Family Home
The Delbert Trahern family home at 323 Whitman Street. This was the childhood home of Helen Trahern, daughter of Delbert and Sadie Trahern. Built circa 1903 - 1908, it replaced a stone house, using part of the foundation. The stone house had faced…
Whitman Street
Looking south east on Whitman Street.
Back Yard Recreation
Dr. Marvin Hanaford's house at 1995 Harlem Boulevard. Marvin and his wife Melvina moved into the home by 1911 and lived there until their deaths in 1938 and 1921 respectively. The house was built about 1900 with the property line going to the Rock…
A Home's Entrance
The main entrance to the home of Delbert and Nona Trahern and their daughter Helen at 323 Whitman Street.
Helen Trahern
Helen Trahern sitting on the front steps of a home that is possibly the Trahern home circa 1900 - 1908 at 1128 North Church Street. Helen was age eight in 1902 when the family lived there.
Trahern Family Home
Delbert Trahern home located at 323 Whitman Street in Rockford. This was the childhood home of Helen Trahern, daughter of Delbert and Sadie Trahern. Built circa 1903 - 1908, it replaced a stone house, using part of the foundation. The stone house had…