A Cape Code style with a large front porch.

A Tour of Earlewood Homes & Gardens
Photos provided by Landon Thompson with Landon Jacob Productions, landonjacob.com

Historic Earlewood continued its Centennial Celebration with BungalowFest, a Tour of Earlewood Homes and Gardens, in September. Earlewood’s first home and garden tour showcased 10 historic homes and gardens plus two townhomes at the former McCants Elementary School, an award-winning property for its adaptive reuse of an historic building.

A Typical Brick Bungalow.

“We thank the City of Columbia and First Citizens Bank for sponsoring Earlewood’s BungalowFest,” said Fred Monk, president of the Earlewood Community Citizens Organization.  “Both Earlewood and the North Main area are seeing considerable investment by an influx of people who enjoy the character of this tree-lined historic neighborhood along with the proximity to in-town amenities.” Designed as an easy walk, the BungalowFest also offered free trolley service.

The vine-covered deck blends perfectly with a wood Craftsman bungalow.

The Earlewood neighborhood, established in 1910, includes more than 1,000 homes that reflect the architectural styles of the past 150 years – farm houses, two-story Victorians, Craftsman bungalows, brick Shandon-style bungalows and new homes. McCants School, built in 1931, recently has been converted into town homes while preserving many of the historic architectural features.

An entrance detail shows off the popular archway.

“While homes in Earlewood reflect a variety of architectural styles, the predominant one is the Craftsman Bungalow,” Monk said. The American Craftsman Bungalow was named from the Arts & Crafts movement that emphasized simple design and fine craftsmanship. The term ‘Bungalow’ comes from India (via England) and means a modest-sized house with low-gabled roofs and wide porches. Gabled roofs with overhanging exposed eaves and rafters, welcoming front porches, and an abundance of windows are characteristics of the Craftsman Bungalow.