 Hi my name is Megan McNich and I'm a preservation planner with the City of Columbia's Planning and Development Services. Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Cotton Town Bellevue Architectural Conservation District, including some of the history and common architectural styles that you'll find in the district. So to start off with we're going to talk a little bit about the area that was historically known as the Bellevue neighborhood. And the first state of importance in the development of this neighborhood is 1896 when the streetcar line, which started in downtown Columbia, was extended northward towards Hyatt Park. Hyatt Park is the area that we today know as the Eau Claire area of Columbia, and the extension of the streetcar allowed for downtown suburbs to expand in this time period as well. So think neighborhoods like Elmwood Park and Cotton Town as well. So in 1902 the first lots were surveyed and subdivided and sold off to private property owners. We start to see the first new construction in this area around this time, and this is largely going to be on lots closest to Elmwood Avenue. By 1912 the larger Bellevue neighborhood had been surveyed and lots started to be sold off to individual property owners. And by the 1920s construction in the district had begun in earnest. It continued on to the 1920s and 30s. And by the early 1940s the neighborhood had become more densely settled, although new construction continued through the 1950s and 60s, more sporadically in those cases. By the 1990s local leaders in historic preservation began to see the value of the history of Cotton Town and its beautiful architecture. So in 1997 the district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. And in 2009 it was locally designated as an architectural conservation district. There are a couple of really interesting things about the history of Cotton Town, including something that I've already mentioned, which is that Cotton Town was a name applied to this neighborhood long after its founding. Something that you'll see as we start to talk about the architectural styles in the district is that brick is the most common, although not the only exterior siding or cladding material in the district. And then lastly, the area was once home to the Columbia Confederate Soldiers Home, which was located near the corner of Confederate Avenue and Bull Street, although the building no longer stands. So the first architectural style that we'll talk about is the one that many people will likely think of when it comes to Cotton Town. That's the craftsman style bungalow or craftsman style buildings. They are the predominant house type in the district and the majority of these buildings have brick as their exterior cladding material. There's lots of variety in the craftsman style bungalows in this district. They've got really ornate windows in a variety of pain configurations, including three over one, four over one, asymmetrical eight over one. There's a very large variety in the area. They also feature unique details such as faux half timbering in the gables, stuck out gables, beautiful knee braces, there are a variety of details on these buildings that make them incredibly unique. While the majority of the craftsman style buildings in the district are one story bungalows, there are several examples of two story craftsman style buildings in the district as well. Another architectural style found within the Cotton Town district is the colonial revival style. This was a popular style in the early to mid 20th centuries. There are examples that are both brick and lap sided. The predominant type in the district is brick cladding, but there are a couple of examples of lap sided colonial revival style buildings. These buildings tend to be highly symmetrical, so very even on either side, and they feature details like fan lights over the doors, and six over six, six over one and one over one style windows. The next architectural style that we should talk about is the minimal traditional style. These commonly date from the late 1930s through the early 1950s. They're generally very simple buildings. That's why they're called minimal traditional. They can however have style details in addition to their simplicity so they can have tutor details or craftsman details added to the buildings. Many of the minimal traditional style buildings that we find in Cotton Town are also duplex structures. These are historic to the district and an important part of the development of the area. The last architectural style that we'll touch on is the tutor revival. While these aren't as common in Cotton Town, there are several examples that are really unique. Many minimal traditional style structures in the district also have a tutor influence, although there are several examples of higher style tutors in the district that have steeply pitched gables, faux half timbering in the gables, arched or rounded top doors, and stone accents on them that make them really unique. So that was a brief overview of the Cotton Town Bellevue Architectural Conservation District. It's history and some of the architectural styles that you find in the district. If you have any questions about this district or other districts within the city of Columbia, or if you have a topic that you'd like us to cover in a future video, please feel free to email us at preservation at columbiasc.gov. We'd love to hear from you and answer your questions. Thanks so much.