2333 North Vernon Street
Arlington, VA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Earle M. Winslow House

Statement of Significant:

The Earle M. Winslow House at 2333 North Vernon Street, in Arlington County, Virginia, is an excellent example of the modernistic architectural expression known as Streamline Moderne. Constructed in 1940, the single-family dwelling is one of nine extant Streamline Moderne-style houses in Arlington. These houses represent the tremendous residential development occurring in the Washington metropolitan area attributed to the widespread growth of the federal government in the period between the two world wars. Yet, the Earle Winslow House along with its eight counterparts contrasts sharply with the substantial number of Colonial Revival-style neighbors, which represent the traditional style espoused in the mid- twentieth century by the federal government through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Small Housing Program and Low-Cost Housing Act. The house at 2333 North Vernon Street was designed for Earle Winslow by local architect Kenton Hamaker, who was prolific in the design of Colonial Revival-style buildings. Winslow was an economist who specialized in tariffs and worked for most of his career at the United States Tariff Commission in Washington, D.C. His work enabled him to travel extensively throughout Europe, where he became familiar with modernistic architecture and the Streamline Moderne. The collaborative effort of owner and architect resulted in a distinct and unique Streamline Moderne- style dwelling, which championed the FHA's dictum of "maximum accommodation within a minimum of means" to a degree acceptable to economist Earle Winslow. The design of this house is unusual amongst its Streamline Moderne counterparts because, while successfully presenting the character-defining features of this individualistic architectural style, it effectively incorporates minor elements and the symmetry indicative of the mid-twentieth century that have become more traditionally associated with the Colonial Revival style and ranch house form; thus making the Winslow House a distinctive model of mid-twentieth-century architecture in Arlington County.

The Earle M. Winslow House at 2333 North Vernon Street is locally significant and eligible for the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, as an excellent and rare expression of the Streamline Moderne style of architecture in Arlington County. Significant in Architecture, the period of significance is 1940, which is the construction date of this Streamline Moderne dwelling. With only three owners, the Earle M. Winslow House retains excellent integrity; an addition was added above the original garage in the 1970s. Clearly reading as a late- twentieth-century alteration because of materials, the addition does not interfere with the modernistic design of the house because of its lack of ornamentation, streamlined form, and smooth exterior finish.

The Earle M. Winslow House is being nominated under the Multiple Property Nomination, Streamline Moderne Houses in Arlington County, Virginia: 1936-1945.