The art behind Kansas City’s historic homes: Tudor Revival

Often described as “gingerbread houses,” Kansas City’s English Tudor-style homes are synonymous with its south Plaza neighborhoods. (Sorry, no Drury Lane here — that’s in Mission Hills ).

For the second installment of our real estate series, we’re exploring another one of Kansas City’s notable architectural styles : Tudor Revival.

Where did it come from?

Anyone who remembers the chant , “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived,” knows where these homes got their start. Fortified castles had begun to fall out of fashion in Tudor-era England by the late 15th century. Noble families began to flaunt their wealth with intricately designed manors instead, a style that trickled down to working class cottages.

Skipping a few hundred years. Tudor Revival become widely popular in turn-of-the-century America, but it wasn’t until the mid-1920s that home builder Napoleon W. Dible popularized it in KC.

Using mass-produced materials and limited layouts, Dible was able to marry the decorative charm of the Tudor-style with the needs of a burgeoning middle class. On average, these homes only cost $8,000 — roughly $130,000 in today’s money.

Spot that style

As a contemporary of J.C. Nichols, Dible’s Tudor Revival revolution can be spotted in Plaza-adjacent neighborhoods — think: Country Club, South Plaza, Brookside, Waldo, Armour Hills and Tower Homes.

On the house hunt? Keep an eye out for the telltale signs of a Tudor Revival:

• Stucco, slate, stone, or brick facade
• Decorative half-timbering
• Arched doorways
• Steep gabled roofs with an asymmetrical layout
• Prominent chimneys
• Cottage-like details, i.e. diamond-patterned windows

Love it? Live it

If you like what you’re reading, check out some Tudor Revival homes on the market today.

• Ward Parkway Tudor | $1,395,000 | 4BD, 5BA | 5,414 sft with $250,000 in recent remodels, all brick patio, wine cellar + finished basement
• Oak Street Tudor | $435,000 | 3BD, 2BA | All new electrical and plumbing with same historic charm, sunroom, fenced backyard, and quartz countertops
• Loose Park Tudor | $750,000 | 5BD, 5BA | Spacious house with old world details, brick-walled patio, first floor Master + sitting room