Dodge City

We were in Dodge City last weekend for family fun and Dodge City Days. Managed to make it by the Goff house in NW Dodge City. I didn't want to snoop or intrude, so I just snapped a couple of pics from the street. I love how just a small change in the angle of the shot really changes the appearance of the house.

Several interesting buildings in downtown DC. More to come later...

Composite Shingles

Same home, different roof (and better light and leaves on the trees). Just not quite the same. This will seriously affect my decision whenever it comes time to replace my (currently shake) roof.

Shake Shingles

I recently noticed this vaguely Bruce-Goffian house while on a walk. I saw the packs of composite shingles and thought I should take some pictures before they were installed.

I can't blame people for going for a more durable product, particularly in windy Wichita, but I really think the house is more interesting with the shake shingles. The whole appeal of this "organic" style of architecture to me is that the houses look like they could have emerged from the earth whole (see large stone sections and protruding roof beams). Much of that effect is lost when the house is topped with asphalt instead of wood.

All that said, I still think it's a great house. "After" shots soon to come, hopefully in better light.

Oh, and Kansan Bruce Goff didn't design it. A list of his homes can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can see a house he designed in Dodge City, Kansas at KansasHistory.us.

Semi-interesting discussion of shake shingles at Wikipedia.