All across this country, in small towns, large cities, villages and hamlets, you will find remarkably beautiful traditional neighborhoods. Norfolk is no exception. These collections of houses were designed and grouped together to create a series of neighborhood streets and spaces of remarkable charm and character. Much though we admire the variety and individuality of these houses, we are most struck by the way in which each individual house and public building relates to its neighbors and the consistently high design standards followed by all. There is never a discordant or incorrect house.
    Initially, houses and towns were built on the frontier of the wilderness, often far removed from civilization. The rapid growth of our country resulted in a series of building booms, in which thousands of houses were built each decade in each community. And yet, the results of this mass production were carefully crafted houses in a variety of architectural styles, all with superb proportions and ornament. Windows, doors, roof forms, and porches followed complex and sophisticated design principles and patterns.
    How was such a sophisticated level of design maintained across so wide a geographic area and for nearly 150 years? There were certainly not enough architects to design each of the houses. Architects did, however, contribute designs and principles to the building industry in a series of builders’ handbooks known as Pattern Books. These books contained the principles and key details for a variety of architectural styles. They were the direct descendants of books created since Roman times, the means by which architects have passed along their knowledge of design to builders in remote places. From Vitruvius, to Palladio, to Asher Benjamin, to William Ware, architects provided helpful guides for the building industry.
    In the second half of the nineteenth century, Pattern Books became part of builders’ marketing programs. These attractively designed books were easy to understand. Their pages combined realistic drawings of houses along with floor plans and important details. There were many choices of floor plans and arrangements of architectural elements, but all used the details and proportions of the style.