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Description:
Windsor Hills Historic District is a cohesive residential suburb defined by rolling topography, winding, picturesque streets, stone garden walls, walks and private alley ways, early-20th century garden apartments, duplexes, and freestanding residences. Structures are predominantly of frame construction with locally quarried stone foundations. Many of the properties retain original outbuildings, mostly garages, adding to the integrity and cohesiveness of the district. Windsor Hills developed over a period from c. 1895 through 1929. The historic district, roughly bounded by portions of Clifton Avenue, Talbot Road, Prospect Circle, Lawina Road, Westchester Road, Woodhaven Avenue, Chelsea Terrace, Gwynns Falls Parkway, and Windsor Mill Road, is composed of a variety of early-20th century suburban architectural forms. Shingle-style cottages, American foursquares, Dutch colonial revival, and the Craftsman Bungalow styles dominate the architectural environment. The Windsor Hills Historic District includes no commercial structures, and only two public buildings: Mt. Shiloh AME Church on Lyndhurst Avenue and the Windsor Hills Elementary School #87, on Alto Road. The Windsor Hills Historic District possesses a remarkable degree of integrity. Overall, the original design intentions and early-20th century developments for the neighborhood are beautifully evident. Some changes have occurred to the architecture by way of residents adding aluminum and vinyl siding to houses, modifying dormers, and altering porch configurations such as enclosing outside areas. The overall integrity of the historic district, in spite of these modifications, is intact and of high quality. Through the years, the setting has not changed. Trees and buildings have matured and weathered, only adding to the bucolic, rural atmosphere of this unique suburban neighborhood, just ten minutes from the heart of Baltimore
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Significance:
The Windsor Hills Historic District is a cohesive neighborhood representing early-20th century suburban development in Baltimore City. The district is composed of several phases of development extending from the late 19th century to c. 1930. The edges of these building initiatives blend so well the yare in essence indistinguishable. There is a strong continuity in building materials, setbacks, landscape and streetscape features, and architectural language that unifies this district in a pronounced and distinctive manner. The rugged, rural topography of the Gwynns Falls Valley and surrounding hillsides inspires the character of the place. Composed of mostly residential building types that exhibit numerous revival styles, the dominant styles include Shingle cottages, Dutch Colonial Revival houses, Foursquares, and Craftsman Bungalows. The significance of the neighborhood is enhanced by numerous remaining secondary structures, such as garages and other small outbuildings, and by designed landscape features including stone walls and wooded paths that offer shortcuts between the curvilinear streets. The Windsor Hills Historic District is significant for its association with the suburbanization of Baltimore City. It derives additional significance as an excellent example of a type of suburban development of the period. The Windsor Hills suburb has its origins in 19th century philosophies that viewed nature as the source of moral reform and human salvation. These ideals are reflected in the neighborhood's landscape planning, which features curvilinear streets, responds to existing topography, and preserves vegetation, as well as in its architecture, a variety of picturesque styles and types employing natural materials. The integrity of the district is remarkably intact. Unsympathetic modifications and alterations are limited in number and scale, often not damaging the historic building fabric.
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