For part 3 of the Junior historic preservation patch guide it’s all about the building and its parts. Why was it built? Why does it look the way it does? The buildings in my town look the way they do because it started as a “Levittown” built by developers Levitt & Sons as “Belair at Bowie Maryland.” It was constructed as planned suburbs, with houses meant to appeal to families. They came in four styles: Cape Cod, Rancher, the Country Clubber and Colonial.

I was asked to draw a picture of the different features of a building so I used the original Belair at Bowie brochure (above) and drew the four styles. I thought I’d also point out some of their characteristics. Are there features of buildings in your area that stand out to you?

You can follow along with me and Kate as we work towards earning our badge during Preservation Month!