Part 8

In the following pages of the Plan Book are special articles prepared by governmental and other authorities on various phases of home building, equipment, decorating, sanitation, etc. The Bureau of Information will either answer inquiries in regard to any of these special articles or, when necessary, will refer the questions to the authors of the articles.

MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS & DISTRIBUTORS OF AMERICA, INC.

522 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK CITY

WILL H. HAYS president COURTLAND SMITH SECRETARY Telephone Vandebilt 2110

July 19, 1922

Mrs. W. B. Meloney, 233 Spring Street, New York City.

My dear Mrs. Meloney:

I am immensely interested in the Better Homes Campaign. This is something that the motion picture industry should be interested in and I am sure that they will want to be.

I would like to help you to have available for your Better Homes week, October 9-14, pictures that would show clearly just what the modern home should be.

I am glad that the Better Homes Council has had such an encouraging response from the governors of the various states and from the women of this country. Certainly it is a matter to which all of us should give our very best. It will have an enduring influence on the lives of our people and it is one of the most creditable movements that I know of.

I have a little home in Sullivan, Indiana, that we are most anxious to equip in just exactly the best way, and I am as much interested as any one could be in learning how this should be done, so I am looking forward to October 9-14 with much interest.

With best wishes always, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Essentials for Demonstration Home Suggestions on Buildings and Grounds

By JOHN IHLDER

DIRECTOR, HOUSING CONDITIONS, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES

Different parts of the country have quite distinct types of one-family dwellings. The best, unquestionably, is the detached house with adequate yard space on all four sides; the house which gets sun and air no matter which way it faces or what the direction of the prevailing breeze; the house whose yard makes it possible for the family, and especially for the children, to live much in the open. But, though this is the best type, it may prove impracticable for people of moderate means in communities where past practice has resulted in crowding the land to such an extent that group or row houses have become the standard.

Whatever the type of house, however, there are certain fundamentals of an essentially good house. The exhibition house should, as far as possible, embody these fundamentals as given below.

Open Space Belonging to the House

If the house is of the detached type (open on all four sides) it should have a lot wide enough to permit fifteen feet of yard space on each side. Then it is protected from any danger of side windows being darkened and air cut off by any building which is permissible in a one-family house residence district (see Zoning and What it Means to the Home). Where there are no zoning regulations to give protection, even fifteen feet of side yard will not prevent injury from a tall apartment house or commercial building.

Under no circumstances should the demonstration house, if of the detached type, have less than ten feet of side yard. If no detached house with ten feet or more (preferably fifteen feet or a little more) of side yard can be secured, then seek a house of another type.

Next in order of excellence is the semi-detached house (twin--two houses side by side with a party wall). The single side yard of this house should be fifteen feet wide and never less than ten feet.

Next in order is the group house, or the row house. The row house may be a perfectly good house if it is wide enough in proportion to its depth so that there may be adequate open spaces before every window, and if it is so planned as to take full advantage of these open spaces. Moreover a row of houses may be so designed--perhaps as one unit so far as the front elevation is concerned--that they will be very attractive in appearance. A wide, row house (18 to 20 feet or more), properly planned, is much better to live in than a detached or a semi-detached house whose side yards are so narrow that they do not give adequate light and air to middle rooms.

The really good house is bright and airy. Consequently the demonstration house should be set back from the street and its front yard should be deep enough not only to assure privacy from the street, but also to permit at least a well sodded grass plot.

The rear yard will, of course, extend across the whole lot. Or the rear yard may be 100 feet deep. But in this connection, it is necessary to bear in mind that a yard may be too large as well as too small. It must fit in with the house, and some account must be taken of the probable habits of its occupants. A family which has no servants, and in which the breadwinner works long hours away from home, may find a large yard a burden unless some member is an enthusiastic gardener. Lacking this gardener the back of a deep yard is likely to become a dump-heap.

The House Itself

Given adequate open space as described above there are certain essentials in the house itself.

Construction