This is a book about the architectural styles of the houses we live in. It touches, at one point or another, on the styles of most of the houses built in Mt. Lebanon Pennsylvania since farmland was first turned into town.

Mt. Lebanon's two periods of greatest growth were in the 1920s and 30s and in the 1950s and 60s, and most of our homes are in the styles that dominated those two eras. These are houses such as the elegant Tudors and Colonials of the 20s and 30s and the efficient Ranch Houses, Split-Levels and Post-War Traditionals of the 50s and 60s.

But ground was broken in 1901 for the first suburban subdivision in what was to become Mt. Lebanon, and new development has continued right through today-101 years later--on pockets of land that for one reason or another were not developed earlier. As a result, Mt. Lebanon has at least a few examples of virtually every popular suburban house style built in the United States through each decade of the 20th century. Architecturally speaking, our town captures within its boundaries almost all facets of America's "suburban century."

Moreover, some of our housing helps make Mt. Lebanon distinctive even among suburbs. We probably have, for example, the largest concentration of houses in the popular Tudor styles of the 20s and 30s of any suburb in Western Pennsylvania-houses that are likely to be valued in the future the way notable examples of Victorian architecture are valued today.

As local historian Clifford Tuttle has remarked, our houses may seem ordinary to us because we live with them every day, but they are not by any means ordi­nary. And they will come to be seen as less and less ordinary as time goes on. In many cases, they are extraordinary artifacts of the times in which they were built--outstanding examples of quality architecture and quality craftsmanship that can't easily be reproduced.

The Mt. Lebanon Magazine articles that formed the basis for this book were intended to identify the key elements of our house styles, with local architects explaining what it takes to preserve those elements-what it takes to keep a building's character and stylistic integrity intact when houses are updated or ren­ ovated. There is no question that buildings need to change. They are routinely adapted to new technologies and new lifestyles, and houses often need to grow when families grow. Maintenance is an ever-present challenge as well. But change does not mean that the qualities that give our houses their styles-the qualities that will be so highly valued in the future--need be neglected or destroyed. It's the ambition of this book to show that preservation and change can be balanced.

These articles were organized largely according to the familiar style names that most of us use, rather than the kinds of classifications that might be appropriate to a scholarly approach. For example, what scholars might distinguish as Tudor, Elizabethan, Cotswold or late 19th Century English Arts and Crafts styles are all lumped together here as "Tudors," because most of us routinely refer to all of these houses as Tudors and the critical preservation issues are nearly identical for all of them. At the same time, what some might appropriately refer to as "types" of houses rather than as "styles" are nevertheless treated here as styles. Foursquares, Bungalows, Split Levels and Ranches are all, strictly speaking, types of houses, each of which could be rendered in any of several styles. But they are mostly treated here as discrete style classifications because, once again, these are the names most people use for these houses, and the preservation problems within each category do not seem to vary too greatly.

Whatever classification system may be used, there is no question that our houses are, as architect/lawyer Robin Cutler-Levine remarks in one of the articles, "houses of consequence." They reflect the times in which they were built and the aspirations of their first owners and builders. They are part of our community's history and character. If well preserved, they will be a significant asset in our town's future. They are the houses-and styles-we live with.