The Home of Z.B. Bulluck – An architectural gem – Renaissance Revival

I stood in silence, alone, with only bird song to welcome me to the Z.B. Bulluck home. The house stands empty of laughter and hospitality, though I am sure it remains filled with memories of the man responsible for this particular Renaissance Revival gem and his family. I imagined the day Z.B. ushered Foy Mae Williams Bullock through the door of her new home. Could she possibly have imagined that her young husband would prosper and flourish through his good works and one day provide a home of this magnitude that she would come to preside over? I wonder how much she even knew about the elements and style of the house. It is cause for weeping that this amazing home, on a piece of land with beautiful old trees only a few miles from Main Street, continues to wait for a new life. If only I could win the lottery, I would buy it and turn it into a retreat center, a sanctuary for people to come and catch up with themselves, to participate in silent or lead retreats for all denominations across the state. (But I digress.)

While I walked around the house taking photos, I imagined the four Bulluck children playing, free and safe to roam the considerable property. Growing up in Evanston, IL. the first suburb on the lake north of Chicago, the city provided many examples of Renaissance Revival buildings. You will recognize the style even if you couldn’t name what you are familiar with.

Picture 1: Includes rusticated (heavily outlined) stonework on the ground floor, large round-arched windows, triangular pediments over the side windows, oval windows, and quoins to emphasize the corners.

Picture 2: Chicago, IL. Colonnaded, round arched windows supported by columns (below the string course), and gigantic triple-arched window reminiscent of the biforate windows of Renaissance palaces.

Picture 3: Chicago, IL. Includes arched, ground-floor windows, ornate window balconies.

Here is a great example of a residence in the Rennasance Revival style. 

For middle and upper-class suburban homes and townhouses, the style often displays a low-pitched, hipped, or flat roof, often with ceramic tiles to hint at its Mediterranean source region. Like the Italian Renaissance palazzo, the roofline includes wide, overhanging eaves with large, decorative brackets under the roofline. Doors and windows are often framed with round arches, primarily on the first floor, sometimes in the form of an Italian loggia or covered patio.

             The magnificent home of Z.B. Bulluck – A Rocky Mount architectural treasure