Picture Perfect Circa-1900 Queen Anne in Evergreen by JOHN GRIFFIN Walk — don’t drive — North Willett from Poplar Avenue to Overton Park because this block has an abundance of turn-of-the-century cottages rich in architectural detail that you’d miss driving. Also, it’s impressive how well these early Evergreen homes have withstood both the deteriorations of time and unsympathetic alterations and additions. This late-Victorian cottage is certainly testimony to their enduring appeal. Probably built just after the turn of the last century, this house exhibits lot of characteristics of the 1890s late-Victorian, Queen Anne style. Victorian styles, in general, were rich in details, surface finishes, and, often, sculptural forms. This house basically has a simple form but lots of spatial embellishments that add character and charm. The exterior has a wrap-around porch. Earlier Greek Revival houses had a central porch only, but later Victorians liked to wrap the porch around a corner, providing more options to hide from or to enjoy the light and breezes. There’s also a sculptural bay that extends to the side from the dining room. This provides a perfect spot to install the sideboard in a place of prominence, and the high central window, with decorative leaded glass, adds ornament and light without competing with the tableaux below. The roof has a cross gable on the side where the drive and garage are located. Because of the wide 75-foot lot, the cross gable is quite visible from the street. Both this side gable and the front are finished with fancy-cut cedar shakes in a pattern meant to resemble scales on a fish. The gables are further ornamented with a Palladian window in the front and a simple arch-topped window on the side. Inside, the three public rooms have ceilings coffered with dark wood beams. The entry has a corner fireplace with small subway tiles in a mottled tortoise-shell finish that’s spectacular. Each of these rooms also has diamond-patterned, leaded-glass windows that add understated elegance to the spaces. All the ceilings are 11 feet tall. The trim is wide, and the corner blocks at the top of doors and windows are incised and shaped in the delicate detail known as Eastlake. Both bedrooms are spacious. The central, master bedroom has a fireplace, whereas the rear second bedroom has an original walk-in closet. The bath has been renovated but with great respect to the period of the house. The pedestal sink and hefty, claw-footed tub have been resurfaced. A generously sized, glass-enclosed shower has been added, and beaded board painted white has been installed as wainscotting around the room. The kitchen has been renovated and now offers tons of work space and storage. Likewise the back porch has been enclosed and the washer and dryer conveniently located here. These spaces, however, have little connection to the pastoral backyard, which overlooks Williamson Park. It would be easy to relocate the laundry to a walk-in pantry between kitchen and dining. Adding more glass to the rear porch would create a spot for morning coffee either with a couple of easy chairs or a small breakfast table. This would open up views to the shady backyard where there’s both a two-car carport and a garage or workshop, which is connected to the house by the picture-perfect picket fence. You can e-mail John Griffin at letters@memphisflyer.com.