Lang House - 1833 12TH AV

 Print Listing Historical Name - Whicker House
Style - Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements/Craftsman
Built Year - 1920
State ID - 5WL3515

Description - This Craftsman style home is located at the southwest corner of 12th Avenue and Cranford Place, in Greeley's Cranford neighborhood. The building is 1.5 stories in height, and is supported by a concrete foundation. The foundation walls are faced with red brick, and a painted white 1" by 8" wood beltcourse visually separates the foundation from the house's main wall surface above. There is a full basement, with paired 2-light hopper basement windows. The house's exterior walls are cladded with painted yellow horizontal wood siding, with painted white 1" by 4" corner boards. Painted brown square-cut wood shingle siding appears in the upper gable ends on all four elevations. The dwelling is covered by a low-pitched cross gabled roof, with grey asphalt shingles and exposed rafter ends. Decorative purlins and ridge poles appear in the upper gable ends. A red brick fireplace chimney is located on the exterior of the south elevation, and another red brick chimney is located on the roof ridge. The home's windows are primarily single and paired 5-over-1 (ribbon style) double-hung sash with painted white wood frames and surrounds. A set of paired 10-over-1 double hung sash windows are located at the south end of the west elevation; two 8-light hopper windows flank the fireplace chimney on the south elevation. A painted red wood-paneled door opens onto a 4-step Craftsman-style porch near the north end of the façade, on the east elevation. The porch is L-shaped, as it wraps around to cover the east end of the north elevation. Embracing the Craftsman style, the porch features a concrete floor, red brick kneewalls and piers, and low-pitched gable roofs, with decorative purlins. A rear entrance into the house is located on the west elevation, where a painted red wood-paneled door, with one upper sash light, opens onto a concrete patio.

Historical Background - Built in 1920, the house at 1833 12th Avenue was initially the residence of Zacharia B. and Sudie L. Whicker. Mrs. Whicker had been born at Irene, Texas on August 19, 1883. She and Mr. Whicker were married in 1903, and later settled in Olustee, Oklahoma. In 1919, the Whicker family, which by then included sons Howard and Willard, came to Greeley, and within a year they had moved into this newly-built house at the corner of 12th Avenue and Cranford Place. Mr. Whicker passed away at a relatively young age, in 1924. Mrs. Whicker, though, continued to live here for another decade before moving to another Greeley location. Mrs. Whicker lived a long full life in Greeley before finally passing away in May 1974, at the age of ninety. She had been a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Grandmothers' Club, and was a founding member of the Social Dozen Club. The next owner of note at 1833 12th Avenue was Dr. Sylvester R. Toussaint, who resided here in the late 1930s and early 1940s, with his wife Alma and daughters Julia and Carol. Dr. Toussaint was a professor of speech at the University of Northern Colorado from 1938 until 1967. He had been born on August 11, 1902, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Isaac and Loretta (Krieg) Toussaint. He received his undergraduate degree at Ripon College (Wisconsin), his master's degree at the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in 1938. In addition to his distinguished teaching career, Dr. Toussaint was also involved in numerous civic affairs. He passed away in Greeley, on July 4, 1994, at the age of 91. The next long-term residents of 1833 12th Avenue were Clyde R. and Nora White, who lived here from 1942 until the mid-1970s. Born at Warren, Arkansas on November 4, 1902, Clyde White came to Greeley as a boy. In 1924, he joined the Greeley Fire Department, where he worked for thirty-eight years until his retirement in 1962. He was also a member of several fraternal and civic organizations. Mr. White passed away on September 30, 1975; Nora, his widow, continued to live here until the early 1980s. From that time to the present, this property, for the most part, has been a rental.