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Building styles are reflected in the elements such as the main entry doors. Here is a craftsman style door with sidelights. Source: Phil Thomason.

Any original door that exists on your historic house or commercial building is an important character-defining feature. These original doors have designs and materials that help to define the age and style of your building. If you want to maintain the architectural integrity of your historic structure, you should try to preserve your original doors. Any significant alteration you make to an entrance door, or replacement with an inappropriate door style, can severely affect the character of your historic building.

If the original doors on your house or building have been replaced, look for historical photographs that show the appearance of your original doors. You can use this photographic evidence to have replicas made of your original doors. If you cannot find photographic evidence of your original doors, look for appropriate door models on other buildings with a similar age and style.

Original Doors on Historic Houses

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Here is an intricate pair of carved wood doors with leaded glass. Doors such as these are character-defining features and should be retained. Source: Phil Thomason.

The original doors on historic houses were included as part of the overall design of the house. Builders and architects often added decorative elements to the front door and entrance area, because this area was one of the main focal points of the house. These decorative elements often included stained glass or leaded glass placed in the door itself or in its sidelight and transom. Doors were often decorated with floral designs or other raised wood trim. Most doors installed before the mid-20^th century were built of old-growth wood that makes these doors long-lasting and very durable.  

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Milwaukee County. Traditional wood paneled doors with sidelights and transom are commonly found on revival style homes. Source: WHS - State Historic Preservation Office.

Paneled wood doors were common on many Wisconsin houses built in the mid-19^th century. Houses built toward the end of the century were often designed with doors containing glass panels and single-light glass. Wood doors were common additions to Victorian-era homes. By the early 20^th century, many house entrances were designed with sidelights and transoms that not only added a decorative element, but also allowed additional light to reach the interior of the house.

On Craftsman and Bungalow style houses, doors were often built with multiple lights and raised panels in distinctive designs. Tudor Revival style houses were often built with arched entrances and doors. Mid-20^th century houses were built with a variety of door designs, including solid wood, raised panels and multiple glass lights.

Original Doors on Historic Commercial Buildings

The original doors on historic commercial buildings were designed to be both functional and decorative. Typically these doors were designed to be largely transparent to allow shoppers to see the merchandise inside the building. Many commercial doors were embellished with decorative door knobs and other hardware.

The doors on commercial buildings built in the 19th and early to mid-20th centuries often had single-light glass and wood forms. These door designs varied from simple flush or paneled designs to those with inlaid glass or applied decoration. Double doors were common, and many entrances also featured rectangular or arched transoms. By the 1930s, metal had been introduced as a material for commercial building doors. Aluminum was particularly popular because it was lightweight and resistant to corrosion. By the mid-20^th century, most new commercial buildings were constructed with aluminum and glass or steel and glass doors. In addition, the doors on many pre-1950 commercial building were replaced with metal and glass doors during the mid-20^th century.

Best Practices

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W.G. Schumacher Building, 1907

Madison, Wisconsin. Because the entrance door was part of the storefront system as a whole, the door itself would have a large pane of glass to allow the pedestrian to see as much of the merchandise as possible. Source: Photographer Mark Fay. View the property record: AHI 73302

When you are making maintenance and repair decisions about the original doors on your historic house or commercial building, follow these best practices:

• Preserve and maintain your original doors and entrances. If you have original doors, do not remove or alter the original door, surrounds, transoms or sidelights unless they are deteriorated beyond repair. Keep and maintain the original door framing, including jambs, sills and headers. It is especially important to preserve your primary and storefront doors, because these doors are significantly contribute to a building’s historic appearance. Do not infill or partially block historic door openings.
• Repair deteriorated or damaged historic doors in keeping with historic materials. If your historic doors need to be repaired, use methods that will preserve their historic materials and appearance as much as possible. Use epoxy to strengthen and replace deteriorated wood in your doors.
• Choose replacement doors that replicate the design of your original doors. If you must replace a badly damaged or missing original door, choose a replacement door that is similar in design to the original in style, materials, glazing (on glass) and lights (pane configuration). Ideally, you should base the design for your replacement door on physical or photographic evidence. If no such evidence exists, look at the doors on neighboring buildings with the same style and a similar date of construction to identify an appropriate door style.
• Do not install new door openings where none existed. You should not install a new door opening on the main façade of your building unless it is needed for fire and safety code regulations. If it is possible, locate your new door opening on a side or rear elevation rather than the main façade. Make sure your new door is compatible in scale, size, proportion, placement and style to your historic door openings.
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  James Vincent House, 1884

  La Crosse, Wisconsin. Screen doors were originally wood and could be quite intricate as seen at the James Vincent House in La Crosse. View the property record: AHI 28725

  Preserve and maintain your original screen doors. Preserve and maintain your original screen doors, and use materials to match the original for repairs.
• When installing a storm door, use a full-view design. Only a small amount of a home’s energy loss is through its doors. However, if you want to add a storm door to your house, install a storm door with a full-view design (mostly glass) so the historic door can be seen behind it.
• Adapt your historic doors for ADA requirements if needed. If you need to upgrade your historic door to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), install a device that reduces door pressure. In many cases an automatic door opener with a push plate is an appropriate addition to meet ADA door requirements.

The information presented here is not intended to provide comprehensive technical advice or instructions on solving historic preservation issues. Any information contained or referenced is meant to provide a basic understanding of historic preservation practices. Read full disclaimer.