UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Comparison of American Architectural Styles
1790-1960
Except where noted, all examples are from Buffalo, NY, architecture
Styles - Chronological Order: Federal ...Classical Revival/Jeffersonian Classicism/Roman Classicism.... Greek Revival ..... Victorian ..... Gothic Revival ..... Renaissance Revival ..... Romanesque Revival ..... Octagon ..... Italianate ..... Second Empire ..... Stick ..... Eastlake ..... Richardsonian Romanesque ..... Colonial Revival ..... Beaux Arts Classicism ..... Shingle ..... Queen Anne ..... Art Nouveau ..... Sullivanesque ..... Bungalow ..... Neoclassicism ....Period Revival...... Georgian Revival ..... Prairie ..... Arts and Crafts (Craftsman) ..... Tudor Revival ..... International ..... Art Deco ..... Art Moderne
Styles - Alphabetical Order: Art Deco ..... Art Moderne ..... Art Nouveau ..... Arts and Crafts (Craftsman) ..... Beaux Arts Classicism ..... Bungalow ..... Classical Revival/Jeffersonian Classicism/Roman Classicism ..... Colonial Revival ..... Eastlake ..... Federal ...Georgian Revival ..... Gothic Revival ..... Greek Revival ..... International ..... Italianate ..... Neoclassicism (American) ..... Octagon....Period Revival ..... Prairie ..... ..... Queen Anne ..... Renaissance Revival ..... Richardsonian Romanesque ..... Romanesque Revival ..... Second Empire ..... Shingle ..... Stick ..... Sullivanesque .....Tudor Revival ..... Victorian .....
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Style |
Historic Context |
Important, Identifying Features |
Doorways |
Windows |
Fireplaces |
Furniture |
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Federal
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Federal Historical Context In Britain, in the second half of the century, Roman precedents were popularized by Robert Adam who toured Europe, especially Rome, 1754-8. (Scientific exploration of Pompeii had begun in 1748.) The style reached America by way of British pattern books and an ever-swelling wave of masons, carpenters, and joiners who emigrated from England. In the years immediately after the Revolutionary War. Labeled "Federal," it was enthusiastically embraced by Americans, who then adapted it to suit their own tastes and circumstances. |
Federal Important, Identifying Features The Adam house is most commonly a simple box, two or more rooms deep, with doors and windows arranged in strict symmetry. The box may be modified by projecting wings or attached dependencies: Low pitched roof Smooth facade Large glazed area and elliptical fanlight with flanking slender side lights Polygonal or bowed bays Ornamental elements herald the Adamesque style: |
Federal Doorways Provides main emphasis on facade (perhaps the only exterior ornamentation):
Doors: 6-panel doors: Classical doorways: Elliptical columned portico Swan-necked pediments Elliptical fanlight: Side lights with tracery: Oval paterae |
Federal Windows Window heads, made from marble, stone or wood, are flat: Window heads often have a keystone: Entablatures may include delicate Adamesque details: Pilasters: Fanlight tracery: Semicircular and oval windows used in upper stories Gabled or pedimented dormer windows Palladian windows |
Federal Fireplaces Adamesque applied details on wooden surrounds and overmantels: urns, swags, paterae, figures: Marble fireplaces feature engaged columns supporting decorated entablatures Marble slips in a wooden surround: Chimneypieces: Ionic and Tuscan columns Chimneypieces: Greek key motif Iron andirons Brass andirons embellished with classical urns or spherical finials Cast-iron firebacks feature Neoclassical patterns or eagle motif Surround: gougework: |
Federal Furnishings In Britain, in the second half of the century, Roman precedents were popularized by Robert Adam who toured Europe, especially Rome, 1754-8. (Scientific exploration of Pompeii had begun in 1748.) The style reached America by way of British pattern books and an ever-swelling wave of masons, carpenters, and joiners who emigrated from England. In the years immediately after the Revolutionary War. Labeled "Federal," it was enthusiastically embraced by Americans, who then adapted it to suit their own tastes and circumstances. The young Republic saw itself politically and artistically as the spiritual heir of republican Rome (and later of the Greek democracies):
Ornament is close to the surface and consists of painting, shallow carving, and veneers or inlays in woods of contrasting colors:
Hitchcock chair:
"Boston" Rocker:
Built-in furniture found in dining rooms and formal parlors where the fireplace wall provided space for shelved cupboards. |
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Classical Revival /Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
Classical Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism An American version of European Neoclassicism. This type of classicism was concurrent with, and competing with the more dominant Federal style. The chief proponent of Roman Classicism was Thomas Jefferson who studied Palladio's Four Books of Architecture , especially his Villa Rotunda, when he was designing Monticello and the University of Virginia. Jefferson had been exposed to Palladio's influence in European Neoclassicism when he was ambassador to France. Not to be confused with American
Neoclassicism 1900-1920 |
Classical Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
Classical Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
Classical Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
Classical Revival /Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
Classical Revival / Jeffersonian Classicism / Roman Classicism |
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Greek
Revival
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Greek Revival Historical Context The final years of the 18th century brought an increasing interest in classical buildings to both the United States and Europe. This was first based on Roman models (Federal style), but archaeological investigation in the early 19th century emphasized Greece as the Mother of Rome which, in turn, shifted interest to Grecian models. The style is an adaptation of the classic Greek temple front employing details of Doric, Ionic or Corinthian order To the popular mind the Greek temple was associated with the origins of American democracy in ancient Greece. Greece's involvement in a war for independence (1821-30) aroused much sympathy in the newly independent United States. Further, the War of 1812 fought against England diminished American affection for British influence, including the still dominant Adam ("Federal" in U.S.) style in domestic architecture. |
Greek Revival Important, Identifying Features Classical Greek columns and pilasters:
Pedimented gables (some are broken pediments):
Houses: most have porches (porticos) supported by prominent square or rounded columns, typically of Doric style:
Front door surrounded by narrow side lights and a rectangular line of transom lights above: Heavy cornices with unadorned friezes and horizontal transoms above entrances (this represents the classical entablature) Ornamentation: anthemion |
Greek Revival Doorways Doors: Lintels are plain, simple central panel and corner blocks the only embellishment
Doors: 2-panel doors Doors: 4-panel doors French doors Pilasters support simple entablature (without pediment)
Classical columns: Rectangular transom lights and side lights
Anthemion/Acroterion Ornamentation: key fret Ornamentation: egg-and-dart |
Greek Revival Windows Door and window architraves were fluted, reeded, or a combination of both, with full contour of ingenious silhouette, symmetrical upon a central axis. It was successfully terminated at the corners by inserting square blocks, which were turned or carved in bold relief. Sometimes the head-trim was of different section than that of the jamb-trim, by which means interesting variety was introduced. Frequently a long middle block in lieu of a key was substituted, this being carved in relief. Strangely enough this trim was far from Greek in derivation, but it was one of the products of the style and harmonized perfectly in its setting. Sash with six-pane glazing:
Rectangular, tripartite (group of 3 vertical windows): Frieze-band windows, often covered with an iron or wooden gate fashioned into a decorative Greek pattern:
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Greek Revival Fireplaces The Chimneypieces were often of black marble with plain Doric pilasters or engaged columns without the over-mantel of Colonial days:
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Greek Revival Furnishings
Empire Style, 1810 - 1830 French Restauration Style, 1830 - 1850 Rococo Revival Style, 1850 - 1870 |
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Victorian |
"Victorian" Styles Historical Context "Victorian" refers to the reign of England's Queen Victoria, 1837-1901. More generally, it refers to the the second half of the nineteenth century. In the U.S., some historians use the term to describe the period after the Civil war until World war I in 1914. During the second half of the 19th century, architects in the United States began to lose interest in Greco-Roman Classicism, and to adopt new domestic styles based loosely on medieval and other non-classical forms of building. One of the most important technological developments was the advent of balloon framing, whereby the framework of a house could be made out of uniform lumber; this was becoming increasingly available from commercial mills. Advanced manufacturing techniques were also employed to mass produce finished windows, doors,brackets and decorative turnings, often more elaborate and sometimes less expensive than their handmade counterparts. Along with plentiful building materials, there was also access to an increasing variety of publications on house building: trade catalogues, pattern books and architectural periodicals. Industrialization meant that for the first time in the United States, very large houses could be built on a wide scale. Tenements and, later, apartment houses went up in increasing numbers, as the population shifted from country to town and newly arrived foreign immigrants sought accommodation. For many, "bric-a-brac" or "gingerbread"
summarize the the style. The Stick style followed in the 1860s and 1870s, and the late 19th century produced Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Shingle and Colonial Revival styles. |
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Gothic
Revival
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Gothic Revival Historical Context During the second half of the 19th century, architects in the United States began to lose interest in Greco-Roman Classicism, and to adopt new domestic styles based loosely on medieval and other non-classical forms of building. The first post-classical styles, beginning in the 1830s,were the Gothic Revival and the Italianate. Gothic Revival architecture came to America from England about 1830. Its most famous practitioner, English born Richard Upjohn, a cabinet maker and draftsman, arrived in this country as a young man in 1829. Upjohn's best known work is Trinity Church in New York City, consecrated in 1846. He designed St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo, completed in 1851. His churches, and those illustrated in publications like his Rural Architecture (1852), served as patterns for countless buildings throughout the country. Alexander Jackson Davis was the first American architect to spread the Gothic gospel. He published floor plans and three-dimensional views in his 1837 book, Rural Residences. His design for Lyndhurst, an imposing country estate in Tarrytown, New York, became a showplace for the Gothic Revival style. Davis's friend and fellow architect Andrew Jackson Downing also promoted the Gothic Revival in his books on "cottage villas" published in the 1840s. The Hudson River Valley, where Downing resided, was the perfect setting for the kind of picturesque, rambling "irregular" designs he endorsed. It was chiefly Downing's book that led to the flowering throughout rural America of some very picturesque wooden Gothic architecture. Downing's one-year partner (Downing died in a fire) was Calvert Vaux who himself published a fairly influential pattern book entitled Villas and Cottages. Six years later, Vaux moved to New York City and soon partnered with the superintendent of a new park that was being created. The park was Central Park and the superintendent was Frederick Law Olmsted. |
Gothic Revival Important, Identifying Features Carpenter Gothic (cottages): Steeply pitched gable roofs, usually with steep cross gables: Carpenter Gothic: Polygonal chimney pots Carpenter Gothic: Gables with decorated vergeboards: Carpenter Gothic: Hood molds over windows Carpenter Gothic: Gingerbread trim along eaves and gable ends: Carpenter Gothic: Gothic motifs, e.g., foliated ornaments, pinnacles, battlements, crockets, label moldings, towers, trefoils quatrefoils:
Carpenter Gothic: one-story porch (either entry or full-width) Carpenter Gothic: Board-and-batten exterior wall cladding:
Commercial buildings: Pointed Gothic arches:
Commercial buildings: finials
Churches: buttresses:
Churches: pinnacles with finial: Churches: finial: Churches: pinnacles with crockets:
Churches: towers with spires: Churches: towers with battlements: Churches: Pointed (Gothic) arches:
Churches: Cruciform shape with transepts: Churches: English Gothic churches may have hammer-beam ceilings: |
Gothic Revival Doorways Carpenter Gothic: pointed arches
Churches: Compound arch over double doors |
Gothic Revival Windows Carpenter Gothic: Gothic shape windows Churches: Rose windows: Churches: Large pointed windows with tracery and stained glass: Churches: Lancet windows: Churches: Clerestory windows: |
Gothic Revival Fireplaces |
Furnishings Ansley Wilcox Mansion / Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Morning Room Foils (trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil, sexfoil, multifoil):
Pendants: Tables: Chairs: Clock
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1840-1890 |
Renaissance Revival Historical Context One of the architects who popularized the style was Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895), the first American to study at the prestigious L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Hunt was one of the architects who designed buildings for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago where the style received great publicity. French and Italian Renaissance styles are the models. |
Renaissance Revival Important, Identifying Features Symmetrical Finely cut ashlar accented with rusticated quoins Rusticated quoins Smaller windows on each succeeding story Doors supporting entablatures or pediments Belt or string courses Different architectural treatment on different stories Projecting cornices supported by modillions Low ti moderate hipped roof Roof highlighted with balustrade |
Renaissance Revival Doorways Frequently, arches above the exterior doors Often a hooded entryway An entablature, supported by pilasters, over the entrance |
Renaissance Revival Windows Smaller windows on each succeeding story Window trim or surround different on each story |
Renaissance Revival Fireplaces |
Renaissance Revival Furnishings |
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Romanesque
Revival |
Romanesque Revival Historical Context The term "Romanesque" was first applied by critics in the early nineteenth century to describe the architecture of the later eleventh and the twelfth centuries, because certain architectural elements, principally the round arch, resembled those of ancient Roman architecture. Thus, the word served to distinguish Romanesque from Gothic buildings. American architects experimented with the Romanesque in the 1840s and 1850s for churches and public buildings, using round arches, corbels and historically correct features such as chevrons and lozenges borrowed from the pre-Gothic architecture of Europe. As interpreted by Richardson in the 1870s and 1880s, the Romanesque became a different, and uniquely American, style. |
Romanesque Revival Important, Identifying Features Monochromatic brick or stone:
Corbel tables along the eves: Belt or string courses mark horizontal divisions: Compound arches carved with geometric medieval moldings: Square or polygonal towers of differing heights: Various roof shapes: Squat dwarf-columns:
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Romanesque Revival Doorways Semicircular arch for door openings
Colored glass transom |
Romanesque Revival Windows Semicircular arch for window and door openings:
Voussoir:
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Romanesque Revival Fireplaces |
Romanesque Revival Furnishings |
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Octagon
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Octagon Historical Context Octagonal or eight-sided shaped structures have been built for
centuries. The oldest known is the Tower
of the Winds built by the Greeks about 300 BC. Centuries
ago, octagon shaped buildings were popular in Italy. |
Octagon Important, Identifying Features 2- to 3-story house Raised basement Encircling verandahs or porches Cupola, belvedere or roof deck Minimal ornamental detailing |
Octagon Doorways |
Octagon Windows |
Octagon Fireplaces |
Octagon Furnishings |
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Italianate
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Italianate Historical Context Italianate buildings in America were not built by or for Italian families. Actually, there were few Italian people in the U.S. at this time, but the idea of rural Italy was romanticized by Americans and by America's early European-educated architects. The Italianate style, along with the Gothic Revival, began in England as part of the Picturesque movement, a reaction to the formal classical ideals in art and architecture that had been fashionable for about two hundred years The movement (popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing's pattern books) emphasized rambling, informal Italian farmhouses, with their characteristic square towers , as models for Italian-style villa architecture |
Italianate Important, Identifying Features Villa: asymmetrical Villa: tall tower Villa: "L" or "T' shaped floor plan Villa: gentle, pitched roof with projecting eaves Villa: grouping of either straight or round-headed windows into threes Villa: porches or arcaded loggias between the tower and house or at the corners Villa: smooth stucco finish
Italianate: rectangular (almost square) 2 or 3-story house Italianate: very wide eaves, usually supported by large brackets Italianate: tall, thin first floor windows Italianate: low-pitch hip roof topped with cupola Italianate: rusticated quoins Italianate: central one-bay porch or long porches |
Italianate Doorways Double doors |
Italianate Windows |
Italianate Fireplaces |
Italianate Furnishings |
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1860-1890 |
Second Empire Historical Context The Second Empire style was borrowed from
France. It is named for the reign of Napoleon III (1852-70),
who undertook a major building campaign that transformed Paris
into a city of grand boulevards and monumental buildings that
were copied throughout Europe and the New World. One of his
most famous projects was the enlargement of the Louvre
(1852-57), which brought back to popularity a roof form --
mansard -- developed by 17th-century French Renaissance
architect Francois Mansart. |
Second Empire Important, Identifying Features Mansard roof covered with multicolored tiles or tinplates Symmetrical 2 or 3-story square block Houses: Projecting central pavilion often extending above the rest of the house Classical moldings Quoins, cornices, and belt courses have great depth and are dramatized by different textures and colored materials Windows are arched and pedimented, sometimes in pairs with molded surrounds Entrance doors often are arched double doors with upper glass panels First floor windows are usually very tall |
Second Empire Doorways Triangular arches on doors |
Second Empire Windows |
Second Empire Fireplaces |
Second Empire Furnishings |
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1860-1890 |
Stick Historical Context Evolving out of the Carpenter Gothic, the Stick Style flourished in the mid- and late-19th century. It reached its height of popularity with Richard Morris Hunt's houses in Newport, Rhode Island, in the 1870s. Hunt (portrait) was one of many American architects influenced by a mid-19th-century European revival of late-medieval rustic country architecture, most notably the gingerbread-ornamented chalets of the Alps and the half-timbered cottages of Normandy and Tudor England. He was exposed to Europe's architecture while studying at the most prestigious school of architecture in the Western world, L'Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Paris, the first American to do so. The asymmetrical composition of the Eastern Stick style is highlighted by functional-appearing decorative "stick work." The style is defined primarily by decorative detailing -- the characteristic multi-textured wall surfaces and roof trusses whose stickwork faintly mimics the exposed structural members of Medieval half-timbered houses. This is in contrast to earlier Gothic Revival that used the wall surface as a plane with decorative detail applied at the doors, windows, or cornices. Although its proponents lauded the structural integrity of the style, the visible stickwork, unlike true half-timbering, was merely applied decoration with no structural relation to the underlying balloon frame construction |
Stick Important, Identifying Features Asymmetrical Functional-appearing decorative "stick work" Steeply pitched gable roofs, cross gables Towers Pointed dormers large verandahs and porches Highly decorative vertical, horizontal and diagonal boards applied over horizontal siding Oversized and unornamented structural corner posts, roof rafters, purlins, brackets, porch posts and railings Sash or casement-style windows have either single or multiple lights |
Stick Doorways |
Stick Windows |
Stick Fireplaces |
Stick Furnishings |
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1970-1890 |
Eastlake Historical Context The Eastlake Style was simply a decorative style of ornamentation found on houses of various other Victorian styles, primarily the Queen Anne and Stick styles. It is named after Charles L. Eastlake (1833-1906), an English architect who wrote "Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details," published in 1868. The book was reprinted in America in 1872 and became so popular that it required six editions within eleven years. He made no furniture himself, his designs being produced by professional cabinet makers. Henry Hobson Richardson, an American architect, was one of the foremost proponents of the Eastlake style in the United States. The furniture he designed for the Woburn Public Library and the North Eastern Library in Massachusetts are very similar to pieces which appear in the illustrations to "Hints on Household Taste." |
Eastlake Important, Identifying Features Porch posts, railings, balusters, and pendants - turned on a mechanical lather -- characterized by a massive and robust quality Large curved brackets, scrolls often placed at every corner, turn or projection Perforated gables and pediments, curved panels, and spindles and lattice work found along porch eaves |
Eastlake Doorways |
Eastlake Windows |
Eastlake Fireplaces |
Eastlake Furnishings |
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1970-1900 |
Richardsonian Romanesque Historical Context As interpreted by H. H. Richardson in the 1870s and 1880s, the Romanesque became a different, and uniquely American, style. Still present were the round arches framing window and door openings, but gone were vertical silhouettes and smooth stone facings. Richardson's buildings were more horizontal and rough in texture. Heaviness was an ever-present characteristic of the style -- emphasized not only by the stone construction but also by deep window reveals, cavernous door openings and, occasionally, bands of windows. These openings were often further defined by a contrasting color or texture of stone or by short, robust columns. Richardsonian Romanesque was favored for churches, university buildings and public buildings such as railroad stations and courthouses. Consequently, towers were often part of the design. In the best examples, a single tower, massive and bold in outline, crowns the ensemble. Just as one architect was responsible for this style, one building established its popularity. Richardson's 1872 design of Trinity Church in Boston won one of the most prestigious architectural competitions of the day. Although Richardson produced fewer houses in the Romanesque style (he is also noted for his Queen Anne and Shingle Style designs), there were enough to inspire a plethora of followers. A large house, such as the Glessner House in Chicago, the Ames Gate Lodge in Massachusetts, and the Gratwick House (demolished) in Buffalo,was required to support the massive stoniness of the Romanesque style, but elements of Richardson's work -- such as broad round arches, squat columns, eyebrow dormers and carved, intertwining floral details -- found their way into the vocabulary of many local builders. Numerous masonry row houses still exist to pay tribute to Richardson's creativity and immense popularity. |
Richardsonian Romanesque
Contrasting color or texture of stone |
Richardsonian
Romanesque Doorways Syrian-style arch with narrow double doors |
Richardsonian Romanesque Windows |
Richardsonian Romanesque Fireplaces |
Richardsonian Romanesque Furnishings |
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1870-1920 |
Colonial Revival Historical Context The reuse of Colonial design in the US toward the end of the
19th and into the 20th century, typically in bank buildings,
churches and suburban homes |
Colonial Revival Accentuated front door, with pediment supported by pilasters Accentuated front door with entry porch supported by slender columns: Doors have fanlights or sidelights: Symmetrically balanced windows and center door:
One-story side wing(s): Some examples are Dutch Colonial Cornices with modillions and dentils: |
Colonial Revival Doorways
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Colonial Revival Windows Windows: double-hung sashes, usually with multi-pane glazing in one or both sashes Windows frequently in adjacent pairs Paneled shutters Keystoned arch External shutters (on wood houses) with iron shutter dogs Internal shutters (on brick houses) Palladian windows Dormers: gabled or set into the roof Bullseye windows |
Colonial Revival Fireplaces Classical motifs in decoration Paneled chimney breast Eared overmantel and surround Pediments and broken pediments on overmantels Classical engaged columns in surround Decorated cast-iron firebacks Brass, or brass and iron, andirons Delft tiles used for slips |
Colonial Revival Furnishings Corner or wall built-in cupboards with doors, decorated with with scalloped shelves and shell-head niches Glazed cupboards Built-in beds
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1876-1930 |
Beaux Arts Historic Context A very rich, lavish and heavily ornamented classical style taught at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, in Paris in the 19th century The term "Beaux Arts" is the approximate French equivalent of "Fine Arts." The style was popularized during the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Very influential in the US in that many of the leading late 19th century architects had been trained at Ecole des Beaux Arts, e.g., Richard Morris Hunt (the first American to study there) , H. H. Richardson (the second American to study there, but who chose to develop his own style, "Richardsonian Romanesque") and Charles McKim, John Carrere and Thomas Hastings. More than any other style (except perhaps
the Chateauesque), the Beaux Arts expressed the taste and
values of America's industrial barons at the turn of the
century. In those pre-income tax days, great fortunes were
proudly displayed in increasingly ornate and expensive houses. |
Beaux Arts Important, Identifying Features Symmetrical facade Exuberance of detail and variety of stone finishes Projecting facades or pavilions Paired colossal columns Enriched moldings Free-sanding statuary Windows: framed by freestanding columns, balustraded sill, and pedimented entablature on top Pronounced cornices and enriched entablatures are topped with a tall parapet, balustrade, or attic story |
Beaux Arts Doorways Renaissance tracery |
Beaux Arts Windows |
Beaux Arts Fireplaces |
Beaux Arts Furnishings |
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1880-1900 |
Shingle Historical Context The term "shingle style" was popularized by Vincent Scully in the 1950s. It is sometimes referred to as the "seaside style." The shingle style is basically the Queen Anne style wrapped in shingles. Like the Queen Anne style, the Shingle style was influenced initially by the work of the architect Richard Norman Shaw, but replacing his tile-hanging (PHOTO) by shingle-hanging. Henry Hobson Richardson (1836-86) is credited with developing the style and used it for most of his country and suburban houses, as did many prominent architects. The pioneer building is the Sherman House at Newport, Rhode Island, by Henry Hobson Richardson (1874). McKim, Mead & White also participated. The masterpiece is Richardson's Stoughton House at Cambridge, Massachusetts (1882-3). |
Shingle 2 or 3 stories tall: Uniform covering of wood shingles (unpainted) from roof to foundation walls:
Sweep of the roof may continue to first floor level providing cover for porches -- or is steeply pitched and multi-planed: Eaves of roof are close to the walls so as not to distract from the shingle covering: Casement and sash windows are generally small, may have many lights, and often are grouped into twos or threes:
Towers, found in about 1/3 of Shingle houses, are more likely to appear as partial bulges or as half-towers; tower roofs are frequently blended into the main volume of the house by a continuous roof line:
Massive Romanesque or Syrian arches may be used on porches or entrances: |
Shingle Doorways Little decorative detailing at doors |
Shingle Windows Equal-size sashes -- multi-pane above, one pane below -- most common Strips of three or more windows Palladian windows One- or two-story bay windows Shingles curving into recessed window, transom windows also occur Dormer: gable, hipped, curved, eyebrow, polygonal, shed Window surrounds are simple |
Shingle Fireplaces |
Shingle Furnishings |
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1880-1910 |
Queen Anne Historical Context The Queen Anne style was the quintessential American Victorian
house with "bric-a-brac" and "gingerbread."
It was the dominant style of domestic building during the period
from about 1880 until 1900; it persisted with decreasing
popularity through the first decade of the 20th century. The style was named and popularized by a group of 19th-century English architects led by Richard Norman Shaw. The name "Queen Anne" is rather inappropriate, for the historical precedents used by Shaw and his followers had little to do with Queen Anne or the formal Renaissance architecture that was dominant during her reign (1702-14). Instead, they borrowed most heavily from late Medieval models of the preceding Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. The half-timbered and patterned masonry American subtypes are most closely related to this work of Shaw and his colleagues in England. The spindlework and free classic subtypes
are indigenous interpretations. The expanding railroad network also helped popularize the style by making precut architectural details conveniently available through much of the nation. Some of the best known Queen Anne houses are the "painted ladies" of San Francisco. The early, asymmetrical Colonial Revival houses, along with other competing styles, fully supplanted the Queen Anne style after about 1910. |
Queen Anne Important, Identifying Features Varied and decoratively rich Asymmetrical variety of forms, textures, material, and colors Towers, turrets, tall chimneys, projecting pavilions, porches, bays, and encircling verandahs Textured wall surfaces Colored glass window panels Eastlake style woodwork |
Queen Anne Doorways Small panes bordering rectangular light 6-panel doors |
Queen Anne Windows |
Queen Anne Fireplaces |
Queen Anne Furnishings |
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End of Nineteenth Century |
Art Nouveau Historical Context An international style of decoration and architecture of the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, characterized particularly by the depiction of leaves and flowers in flowing, sinuous lines. The style drew on Baroque, Gothic and Moorish traditions, but was mainly unbounded by rules. Art Nouveau exploited the machine and reveled in the possibilities of decorative tiles and wrought iron. This was a deliberate attempt to put an end to imitations of past styles. In its place was a free type of architecture which integrated arts and crafts with architectural forms. The roots of Art Nouveau go back to the English Arts and Crafts Movement and William Morris. Replaced by Art Deco. Leading practitioners:
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Art Nouveau Organic and dynamic forms |
Art Nouveau Doorways Surround motifs: peacock, feather, heart-shape, foliation Surround: Organic curves Doors: colored glass |
Art Nouveau Windows |
Art Nouveau Fireplaces |
Art Nouveau Furnishings |
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1890-1920 |
Sullivanesque Historical Context The architects of Chicago were encouraged to build higher structures because of escalating land prices and the introduction of elevators. New construction materials and techniques such as steel framing and reinforced concrete allowed for more open walls, which accentuated the new materials. Metal could support such structures, and the tall building was finally developed by William Le Baron Jenney in the Home Insurance Company office building (photo) in Chicago (1883-1885). Here, for the first time, conscious use was made of novel structural possibilities. Isolated footings supported a skeleton of wrought and cast iron encased in masonry, with fireproof floors, numerous fast elevators, and gas light. The traditional masonry-bearing walls now became weather curtains or "skins," largely of glass, supported by the metal skeleton. The American skyscraper was born, although it was only with rare exceptions, as in the work of Louis Sullivan, that this original type of building was treated successfully. Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), a notable Chicago architect, developed a more detailed and influential high-rise vocabulary with classical overtones, called Sullivanesque, coinciding with his "form follows function" aesthetic. An intricate weaving of linear and geometric forms with stylized foliage in a symmetrical pattern is the unique element of the Sullivanesque style The decorative ornamentation devised by Sullivan and used on some of his office buildings is based on floral motifs but organized in a manner closely resembling the Irish interlace of the early Middle Ages. Stock replicas of Sullivan's designs manufactured by the Midland Terra Cotta Company and others gave distinction and focus to utilitarian buildings in Chicago's commercial strips and other confined areas, such as the downtown districts of smaller towns. |
Sullivanesque Important, Identifying Features Symmetrical intricate weaving of linear and geometric forms with stylized foliage Bold, geometric facades pierced with either arched or lintel-type openings Extensive low-relief terra cotta ornamentation composed of lushly intertwining vines and leaves combined with sharp-edged geometric figures Deep projecting eaves Flat roofs Multistory office buildings have 3 distinct zones: ground story, intermediate floors, and attic or roof; intermediate floors are arranged in vertical bands |
Sullivanesque Doorways |
Sullivanesque Windows |
Sullivanesque Fireplaces |
Sullivanesque Furnishings |
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Bungalow (type of Arts & Crafts) 1890-1940 |
Bungalow Historical Context Bungalows may be viewed in a larger context as one type of Arts and Crafts (Craftsman) architecture. Arts and Crafts architecture would never have succeeded as a design concept if it had not also met the changing needs of society. American families in the twentieth century were different from nineteenth century families and they needed a different kind of home. Daily living had evolved to a routine where men left the home to work each day, and women stayed home to care for the children. Servants, once plentiful and cheap, became too expensive for the middle class and women assumed the role of sole homemaker. Housing design had to adapt to this simplified lifestyle. There was no longer any requirement for large houses with formal entertaining areas, family areas, and servant areas. Music rooms, reception rooms, conservatories, parlors, and butler pantries were dropped in favor of "living rooms" and smaller kitchens. Because of increased street noise, Victorian front porches were no longer desirable and they were replaced with sun rooms, sleeping porches, and back screened porches. At the time the lifestyles of Americans were changing, magazines like House Beautiful and Ladies' Home Journal were promoting Arts and Crafts home architectural styles to their female readers. The Prairie style and the bungalow not only appealed aesthetically to these women as the latest trend in home design, but they fit the requirement for simpler, smaller homes that could easily maintained without servants. Gustav Stickley promoted a version of the bungalow in his magazine The Craftsman. In 1916 alone, he claimed that over $20 million in Craftsman-inspired homes were built. The expanding prewar economy led to an expanding middle class
in the period between 1900 and 1917. Many persons who lived in
apartments were able to buy homes for the first time. They
selected sites in new housing plats in cities and suburbs (which
were now accessible, thanks to interurban transit). To meet the
market demand of this new population of homeowners, companies
began to advertise in home decorator magazines to sell house
blueprints or even "redi-cut" home kits. Catalogs of blueprints
and kits could be mailed cheaply to potential buyers and kits
could be shipped easily via railroad cars. |
Bungalow Important, Identifying Features 1 or 1 1/2 story house Gently pitched broad gables Lower gable covers an open or screened porch Larger gable covers main portion of the house In larger bungalows, the gable is steeper, with intersecting cross gables or dormers Rafters, ridge beams, and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof Knee braces Chimneys are of rubble, cobblestone, or rough-faced brick Porch piers often battered Wood shingles are favorite exterior finish, although many use stucco or brick Exposed structural members and trim work usually are painted Shingles left in natural state are treated with earth-tone stains Windows are either sash or casement with many lights or single panes of glass Shingled porch railings often terminate with a flared base |
Bungalow Doorways Natural finished oak doors |
Bungalow Windows Pair of small windows flanking the fireplace; windows sometimes have art-glass panels, colored and leaded Windows sometimes have with Sash windows with 6 over 1 lights windows sometimes have art-glass panels, colored and leaded |
Bungalow Fireplaces Stone fireplaces Tiled fireplaces |
Bungalow Furnishings Glass-fronted bookcases flank the fireplace Oak plate rails in dining room Dining room friezes with coverings simulating tapestries or simulated embossed and tooled leather Morris-style chairs Built-in sideboard china cabinets |
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Neoclassicism / Classical Revival (American) 1900-1920 |
Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Historical Context An American architectural movement based on the use of pure Roman and Greek forms, mainly in England and the U.S. in the early 19th cent. The later, more refined stage of the Beaux-Arts tradition (1890-1920) influenced the last phase (1900-1920) of the classical revival in the United States. Federal government buildings of the first half of the 20th century, e.g., the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., owed much to the Beaux-Arts interpretation of classical design. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, commissions for public buildings and grand houses of industrial moguls went to architects trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. These architects generally produced academic designs based on classical or Renaissance precedents. One can distinguish between
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Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Important, Identifying Features Symmetrical Monumental proportions based on Greek and lesser to Roman architectural orders Smooth or polished stone surface Colossal pedimented porticos flanked by series of colossal pilasters Windows are large single-light sashes Attic stories and parapets are popular Statuary along roof line never employed Arch and enriched moldings are rare |
Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Doorways |
Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Windows |
Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Fireplaces |
Neoclassicism (Classical Revival) Furnishings |
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1900-1940 |
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1900-1940
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Georgian Revival Historical Context Georgian Style 1714-1820 In Europe, the dominant style of architecture during the 18th century is known as "Neoclassical." In Great Britain, the parallel term is "Georgian," named after the reigns of the three King Georges from 1714 to 1820, but commonly not including George IV. In Britain, in the first half of the 18th century, the ideals of Andrea Palladio (1508-80) were dominant. In the second half of the century, Roman precedents (inspired by archeological discoveries in Pompeii and Herculaneum) were popularized by Robert Adam (1728-1792). See, for example, Adam's Portland Place, in London, and Charlotte Square, in Edinburgh. In the U. S., Neoclassicism is referred to as "Colonial" (until the Revolution), and then "Federal." In New England, the English Georgian style came to America by way of British pattern books and an ever-swelling wave of masons, carpenters, and joiners who emigrated from England. In New England, Colonial architecture is also referred to as "Georgian." For an example of Georgian architecture, see Governor's
Palace, Williamsburg Georgian Revival 1900-1940 (U. S.) "Georgian Revival" is sometimes referred to as "Colonial Revival" (1870-1920). The English Georgian style was the most prevalent type of Colonial buildings, but certainly not the only one. Two obvious exceptions are styles that were used by the Dutch and French. Early examples of Colonial Revival were rarely historically correct copies but were instead free interpretations with details inspired by colonial precedents. During the first decade of this century, Colonial Revival fashion shifted toward carefully researched copies with more correct proportions and details. This was encouraged by new methods of printing that permitted wide dissemination of photographs in books and periodicals. In 1898 The American Architect and Building News began an extensive series called "The Georgian Period: Being photographs and measured drawings of Colonial Work with text." This was joined in 1915 by the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs, which was dominated by photographs of colonial buildings. These and similar ventures led to a wide understanding of the prototypes on which the Revival was based. Colonial Revival houses built in the years between 1915 and 193 5 reflect these influences by more closely resembling early prototypes than did those built earlier or later. |
Georgian Revival Important, Identifying Features Symmetrical Enriched with classical detail:
Main door is principal ornamental feature of facade Facade often emphasized by pedimented projecting pavilion with colossal pilasters or columns and a Palladian window Sash windows have several lights using between 6 and 20 panes of glass in one sash |
Georgian Revival Doorways Center entrance Classical columns and pilasters Door: two vertical rows of panels, often six-paneled Fanlight
Door painted in dark colors or grained to imitate wood Gibbs rustication with keystones Round pediment. Broken pediment Carved shell hood Console or other porch brackets Internal doorways: Adamesque details on surround |
Georgian Revival Windows Palladian windows Balustrading in front of tripartite windows Pedimented windows Round-headed windows Pilasters, engaged columns on surround Double-hung sash windows, often six-over-six Inside shutters
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Georgian Revival Fireplaces Incised patterns on jambs and lintel Applied Classical or Gothic or Rococo ornamentation
Wood or marble Marble slips Console mantel supports Column mantel supports Overmantel with frame for painting or mirror Adamesque ornamentation
(Imitation) Delft tiles on slips |
Georgian Revival Furnishings Niches, sometimes with doors, shelves Built-in bookcases, sometimes on curved walls Built-in cupboards, sometimes with doors Built-in sideboards Built-in window seats, sometimes with hinged seat for storage Dressers for displaying china Carved shell motif
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1900-1920 |
Prairie Historical Context Prairie houses (1905-1915) may be viewed in a larger context as
one type of Arts
and Crafts ("Craftsman") style architecture. Wright himself claimed that the interior of the prairie house held the greatest significance. With his "open plan" (minimum number of separating walls on the first floor) he sought to "beat the box," to escape the Victorian compartmentalization which he claimed was stifling the American family. The archetypal vision of the Victorian home, with mother entertaining the ladies over tea in the parlor, the father smoking cigars in the study, and the children banished to the nursery upstairs, was Wright's nemesis. To avoid this subdivision of space, Wright did away with the conventional divisions between spaces on the lower floors of his prairie homes. Rather than setting rooms in the house apart in its space and function, he unified them into one common space (Martin House example). The style originated in Chicago and landmark examples are concentrated in that city's early 20th-century suburbs, particularly Oak Park and River Forest. Many of the architects in the Prairie School worked with Wright himself or with his earlier employer and teacher, Louis Sullivan. Others absorbed Wright's and Sullivan's influence simply by being in Chicago Among the most important were George W. Maher, Robert C. Spencer, Jr., Thomas E. Tallmadge, John S. Bergen, Vernon S. Watson, Charles E. White, Jr., Eben E. Roberts, Walter Burley Griffin, William Drummond, F. Barry Byrne, George E. Elmslie, and William G. Purcell. The style in its vernacular form was spread throughout the country by pattern books published in the Midwest. Buffalo boasts the Darwin Martin House - Wright's best Prairie House, as well as four others. |
Prairie Two stories, with one-story wings or porches: Brick, or timber covered with stucco:
Central portion rises slightly higher than flanking wings: Low-pitched roof with widely overhanging eaves, creating a definite horizontal and low-to-the-ground quality: Hipped roof: Large and very low chimney is found at axis of intersecting roof planes: Massive square or rectangular porch supports: Built-in window boxes for flowers: |
Prairie Doorways Frank Lloyd Wright main entrances are screened for privacy |
Prairie Windows Bands of casement windows Geometric patterns of small-pane window glazing |
Prairie Fireplaces |
Prairie Furnishings Wright-designed furniture Wall sconce Built-in oak bookcase Ceiling light fixture Ding room buffet Wright-designed floor lamp Wright-designed plant stand Wright-designed hexagonal table Wright-designed chair |
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1905-1`930 |
Arts and Crafts Historical Context In 19th century England, the Arts and Crafts movement
was an outraged response to the Industrial Revolution, which was
threatening time-honored manual crafts with extinction. The
movement was also one of social and political reform. |
Arts and Crafts Low pitched gable roof (occasionally hipped):
Unenclosed, widely overhanging eaves: Exposed roof rafter tails: Triangular knee braces:
Informal, Asymmetrical: Natural materials like wood, tile, and stone: Porches, either full- or partial-width, with roof supported by tapered (battered) square columns Columns or pedestals frequently extend to ground level: Stone exterior chimneys: One-story or 1 1/2 story houses are called bungalows Interior: Trusssing exposed |
Arts and Crafts Doorways Reminiscent of Medieval forms
Oak doors, sometimes with lead glass Swinging doors |
Arts and Crafts Windows Gabled dormers with exposed rafter ends and braces Art glass with medieval images Multi-pane sash over sash with one large glass pane Line of three or more windows |
Arts and Crafts Fireplaces Cozy inglenook, with, built-in benches, with ceramic tile floor Dining room fireplace - Roycroft Inn
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Furnishings 28 Photos of Furniture in the Elbert Hubbard / Roycroft Museum Roycroft Inn furniture collection Built-in sideboard Chairs and tables Wall clock Lamp Copper pieces China Stained glass Tile Morris wallpaper patterns Ceiling light fixture |
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Early Twentieth Century
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Tudor Revival Historical Context The Tudor monarchs in England were Henry VII, VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth, from 1485-1603. However, Tudor Revival is derived primarily from English Renaissance buildings of the 16th and early 17th centuries, including those of Elizabethan (Elizabeth I, 1558-1603) and Jacobean (James I, 1603-25) periods. The period 1910-1930 was a time of free borrowing of historic styles as more people could afford single-family houses and there was no real consensus about a modern architectural style. Houses in this period are sometimes lumped together as "period revival." Tudor Revival was enormously popular in
the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the suburbs, where only the
Colonial Revival
rivaled it in popularity. Modified
versions became fashionable in the 1970s and 1980s. |
Tudor Revival Important, Identifying Features Steeply pitched roof with cross gables: Half-timbering on about half of examples (infill usually stucco, but occasionally brick)
Tall, narrow windows, often casement, usually in multiple groups and with multi-pane glazing Massive chimneys, commonly crowned by decorative chimney pots (round or octagonal, sometimes decorated) Patterned brickwork Strapwork
Vergeboards |
Tudor Revival Doorways Doors: "Tudor" arch: 4-centered in form of shallow arch that rises to a central point.
Doors: Oak planks, some board-and-batten Hoodmolds. Carved spandrels |
Tudor Revival Windows Tall, narrow windows, often casement, usually in multiple groups and with multi-pane glazing Multi-pane transom windows Lattice windows Oriels Semi-hexagonal one- and two-story bays Hoodmolds, often label molds Leaded glass |
Tudor Revival Fireplaces Tudor (flattened pointed) arches Carved wooden lintel Embellished spandrels Strapwork
Overmantel with decorative panel Foliated overmantel Iron firebacks |
Tudor Revival Furnishings Built-in seats , usually masonry, in window recesses, porches Settles built into walls Trestle tables Linenfold Carved finials |
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1925-present |
International Historical Context International style is a style of architecture applied to residences and public buildings that is minimalist in concept, is devoid of regional characteristics, stresses functionalism, and rejects all nonessential decorative elements; typically this style emphasizes the horizontal aspects of a building. It developed during the 1920s and 1930s, in western Europe principally in the Bauhaus school under Walter Gropius (1883-1969), and in America particularly as a result of a highly successful exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City entitled International Style in 1932 and a book entitled The International Style--Architecture since 1922, by Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903-1987) and Philip Johnson (1906- ). Houses: In the decades separating World Wars I and II, Americans tended to prefer period houses that reflected past traditions, while European architects emphasized radically new designs that came to be known as International style architecture. Le Corbusier had stressed the idea of the house as a "machine for living." During the 1930s these ideas were introduced into the United States by several distinguished practitioners, like Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra and Marcel Breurer who emigrated to escape the developing chaos in Europe. International Revival: A term occasionally used to to describe a 1970s adaptation of the International style. |
International Flat roof, usually without ledge at roof line Windows (usually metal casements) set flush with outer wall Smooth, unornamented wall surfaces No decorative detailing at windows Facade asymmetrical Cantilevered projections |
International Doorways No decorative detailing at doors |
International Windows Long ribbons of windows, sometimes wrapping around building corners Large, floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows |
International Fireplaces |
International Furnishings |
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1925-1940
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Art Deco Historical Context The name Art Deco comes from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes, held in Paris, which celebrated living in the modern world. The style began in France but America became the center of the artistic movement. Art Deco was the first widely
popular style in the United States to break with the revivalist
tradition (see, for example, Gothic
Revival or Greek
Revival or Italianate). The largest concentration of Art Deco buildings is in New York City and Miami. |
Art Deco Important, Identifying Features Low relief geometrical designs, often in the form of parallel straight lines, zigzags, chevrons, and stylized floral motifs. Setbacks emphasizing geometric form Colored glazed bricks, mosaic tiles, or same material as the building used in ornamentation
Metal sash or casement windows Towers and other vertical projections above the roof line give a vertical emphasis |
Art Deco Doorways Hard-edged low relief ornamentation found around door openings
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Art Deco Windows Hard-edged low relief ornamentation found around window openings
Reeding and fluting often around windows Strips of windows with decorated spandrels |
Art Deco Fireplaces |
Art Deco Furnishings |
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1930-1945 |
Art Moderne Historical Context Architectural style found principally in buildings constructed in the 1930s following the earlier Art Deco. One influence was the beginning of streamlined industrial design for ships, airplanes, and automobiles. The smooth surfaces, curved corners, and horizontal emphasis of the Art Moderne style all give the feeling that airstreams could move smoothly over them; thus they were streamlined. Moderne was eclipsed by the International style after World War II. Sometimes Moderne (or Art Moderne) is identified with Art Deco. Although somewhat different in their overall appearance, both styles share stripped down forms and geometric-based ornament. The Art Moderne style has a distinctive streamlined or wind-tunnel look. The streamlined effect is emphasized by the use of curved window glass that wraps around corners. |
Art Moderne Important, Identifying Features Distinctive streamlined or wind-tunnel look Horizontal emphasis Soft or rounded corners Flat roofs Glass block sections of wall Asymmetrical facade
Horizontal bands of windows Curved window glass that wraps around corners Ornamentation: mirrored panels, cement panels, metal panel with low relief around doorways and windows Aluminum and stainless steel used for door and window trim, railings and balusters
Houses: balustrades |
Art Moderne Metal or wooden doors Circular windows Large panels of glass Patterns with circular and angular outline |
Art Moderne Windows Round windows Glass block windows Windows that turn a corner |
Art Moderne Fireplaces |
Art Moderne Furnishings |
Major text sources:
- Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley, ed., "The Elements of Style: An Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present," NY: Simon & Schuster, 1991
- Virginia & Lee McAlester, "A Field Guide to American Houses.". New York: Knopf, 2000
- John J.-G. Blumenson, "Identifying American Architecture". New York: Norton. 1981
