AMERICAN ROMANTIC ARCHITECTURE By Lee Stephens

1. AMERICAN ROMANTIC ARCHITECTURE By Lee Stephens

2. ARCHITECTURE STYLES Romantic Architecture existed in the United States during the years 1825-1900. Greek Revival Gothic Revival Victorian Era

3. Greek Revival The antiquities of Greece inspired the Greek Revival style. This style was in widespread use from the 1830s until after the Civil War. A bold, orderly style, it became the most predominant housing style in the United States.

4. Characteristics Classical detailing Columns pilasters Cornice Pediments Frieze

5. Pilaster A pilaster is a rectangular support which resembles a flat column. The pilaster projects only slightly from the wall, and has a base, a shaft, and a capital. Greek revival homes often have pilasters.

6. Cornice The cornice is the uppermost section of moldings along the top of a wall or just below a roof.

7. Pediment A low-pitched triangular gable on the front of some buildings in the Grecian or Greek Revival style of architecture

8. Frieze A frieze is a horizontal band which runs above doorways and windows or below the cornice. The frieze may be decorated with designs or carvings.

9. About the Greek Revival Style In the mid-19th century, many prosperous Americans believed that ancient Greece represented the spirit of democracy. Interest in British styles had waned during the bitter War of 1812. Americans sympathized with Greece's own struggles for independence in the 1820s

10. Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture began with public buildings in Philadelphia. Many European-trained architects designed in the popular Grecian style, and the fashion spread via carpenter's guides and pattern books.

11. Greek Revival Colonnaded Greek Revival mansions - sometimes called Southern Colonial houses - sprang up throughout the American south.

12. Greek Revival During the second half of the 19th century the Gothic Revival captured the attention of Americans. However, front-gable design - a trademark of the Greek Revival style - continued to influence the shape of American houses well into the 20th century.

14. Gothic Revival The Gothic Revival phase was a complete reaction to the order and symmetry of the Greek Revival stage. The first Gothic Revival homes were grand mansions made of stone and brick. They imitated the great gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe. Wealthy Englishmen built many of these impressive stone houses during the 1800s.

15. Bargeboards Also called vergeboards -- hang from the projecting end of a roof. Bargeboards are often elaborately carved and ornamented. Homes in the carpenter gothic style have highly ornamented bargeboards. Other common terms to describe bargeboards include: fly rafters, gable rafters, gableboards and barge rafters.

16. Battlement On a castle or fort, a battlement or a crenellation is a parapet with open spaces for shooting. The raised portions of a battlement are called merlons, and the openings are called embrasures.

17. Oriel Window An oriel window projects from the wall and does not extend to the ground. Oriel windows originated as a form of porch.

18. Parapet A parapet is a low wall projecting from the edge of a platform, terrace, or roof. Parapets may rise above the cornice of a building or form the upper portion of a defensive wall on a castle.

19. Gable A gable is the triangle formed by a sloping roof. A building may be front-gabled or side-gabled. The house shown here is cross-gabled -- It has a gabled wing. Porches and dormers may also be gabled.

20. Gothic Revival Large stone and brick Gothic Revival homes can also be found in the United States. The earliest and most famous example is Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York. Lyndhurst became a showplace for the Gothic Revival style. The architect, Alexander Jackson Davis, published a book that inspired other Americans to build Gothic Revival houses.

21. Gothic Revival Few Americans could afford to build massive stone houses that resembled castles and cathedrals. Builders imitated Gothic ideas, but constructed smaller, less expensive Gothic Revival houses out of wood.

22. Carpenters Gothic Originally, the Gothic Revival style was meant to be executed in stone or brick. It was supposed to imitate the lofty, imposing cathedrals of medieval Europe. But in North America, the easy access to wood and the timely invention of the steam powered scroll saw lead to enchanting innovations. Known as Carpenter Gothic, this new style lavished modest wood frame cottages with scrolled ornaments and lacy trim.

24. Victorian Era architecture The Victorian architectural period mostly spans the period of roughly 1825-1900. The Victorians drew deeply from history, nature, geometry, theory, and personal inspiration to create their designs. Prior to 1890, designers, though properly trained in the academics of standard architectural systems, still managed to employ their own creative ideas. Many people use the term to describe an architectural style. However, Victorian is not really a style but a period in history. The Victorian era dates from about 1840 to 1900.

25. Victorian Era The Victorian era began in 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and ended, along with her reign in 1901. Many legacies have remained but few more noted than the treasure of Victorian era architecture. Another Victorian quality is the abundance of extensions such as wraparound porches with extensive carvings, expansive bay windows, and even some with towers and turrets.

26. Victorian Era The last essential quality, and probably the most important, is the use of whimsical imagination. The home must evoke childhood memories of fantasy and make believe. This of course is accomplished through ornamentation and color schemes. The North East used more subdued color themes than the West Coast.

27. Victorian Era