1840 - 1885: Italianate

Italianate became the most popular housing style in Victorian America. Italianate is also known
as the Tuscan, the Lombard, or simply, the bracketed style.
Old World ideals are transplanted to the United States in this Italianate style home, located in
Cape ay, !ew "ersey.
Italianate houses have many of these features:
#ow$pitched or %lat roo%
&alanced, symmetrical rectangular shape
'all appearance, with (, ), or * stories
Wide, o+erhanging ea+es with brackets and cornices
S,uare cupola
-orch topped with balustraded balconies
'all, narrow, double$paned windows with hood moldings
Side bay window
.ea+ily molded double doors
/oman or segmented arches abo+e windows and doors
About the Italianate Style:
'he Italianate style began in 0ngland with the pictures,ue mo+ement o% the 12*3s. 4or the
pre+ious (33 years, 0nglish homes tended to be %ormal and classical in style. With the
pictures,ue, mo+ement, howe+er, builders began to design %anci%ul recreations o% Italian
/enaissance +illas. When the Italianate style mo+ed to the United States, it was reinterpreted
again to create a uni,uely American style.
&y the late 1253s, Italianate was the most popular house style in the United States. .istorians
say that Italianate became the %a+ored style %or two reasons6
Italianate homes could be constructed with many di%%erent building materials, and the
style could be adapted to modest budgets.
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!ew technologies o% the Victorian era made it possible to ,uickly and a%%ordably produce
cast$iron and press$metal decorations.
Italianate remained the most popular house style in the USA until the 1273s. Italianate was also
a common style %or barns, town halls, and libraries. 8ou will %ind Italianate buildings in nearly
e+ery part o% the United States e9cept %or the deep South. 'here are %ewer Italianate buildings in
the southern states because the style reached its peak during the Ci+il War, a time when the
south was economically de+astated.
A%ter the 1273s, architectural %ashion turned toward late Victorian styles such as :ueen Anne.
1855 - 1885: Second Empire (Mansard Style
!icture "ictionary of #ouse Styles in $orth America and %eyond: Second Empire
With tall mansard roo%s and wrought iron cresting, Second 0mpire homes create a sense o%
height.
Second Empire homes usually have these features:
ansard roo%
;ormer windows pro<ect like eyebrows %rom roo%
/ounded cornices at top and base o% roo%
&rackets beneath the ea+es, balconies, and bay
windows
Many Second Empire homes also have these features:
Cupola
-atterned slate on roo%
Wrought iron cresting abo+e upper cornice
Classical pediments
-aired columns
'all windows on %irst story
Small entry porch
Second 0mpire buildings with tall mansard roo%s were modeled a%ter the opulent architecture o%
-aris during the reign o% !apoleon III. 4rench architects used the term horror vacui $ the %ear o%
unadorned sur%aces $ to describe the highly ornamented Second 0mpire style. Second 0mpire
buildings were also practical6 their height allowed %or additional li+ing space on narrow city lots.
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In the United States, go+ernment buildings in the Second 0mpire style resemble the elaborate
4rench designs. -ri+ate homes, howe+er, o%ten ha+e an Italianate %la+or. &oth Italianate and
Second 0mpire houses tend to be s,uare in shape, and both can ha+e U$shaped window
crowns, decorati+e brackets, and single story porches. &ut, Italianate houses ha+e much wider
ea+es... and they do not ha+e the distincti+e mansard roo% characteristic o% the Second 0mpire
style.
18&' - 18(': Stic) Style
!icture "ictionary of #ouse Styles in $orth America and %eyond: Stic) Style
Stick Style Victorian houses ha+e e9posed trusses, =stickwork,= and other details borrowed %rom
medie+al times.
'he -hysick .ouse in Cape ay, !ew "ersey is a hallmark e9ample o% the Stick Style. 4rank
4urness, architect.
'he house shown here is an especially %ine e9ample o% Victorian Stick architecture. ;esigned by
architect 4rank 4urness, the house has =stickwork,= or decorati+e hal%$timbering, on the e9terior
walls. Other %eatures include prominent brackets, ra%ters, and braces. 'hese details are not
necessary structurally. 'hey are decorations that imitated architecture %rom the medie+al past.
On %irst glance, you might con%use Stick houses with the later 'udor /e+i+al Style. .owe+er,
most 'udor /e+i+al houses are sided with stucco, stone, or brick. Stick Style houses are almost
always made with wood and ha+e large, prominent brackets and corbels.
*ommon +eatures +ound on ,ictorian Stic) Style #omes:
/ectangular shape
Wood siding
Steep, gabled roo%
O+erhanging ea+es
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Ornamental trusses >gable braces?
;ecorati+e braces and brackets
;ecorati+e hal%$timbering
"erkinhead dormers
About the Stic) Style:
'he most important %eatures o% Stick Style houses are on the e9terior wall sur%aces. Instead o%
three$dimensional ornamentation, the emphasis is on patterns and lines. &ecause the
decorati+e details are %lat, they are o%ten lost when homeowners remodel. I% the decorati+e
stickwork is co+ered up with +inyl siding or painted a single solid color, a Stick Style Victorian
may appear plain and rather ordinary.
'he -alliser Company, which published many plan books during the Victorian era, called stick
architecture plain yet neat, modern, and comfortable. .owe+er, Stick was a short$li+ed %ashion.
'he angular and austere style couldn@t compete with the %ancy :ueen Annes that took America
by storm. Some Stick architecture did dress up in %ancy 0astlake spindles and :ueen Anne
%lourishes. &ut +ery %ew authentic Stick Style homes remain intact.
18-' - 1(1': +ol) ,ictorian
!icture "ictionary of #ouse Styles in $orth America and %eyond: +ol) ,ictorian
"ust plain %olk could a%%ord these simple !orth American homes, built between 1273 and 1A13.
4olk Victorian .ouse in Sandwich, !ew
.ampshire
+ol) ,ictorian houses usually have
these features:
S,uare, symmetrical shape
&rackets under the ea+es
-orches with spindlework or %lat,
<igsaw cut trim
Some +ol) ,ictorian homes have:
Carpenter Bothic details
#ow$pitched, pyramid shaped roo%
4ront gable and side wings
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About the +ol) ,ictorian #ouse Style
#i%e was simple be%ore the age o% railroads. In the +ast, remote stretches o% !orth America,
%amilies built no$%uss, s,uare or #$shaped houses in the !ational or 4olk style. &ut the rise o%
industrialiCation made it easier and more a%%ordable to add decorati+e details to otherwise
simple homes. ;ecorati+e architectural trim could be mass produced. As the railroads
e9panded, %actory$made building parts could be sent to %ar corners o% the continent.
Also, small towns could now obtain sophisticated woodworking machinery. A crate o% scrolled
brackets might %ind its way to Dansas or Wyoming, where carpenters could mi9 and match the
pieces according to personal whim... Or, according to what happened to be in the latest
shipment.
any 4olk Victorian houses were adorned with %lat, <igsaw cut trim in a +ariety o% patterns.
Others had spindles, gingerbread and details borrowed %rom the Carpenter Bothic style. With
their spindles and porches, some 4olk Victorian homes may suggest :ueen Anne architecture.
&ut unlike :ueen Annes, 4olk Victorian houses are orderly and symmetrical houses. 'hey do
not ha+e towers, bay windows, or elaborate moldings.
18-. - 1(1': Shin/le Style
/ustic Shingle Style houses shunned Victorian %ussiness. /ead below %or %eatures o% the style.
.ome designers re<ected %ussy :ueen Anne
ornamentation in rustic, Shingle Style homes.
Shin/le Style homes usually have these
features:
Continuous wood shingles on siding and roo%
Irregular roo% line
Cross gables
0a+es on se+eral le+els
-orches
Asymmetrical %loor plan
Some Shin/le Style homes also have these features:
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Wa+y wall sur%ace
-atterned shingles
S,uat hal%$towers
-alladian windows
/ough hewn stone on lower stories
Stone arches o+er windows and porches
About the Shin/le Style:
Shingle Style houses can take on many %orms. Some ha+e tall turrets, suggesti+e o% :ueen
Anne architecture. Some ha+e gambrel roo%s, -alladian windows, and other Colonial /e+i+al
details. Some Shingle houses ha+e %eatures borrowed %rom 'udor, Bothic and Stick styles. &ut,
unlike those styles, Shingle architecture is rela9ed and in%ormal. Shingle houses do not ha+e the
la+ish decorations that were popular during the Victorian era.
'he architectural historian Vincent Scully coined the term =Shingle Style= because these homes
are usually sided in rustic cedar shingles. .owe+er, not all Shingle Style houses are shingle$
sided. 8ou will recogniCe them by their complicated shapes and rambling, in%ormal
188' - 1('': 0ichardsonian 0omanes1ue
!icture "ictionary of #ouse Styles in $orth America and %eyond: 0omanes1ue
/ichardsonian /omanes,ue, or Romanesque Revival, houses
ha+e broad /oman arches and massi+e stone walls.
'he Castle arne &ed and &reak%ast in ;en+er, Colorado is a
classic e9ample o% /ichardsonian /omanes,ue styling. ade o%
rough$%aced stone, it has arches, parapets, and a tower.
0omanes1ue houses have many of these features:
Constructed o% rough$%aced, s,uare stones
/ound towers with cone$shaped roo%s
Columns and pilasters with spirals and lea% designs
#ow, broad =/oman= arches o+er arcades and doorways
-atterned masonry arches o+er windows
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About the 0omanes1ue style:
;uring the 1273s, &oston architect .enry .obson /ichardson captured the American
imagination with rugged, %orce%ul buildings like Allegheny Courthouse in -ittsburgh and 'rinity
Church in &oston. 'hese buildings were called =/omanes,ue= because they had wide, rounded
arches like buildings in ancient /ome. .enry .obson /ichardson became so %amous %or his
/omanes,ue designs that the style is o%ten called Richardsonian Romanesque.
'he hea+y /omanes,ue style was especially suited %or grand public buildings. .owe+er,
/omanes,ue buildings, with massi+e stone walls, were e9pensi+e to construct. Only the
wealthy adopted the /ichardsonian /omanes,ue style %or pri+ate homes.
188' - 1(1': 2ueen Anne
America@s %anci%ul :ueen Anne architecture takes on many shapes. /ead below %or %eatures o%
the style. 4or more pictures, +isit our :ueen Anne -hoto Ballery.
America@s Victorian :ueen Anne
.omes o%ten ha+e towers, turrets,
wrap$around porches, and other
%anci%ul details. 'his :ueen Anne
house is in Saratoga, !ew 8ork.
America3s 2ueen Anne houses have
many of these features:
Steep roo%
Complicated, asymmetrical shape
4ront$%acing gable
One$story porch that e9tends
across one or two sides o% the house
/ound or s,uare towers
Wall sur%aces te9tured with decorati+e shingles, patterned masonry, or hal%$timbering
Ornamental spindles and brackets
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&ay windows
About the 2ueen Anne style:
'he romantic style known as Queen Anne became an architectural %ashion in the USA during
the 1223s and 12A3s, when the industrial re+olution brought new technologies. &uilders began
to use mass$produced pre$cut architectural trim to create %anci%ul and sometimes %lamboyant
houses.
!ot all :ueen Anne houses are la+ishly decorated, howe+er. Some builders showed restraint in
their use o% embellishments. Still, the %lashy =painted ladies= o% San 4rancisco and the re%ined
brownstones o% &rooklyn share many o% the same %eatures.
About the name 42ueen Anne4:
:ueen Anne architecture in the USA is +ery di%%erent %rom the slightly earlier 0nglish +ersions o%
the style. oreo+er, in both the USA and 0ngland, Victorian :ueen Anne architecture has little
do with the &ritish ,ueen who ruled during the 1733s.
O% all the Victorian house styles, :ueen Anne is the most elaborate and the most eccentric. 'he
style is o%ten called romantic and %eminine, yet it is the product o% a most unromantic era $$ the
machine age.
:ueen Anne became an architectural %ashion in the 1223s and 12A3s, when the industrial
re+olution was building up steam. !orth America was caught up in the e9citement o% new
technologies. 4actory$made, precut architectural parts were shuttled across the country on a
rapidly e9panding train network. 09uberant builders combined these pieces to create inno+ati+e,
and sometimes e9cessi+e, homes.
Also, widely$published pattern books touted spindles and towers and other %lourishes we
associate with :ueen Anne architecture. Country %olk yearned %or %ancy city trappings. Wealthy
industrialists pulled out all stops as they built la+ish =castles= using :ueen Anne ideas.
Although easy to spot, America@s :ueen Anne style is di%%icult to de%ine. Some :ueen Anne
houses are la+ished with gingerbread, but some are made o% brick or stone. any ha+e turrets,
but this crowning touch is not necessary to make a house a ,ueen. So, what is :ueen AnneE
5hat Ma)es a 2ueen6
4anci%ul and %lamboyant, America@s :ueen Anne architecture takes on many shapes. Some
:ueen Anne houses are la+ishly decorated. Others are restrained in their embellishments. 8et
the %lashy =painted ladies= o% San 4rancisco and the re%ined brownstones o% &rooklyn share
many o% the same %eatures. 'here is an element o% surprise to the typical :ueen Anne home.
'he roo% is steeply pitched and irregular. 'he o+erall shape o% the house is asymmetrical.
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Virginia and #ee cAlester, authors o% A 4ield Buide to American .ouses, identi%y %our types o%
detailing %ound on :ueen Anne homes.
17 Spindled
'his is the style we most %re,uently think o% when we hear the term =:ueen Anne.= 'hese are
=gingerbread= houses with delicate turned porch posts and lacy, ornamental spindles. 'his type
o% decoration is o%ten called 0astlake because it resembles the work o% the %amous 0nglish
%urniture designer, Charles 0astlake.
87 +ree *lassic
Instead o% delicate turned spindles, these homes ha+e classical columns, o%ten raised on brick
or stone piers. #ike the Colonial /e+i+al houses that would soon become %ashionable, 4ree
Classic :ueen Anne homes may ha+e -alladian windows and dentil moldings.
97 #alf-:imbered
#ike the early 'udor style houses, these :ueen Annes ha+e decorati+e hal%$timbering in the
gables. -orch posts are o%ten thick.
.7 !atterned Masonry
ost %re,uently %ound in the city, these :ueen Annes ha+e brick, stone, or terra$cotta walls. 'he
masonry may be beauti%ully patterned, but there are %ew decorati+e details in wood.
2ueen Anne +eatures
A list o% :ueen Anne %eatures can be decepti+e. :ueen Anne architecture is not an orderly or
easily classi%ied. &ay windows, balconies, stained glass, turrets, porches, brackets, and an
abundance o% decorati+e details combine in une9pected ways.
oreo+er, :ueen Anne details can be %ound on less pretentious houses. In American cities,
smaller working$class homes were gi+en patterned shingles, spindlework, e9tensi+e porches,
and bay windows. any turn$o%$the$century houses are in %act hybrids, combining :ueen Anne
moti%s with %eatures %rom earlier and later %ashions.
2ueen 5ho6
0+en the history o% the :ueen Anne style is bewildering. 'hese homes were built in the late
1233s, during the age o% 0ngland@s :ueen Victoria. So, why are the houses called Queen
AnneE
Anne was the :ueen o% 0ngland, Scotland, and Ireland in the early 1733s. Art and science
%lourished during her reign. One hundred and %i%ty years later, &ritish architect /ichard !orman
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Shaw and his %ollowers used the term Queen Anne to describe their work. 'heir buildings didn@t
resemble the %ormal architecture o% the :ueen Anne period, but the name stuck.
In the USA, builders began constructing homes with hal%$timbering and patterned masonry.
'hese houses may ha+e been inspired by the work o% /ichard !orman Shaw. #ike Shaw@s
buildings, they were called Queen Anne. As builders added spindlework and other %lourishes,
America@s :ueen Anne houses grew increasingly elaborate. So it happened that the Queen
Anne style in the United States became entirely di%%erent %rom the Queen Anne style in 0ngland,
and both styles were nothing like the %ormal, symmetrical architecture %ound during the time o%
:ueen Anne@s reign.
Endan/ered 2ueens
Ironically, the +ery ,ualities that made :ueen Anne architecture so regal also made it %ragile.
'hese e9pansi+e and e9pressi+e buildings pro+ed e9pensi+e and di%%icult to maintain. &y the
turn o% the century, :ueen Annes had %allen out o% %a+or. In the early 1A33s, American builders
%a+ored smaller 0dwardian >=-rincess Anne=? and more austere Colonial /e+i+al styles.
While many :ueen Annes ha+e been preser+ed as pri+ate homes, others ha+e been con+erted
into apartment houses, o%%ices and inns. In San 4rancisco, %lamboyant homeowners ha+e
painted their :ueen Annes a rainbow o% psychedelic colors. -urists protest that bright colors are
not historically authentic. &ut the owners o% these =-ainted #adies= claim that Victorian
architects would be pleased.
:ueen Anne designers did, a%ter all, relish decorati+e e9cesses.
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