Architecture of the United States
Encyclopedia
The architecture
of the United States
demonstrates a broad variety of architectural style
s and built forms over the country's history
of over four centuries.
Architecture in the United States is as diverse as its multicultural society and has been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic and innovative tradition.
The oldest surviving structures on the territory that is now known as the United States were made by the Ancient Pueblo People of the four corners region. The Tiwa
speaking people have inhabited Taos Pueblo
continuously for over 1000 years. The related Chacoan
civilization built extensive public architecture in northwestern New Mexico from CE 700 - 1250 until drought forced them to relocate. Another related people, now best known through the Cliff Palace
and neighboring structures in Mesa Verde National Park
, created distinctive cliff dwellings in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona from the 12th through to the 14th century.
Other Native American
architecture is known from traditional structures, such as long houses
, wigwam
s, tipi
s and hogan
s. Images by Theodor de Bry of local Algonquian
villages Pomeiooc and Secoton in what later became coastal North Carolina
survive from the late 16th century. Artist and cartographer John White stayed at the short-lived Roanoke Colony
for 13 months and recorded over 70 watercolor images of indigenous people, plants, and animals.
The remote location of the Hawaiian Islands
from North America gave ancient Hawaii
a substantial period of precolonial architecture. Early structures reflect Polynesian
heritage and the refined culture of Hawaii
. Post-contact late 19th century Hawaiian architecture shows various foreign influences such as the Victorian
, and early 20th century the Spanish Colonial Revival style.
, they brought their architectural traditions and construction techniques for building. The oldest buildings in America show surviving examples. Construction was dependent upon the available resources: wood and brick are the common elements of English buildings in New England
, the Mid-Atlantic, and coastal South. It is also brought the conquest, occupation, and displacement of the indigenous peoples in their homeland, and their dwelling and settlement construction techniques devalued. The colonizers appropriated territories and sites for new forts, dwellings, missions and churches, and agriculture.
and the Southeastern United States
from 1559 to 1821. The conch style is represented in Pensacola, Florida
, adorning houses with balconies of wrought iron, as appears in the mostly Spanish-built French Quarter
of New Orleans, Louisiana
. Fires in 1788 and 1794 destroyed the original French structures in New Orleans. Many of the city's present buildings date to late 18th century rebuilding efforts.
The earliest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States is either St. Augustine, Florida
founded in 1565, or Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Castillo de San Marcos
fort 1672-1695 is St. Augustine's oldest surviving structure. It and the California missions are the rare vestiges of 17th century Spanish colonial architecture in present day United States.
Spanish exploration of the North American deserts, the present day Southwestern United States
, began in the 1540s. The conquistador
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
crossed this region in search of the mythical "cities of gold." Instead they found the ancient culture and architecture of the Pueblo people
. The Pueblo people built dwellings of adobe
, a sun-dried clay brick, with exposed wooden ceiling beams. Their cubic form and dense arrangement gave villages a singular aspect. The modest unadorned structures remained constant and cool. The Spanish conquered these pueblos and made Pueblo de Santa Fe
the administrative capital of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Province in 1609. The Palace of the Governors
was built between 1610 and 1614, mixing Pueblo Indian and Spanish influences. The building is long and has a patio
. The Mission San Francisco de Asis
in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
, dating from the 1770s, used the adobe technique, which gave the edifice a striking look of bold austerity. Centuries later the Pueblo Revival Style architecture
style developed in the region. The Mission San Xavier del Bac
near Tucson, Arizona
, has Churrigueresque
detailing from southern examples in New Spain
. Its facade is framed by two massive towers and the entrance is flanked by estipite
s.
s (forts) in the upper Las Californias
Province to resist Russian and British colonization there, the Presidio of San Diego
, Presidio of Santa Barbara
, Presidio of Monterey, and Presidio of San Francisco
were established for this and to support the occupation by new missions and settlements. From 1769 to 1823, the Franciscan
s created a linear network of twenty one Missions in California
. The missions had a significant influence on later regional architecture. An example of a period residence is the Casa de la Guerra
, in Santa Barbara
.
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Excavations at the first permanent English speaking settlement, Jamestown, Virginia
(founded 1607) have unearthed part of the triangular James Fort and numerous artifacts from the early 17th century. Nearby Williamsburg was Virginia's colonial capital and is now a tourist attraction as a well preserved 18th century town.
The New World population of 200,000 in 1657, ninety percent of whom drew from England, used the same simple construction techniques as those in their respective mother countries. These settlers often came to the New World for economic purposes, therefore revealing why most early homes reflect the influences of modest village homes and small farms. The appearance of structures was very plain and made with little imported material. Windows, for example, were extremely small. The size did not increase until long after even the British were manufacturing glass. This was because the Venetians had not rediscovered the strictly Roman clear glass until the fifteenth century and it did not come to England until another hundred years later. The few windows that did exist on early colonial homes had small panes held together by a lead framework, much like a typical church’s stained glass window. The glass that was used was imported from England and was incredibly expensive. In the eighteenth century, many of these houses were restored and sash windows replaced the originals. These were invented by Robert Hooke (1635–1703) and were made so that one panel of glass easily slid up, vertically, behind another.
Timber, especially white and red cedar, made for a great building resource and was readily abundant for the settlers in America, so, naturally many houses were made of wood. As for decorative elements, there were very few notable efforts made to show creativity with the early colonial homes, and if an effort was made, it led to a very simple outcome. A subtle element of ornamentation was made on the front door. The owner would take nails, think of an object or pattern to make with them, and nail that decoration onto the door. The more nails one had, the more extravagant and elaborate the pattern could become.
The prize architectural aspect of the house was the chimney. Large and usually made of brick or stone, the chimney was very fashionable at this time: 1600-1715, approximately. During the Tudor period in England, which lasted up until around 1603, coal became the popular material for heating the home. Before that, a wood fire was burned on the floor in the center of the house, with the smoke escaping only through windows and vents. With coal, this method could not suffice because the smoke was unacceptably black and sticky. It needed to be contained and the function of a chimney was to do just that.
The oldest remaining building of Plymouth, Massachusetts is the Harlow House built 1677 and now a museum. The Fairbanks House (ca. 1636) in Dedham, Massachusetts
is the oldest remaining wood frame house in North America. Several notable colonial era buildings remain in Boston
. Boston's Old North Church
, built 1723 in the style of Sir Christopher Wren, became an influential model for later United States church design.
appeared during the 18th century and Palladian architecture
took hold of colonial Williamsburg
in the Colony of Virginia. The Governor's Palace there, built in 1706-1720, has a vast gabled entrance at the front. It respects the principle of symmetry and uses the materials that were found in the Tidewater region
of the Mid-Atlantic
colonies: red brick, white painted wood, and blue slate used for the roof with a double slant. This style is used to build the houses for prosperous plantation owners in the country and wealthy merchants in town.
In religious architecture, the common design features were brick, stone-like stucco, and a single spire that tops the entrance. They can be seen in Saint Paul's Church
(1761) in Mount Vernon, New York
or Saint Paul's Chapel
(1766) in New York, New York. The architects of this period were more influenced by the canons of Old World architecture. Peter Harrison
(1716–1755) used his European techniques in designing the Redwood Library and Athenaeum
(1748 and 1761), in Newport, Rhode Island
and now the oldest community library still occupying its original building in the United States. Boston
and Salem
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
were two primary cities where the Georgian style took hold, but in a simpler style than in England, adapted to the colonial limitations.
The Georgian style predominated residential design in the British colonial era in the thirteen Colonies. At the Mount Pleasant mansion
(1761–1762) in Philadelphia, the residence is constructed with an entrance topped by a pediment
supported by Doric columns
. The roof has a balustrade and a symmetrical arrangement, characteristic of the neoclassic style popular in Europe then.
issued the Declaration of Independence
of the Thirteen Colonies
. After the long and distressing American Revolutionary War
the 1783 Treaty of Paris
recognized the existence of the new republic
, the United States of America. Even though it was a firm break with the English politically, the Georgian influences continued to mark the buildings constructed. Public and commercial needs grew in parallel with the territorial extension. The buildings of these new federal and business institutions used the classic vocabulary of columns, domes and pediments, in some referencing to ancient Rome and Greece. Architectural publications multiplied: in 1797, Asher Benjamin
published The Country Builder's Assistant. Americans looked to affirm their independence in the domains of politics, economics, and culture with new civic architecture for government, religion, and education.
In the 1780s, the Federal style began to diverge bit by bit from the Georgian style and became a uniquely American genre. At the time of the War of Independence
, houses stretched out along a strictly rectangular plan, adopting curved lines and favoring the decorative details such as garlands and urns. Certain openings were ellipsoidal in form, one or several pieces were oval or circular.
The Bostonian architect Charles Bulfinch
fitted the Massachusetts State House
' in 1795-1798 with an original gilded dome
. He worked on the construction of several houses in Louisburg Square
of the Beacon Hill quarter in Boston. Samuel McIntire
designed the John Gardiner-Pingree house
(1805) in Salem, Massachusetts
with a gentle sloped roof and brick balustrade. With Palladio as inspiration, he linked the buildings with a semi-circular column
supported portico
.
The Federal style was popular along the Atlantic coast from 1780 to 1830. Characteristics of the federal style include neoclassical elements, bright interiors with large windows and white walls and ceilings, and a decorative yet restrained appearance that emphasized rational elements. Significant federal style architects at the time include: Asher Benjamin
, Charles Bulfinch
, Samuel McIntire
, Alexander Parris
, and William Thornton
.
Thomas Jefferson
, who was the third president of the United States between 1801 and 1809, was a scholar in many domains, including architecture. Having journeyed several times in Europe, he hoped to apply the formal rules of palladianism and of antiquity in public and private architecture and master planning. He contributed to the plans for the University of Virginia
, which began construction in 1817. The project was completed by Benjamin Latrobe
applying Jefferson's architectural concepts. The university library is situated under a The Rotunda
covered by a dome inspired by the Pantheon of Rome. The combination created a uniformity thanks to the use of brick and wood painted white. For the new Virginia State Capitol
building (1785–1796) in Richmond, Virginia
, Jefferson was inspired by the ancient Rome Maison Carrée
in Nîmes
, but chose the Ionic order
for its columns. A man of the Age of Enlightenment
, Thomas Jefferson had participated in the emancipation of New World architecture by expressing his vision of an art-form in service of democracy. He contributed to developing the Federal style in his country and adapting European Neoclassical architecture
to American democracy.
Thomas Jefferson also designed the buildings for his plantation Monticello
, near Charlottesville, Virginia
. It's an example of the Neo Palladian style, with the Hôtel de Salm
in Paris
, that Jefferson saw when ambassador to France, as a model. Work commenced in 1768 and modifications continued until 1809. This American variation on Palladian architecture
borrowed from British and Irish models and revived the tetrastyle portico
with Doric
columns. This interest in Roman elements appealed in a political climate that looked to the ancient Roman Republic
as a model
in Washington, D.C.
is an example of uniform urbanism: the design of the capitol building was imagined by the French Pierre Charles L'Enfant
. This ideal of the monumental city and neoclassicism . Several cities wanted to apply this concept, which is part of the [, but Washington, D.C. seems the most dedicated of all of them.
The White House
was constructed after the creation of Washington, D.C. by congressional law in December 1790. After a contest, James Hoban
, an Irish American, was chosen and the construction began in October 1792. The building that he had conceived was modeled upon the first and second floors of the Leinster House, a ducal palace in Dublin, Ireland which is now the seat of the Irish Parliament. But during the War of 1812
, a large part of the city was burned, and the White House was ravaged. Only the exterior walls remained standing, but it was reconstructed. The walls were painted white to hide the damage caused by the fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, two new wings were added to support the development of the government.
The United States Capitol
was constructed in successive stages starting in 1792. Shortly after the completion of its construction, it was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Its reconstruction began in 1815 and did not end until 1830. During the 1850s, the building was greatly expanded by Thomas U. Walter
. In 1863, the imposing Statue of Freedom
", was placed on the top of the current (new at the time) dome
.
The Washington Monument
is an Obelisk
memorial erected in honor of George Washington
, the first American President. It was Robert Mills
who had designed it originally in 1838. There is a perceivable color difference towards the bottom of the monument, which is because its construction was put on hiatus for lack of money. At 555.5 feet (169.3 m) high, it was completed in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888.
The Homestead Act
of 1862 brought property ownership within reach for millions of citizens, displaced native peoples, and changed the character of settlement patterns across the Great Plains
and Southwest. The law offered a modest farm free of charge to any adult male who cultivated the land for five years and built a residence on the property. This established a rural pattern of isolated farmsteads in the Midwest and West instead of the European and eastern U.S. states' villages and towns. Settlers built homes from local materials, such as rustic sod, semi-cut stone, mortared cobble, adobe bricks, and rough logs. They erected log cabin
s in forested areas and sod house
s, such as the Sod House (Cleo Springs, Oklahoma)
, in treeless prairie
s. The present day sustainable architecture
method of Straw-bale construction
was pioneered in late 19th century Nebraska
with baling machines.
The Spanish and later Mexican Alta California
Ranchos
and early American pioneers used the readily available clay to make adobe bricks, and distant forests' tree trunks for beams sparingly. Locally made roof tiles were produced by the Mission Indians
. As milled wood became more available in the mid-19th century the Monterey Colonial architecture
style first developed in Monterey
and then spread. The Leonis Adobe
, Larkin House
, and Rancho Petaluma Adobe
are original examples.
, that is to say, a foyer for democracy.
Benjamin Latrobe
(1764–1820) and his students William Strickland
(1788–1854) and Robert Mills
(1781–1855) obtained commissions to build some banks and churches in the big cities (Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC).
Some state capitol buildings adopted the Greek Revival style such as in North Carolina
(Capitol building in Raleigh
, rebuilt in 1833-1840 after a fire) or in Indiana
(Capitol building in Indianapolis
). One later example of these is the Ohio State Capitol in Columbus, designed by Henry Walters
and completed in 1861. The simple façade, continuous cornice
and the absence of a dome give the impression of the austerity and greatness of the building. It has a very symmetrical design and houses the Supreme Court and a library. A rare style also was adopted around this time, Egyptian Revival architecture
.
became popular in the United States, under the influence of Andrew Jackson Downing
(1815–1852). He defined himself in a reactionary context to classicism and development of romanticism
. His work is characterized by a return to Medieval decor: chimneys, gable
s, embrasure
towers, warhead windows, gargoyle
s, stained glass
and severely sloped roofs. The buildings adopted a complex design that drew inspiration from symmetry and neoclassicism.
The great families of the east coast had immense estates and villas constructed in the style, with antipodes
of Neoclassicism
. Some took Horace Walpole
's Strawberry Hill House
as a model. Alexander Jackson Davis
(1803–1892) worked on villa
projects in the Hudson River Valley and used details from the Gothic
to Baroque
repertoire. For the Jay Gould estate
country house
"Lyndhurst" in Tarrytown, New York
, Alexander Jackson Davis
designed a building with a complex asymmetrical outline, and opened the double-height art gallery with stained glass windows.
New York City is home to James Renwick Jr's Saint Patrick Cathedral
, an elegant synthesis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims
and the Cologne Cathedral
. The project was entrusted to him in 1858 but completed by the erection of two spires on the facade in 1888. The use of materials lighter than stone allowed to pass from flying buttress
es to exterior buttresses. Renwick also showed his talent in Washington, D.C. with the construction of the Smithsonian Institution
. But his critics reproached him for having broken the architectural harmony of the capital by building an eccentric combination in red brick using Byzantine, Romanesque
, Lombard, and eclectic themes.
Richard Upjohn
(1802–1878) specialized in the rural churches of the northeast, but his major work is still "Trinity Church" in New York. His red sandstone architecture makes reference to the 16th century forms in Europe. The Gothic Revival style was also used in the construction of universities (Yale
, Harvard) and churches. The success of the Gothic Revival was prolonged up until the beginning of the 20th century in numerous Skyscrapers, notably in Chicago and in New York.
Following the American Civil War
and through the turn of the century, a number of related styles, trends, and movements emerged, are loosely and broadly categorized as "Victorian", due to their correspondence with similar movements of the time in the British Empire during the later reign of Queen Victoria. Many architects working during this period would cross various modes, depending on the commission. Key influential American architects of the period include Richard Morris Hunt
, Frank Furness
, and Henry Hobson Richardson
.
After the war, the uniquely-American Stick Style developed as a of construction that uses wooden rod trusswork, the origin of its name. The style was commonly used in houses, hotels, railway depots, and other structures primarily of wood. The buildings are topped by high roofs with steep slopes and prominent decoration of the gables. The exterior is not bare of decoration, even though the main objective remains comfort. Richard Morris Hunt constructed John N. Griswold's house in Newport, Rhode Island
in 1862 in this style. The "Stick Style" was progressively abandoned after circa 1873, gradually evolving into the Queen Anne Style.
On the west coast in California
, domestic architecture evolved equally towards a more modern style. San Francisco has many representations of the Italianate
, Stick-Eastlake
, and Queen Anne
styles of Victorian architecture, circa 1850s-1900. Constructed with Redwood lumber they resisted the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
itself, though some burned in the aftermath. They introduced the contemporary services of central heating and electricity. The Carson Mansion
conceived of by Builder-Architects, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom and built by an army of over 100 craftsman from the massive lumber operations of its owner, is prominently situated at the head of Old Town
Eureka, California
on Humboldt Bay
. It is widely regarded as one of the highest executions of Queen Anne style in California and the United States.
On the east coast the Queen Anne evolved into the Shingle Style architecture
. It is characterized by attention to a more relaxed rustic image. Richardson designed the William Watts Sherman House
(1874–1875) in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Mary Fiske Stoughton House (1882–1883) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and Charles Follen McKim
the Newport Casino
(1879–1881) using shingle clad asymmetrical facades.
While medieval influence rode high, in the second half of the 19th century, architects also responded to commissions for estate scale residences with Renaissance Revival residences. Industry and commerce tycoons invested in stone and commissioned mansions replicating European palaces. The Biltmore Estate
near to Asheville, North Carolina
is in the Châteauesque
style of French Renaissance Revival
, and is the largest private residence in the U.S. Richard Morris Hunt
interpreted the Louis XII and François I wings from the Château de Blois
for it.
The most notable United States architectural innovation has been the skyscraper. Several technical advances made this possible. In 1853 Elisha Otis
invented the first safety elevator
which prevented a car from falling down the shaft if the suspending cable broke. Elevators allowed buildings to rise above the four or five stories that people were willing to climb by stairs for normal occupancy. An 1868 competition decided the design of New York City's six story Equitable Life Building, which would become the first commercial building to use an elevator. Construction commenced in 1873. Other structures followed such as the Auditorium Building, Chicago
in 1885 by Dankmar Adler
and Louis Sullivan
. This adopted Italian palazzo design details to give the appearance of a structured whole: for several decades American skyscrapers would blend conservative decorative elements with technical innovation.
Soon skyscrapers encountered a new technological challenge. Load-bearing stone walls become impractical as a structure gains height, reaching a technical limit at about 20 stories (culminating in the 1891 Monadnock Building
by Burnham & Root in Chicago). Professional engineer William LeBaron Jenney solved the problem with a steel support frame in Chicago's 10-story Home Insurance Building
, 1885. Arguably this is the first true skyscraper. The use of a thin curtain wall in place of a load-bearing wall reduced the building's overall weight by two thirds. Another feature that was to become familiar in 20th century skyscrapers first appeared in Chicago's Reliance Building
, designed by Charles B. Atwood and E.C. Shankland, Chicago, 1890 - 1895. Because outer walls no longer bore the weight of a building it was possible to increase window size. This became the first skyscraper to have plate glass windows take up a majority of its outer surface area.
Some of the most graceful early towers were designed by Louis Sullivan
(1856–1924), America's first great modern
architect. His most talented student was Frank Lloyd Wright
(1867–1959), who spent much of his career designing private residences with matching furniture and generous use of open space.
Daniel Burnham
's "White City" of the World's Columbian Exposition
of 1893, held in Chicago, Illinois, ceremonially marks the dawn of the golden age for the Beaux-Arts style, and larger firms such as McKim, Mead and White. The era is documented in photo architectural albums such as the Architectural photographic series of Albert Levy
.
The Columbian Exposition also reflected the rise of American landscape architecture and city planning. Notable were the works of Frederick Law Olmsted
, an already-prominent and prolific landscape architect who had designed the Midway Plaisance
of the 1893 Exhibition, having previously designed New York's Central Park in the 1850s, the layout of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and many other works nationwide. Olmsted and his sons were also involved in the City Beautiful movement
, which, as its name suggests, sought to aesthetically (and thus culturally) transform cities. The aspirations of the movement can be seen in the McMillan Plan
for Washington, D.C..
As the century progressed, the Beaux-Arts influence would become somewhat more restrained, returning to its more Neoclassical roots. The Lincoln Memorial
(1915–1922), made out of marble
and white limestone
, takes its form from doric order
Greek temple
s without a pediment. Its architect, Henry Bacon
, student of the ideas from the Beaux-Arts school, intended the 36 columns of monument to represent each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The Jefferson Memorial
was the last great monument constructed in the Beaux-Arts tradition, in the 1940s. Its architect, John Russell Pope
, wanted to bring to light Jefferson's taste for Roman buildings. This is why he decided to imitate the Pantheon in Rome and grace the building with a similar type dome. It was severely criticized by the proponents of the International Style
.
.
on the Central Coast of California
, designed by architect Julia Morgan
. The San Francisco Bay Area
estate Filoli
, by Willis Polk
, is in Woodside, California
with the mansion and gardens now part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and open to the public.
the Dumbarton Oaks
estate, in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
, has Italian Renaissance garden
s by early landscape architect
Beatrix Farrand
and architectural design by several architects including Philip Johnson
. The Harold Lloyd Estate
, "Greenacres" in Beverly Hills, California
, is a significant example from the 1920s, with extensive gardens by a leading estate Landscape designer in that era, A.E. Hanson.
and Carleton Winslow Sr. intentionally moved beyond the Mission Revival Style
, from their studying Spanish Colonial architecture and its Churrigueresque
and Plateresque
refinements in Mexico
. The project was a popular success, and introduced the Spanish Colonial Revival style to many design professionals and the public in California and across the country.
George Washington Smith
, based in Montecito
and Santa Barbara
, designed the detailed and integrated Andalusian Spanish Colonial Revival Casa del Herrero
estate in 1926. Smith, Bertram Goodhue
, Wallace Neff
, and other notable architects created many 'Country Place Era' properties throughout California
during this period. A civic example is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse
and a commercial example the Mission Inn
in Riverside, California
.
designed by architect Cass Gilbert
, 1913. Raising previous technological advances to new heights, 792 ft (241 m), it was the world's tallest building until 1930. Frank Woolworth
was fond of gothic cathedrals
. Cass Gilbert constructed the office building as a cathedral of commerce and incorporated many Gothic revival decorative elements. The main entrance and lobby contain numerous allegories of thrift, including an acorn growing into an oak tree and a man losing his shirt. The popularity of the new Woolworth Building inspired many Gothic revival imitations among skyscrapers and remained a popular design theme until the art deco
era. Other public concerns emerged following the building's introduction. The Woolworth Building blocked a significant amount of sunlight to the neighborhood. This inspired the New York City setback law that remained in effect until 1960. Basically the law allowed a structure to rise to any height as long as it reduced the area of each tower floor to one quarter of the structure's ground floor area.
Another significant event in skyscraper history was the competition for Chicago's Tribune Tower
. Although the competition selected a gothic design influenced by the Woolworth building, some of the numerous competing entries became influential to other 20th century architectural styles. Second place finisher Eliel Saarinen
submitted a modernist design. An entry from Walter Gropius
brought attention to the Bauhaus
school.
in origin. Diner
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The 1944 G. I. Bill of Rights was another federal government decision that changed the architectural landscape. Government-backed loans
made home ownership affordable for many more citizens. Affordable automobiles and popular preference for single family detached homes led to the rise of suburbs. Simultaneously praised for their quality of life and condemned for architectural monotony, these have become a familiar feature of the United States landscape.
progressed due to the work of Irving Gill
, characterized by several Californian houses with flat roofs in the 1910s such as the Walter Luther Dodge house
in Los Angeles
. Rudolf M. Schindler
and Richard Neutra
adapted European modernism to the Californian context in the 1920s with the former's "Lovell Beach House
" in Newport Beach
and Schindler House in West Hollywood
, and the latter's Lovell Health House in the Hollywood Hills
.
European architects who emigrated to the United States before World War II
launched what became a dominant movement in architecture, the International Style
. The Lever House
introduced a new approach to a uniform glazing of the skyscraper's skin, and located in Manhattan
. An influential modernist immigrant architect was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
(1886–1969) and Walter Gropius
(1883–1969), both former directors of Germany's famous design school, the Bauhaus
.
The Reliance Building's move toward increased window area reached its logical conclusion in a New York City building with a Brazilian architect on land that is technically not a part of the United States. United Nations headquarters
, 1949–1950, by Oscar Niemeyer
has the first complete glass curtain wall.
American government buildings and skyscrapers of this period have are a style known as Federal Modernism
. Based on pure geometric form, buildings in the International style have been both praised as minimalist monuments to American culture and corporate success by some, and criticized as sterile glass boxes by others.
Skycraper hotels gained popularity with the construction of John Portman
's (1924-) Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta
followed by his Renaissance Center
in Detroit
which remains the tallest skyscaper hotel in the Western Hemisphere
.
(1945- ) have rejected the austere, boxy look in favor of postmodern
buildings, such as those by Philip C. Johnson (1906–2005) with striking contours and bold decoration that alludes to historical styles of architecture.
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
demonstrates a broad variety of architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s and built forms over the country's history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of over four centuries.
Architecture in the United States is as diverse as its multicultural society and has been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic and innovative tradition.
Pre-Columbian
The oldest surviving structures on the territory that is now known as the United States were made by the Ancient Pueblo People of the four corners region. The Tiwa
Tiwa languages
Tiwa is a group of two, possibly three, related Tanoan languages spoken by the Tiwa Pueblo, and possibly Piro Pueblo, groups in the U.S...
speaking people have inhabited Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
continuously for over 1000 years. The related Chacoan
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash...
civilization built extensive public architecture in northwestern New Mexico from CE 700 - 1250 until drought forced them to relocate. Another related people, now best known through the Cliff Palace
Cliff Palace
The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. The structure built by the Ancient Pueblo Peoples is located in Mesa Verde National Park in their former homeland region...
and neighboring structures in Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was created in 1906 to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world...
, created distinctive cliff dwellings in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona from the 12th through to the 14th century.
Other Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
architecture is known from traditional structures, such as long houses
Native American long house
Longhouses were built by native peoples in various parts of North America, sometimes reaching over but generally around wide. The dominant theory is that walls were made of sharpened and fire-hardened poles driven into the ground and the roof consisted of leaves and grass...
, wigwam
Wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...
s, tipi
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
s and hogan
Hogan
A hogan is the primary traditional home of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house...
s. Images by Theodor de Bry of local Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
villages Pomeiooc and Secoton in what later became coastal North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
survive from the late 16th century. Artist and cartographer John White stayed at the short-lived Roanoke Colony
Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
for 13 months and recorded over 70 watercolor images of indigenous people, plants, and animals.
The remote location of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
from North America gave ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
a substantial period of precolonial architecture. Early structures reflect Polynesian
Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
heritage and the refined culture of Hawaii
Culture of Hawaii
The culture of Hawaii has its origins in the traditional culture of the Native Hawaiians. As Hawaii has become home to many different ethnic groups during the past 200 years, each ethnic group has added elements of its own culture...
. Post-contact late 19th century Hawaiian architecture shows various foreign influences such as the Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, and early 20th century the Spanish Colonial Revival style.
Colonial
When the Europeans settled in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, they brought their architectural traditions and construction techniques for building. The oldest buildings in America show surviving examples. Construction was dependent upon the available resources: wood and brick are the common elements of English buildings in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, the Mid-Atlantic, and coastal South. It is also brought the conquest, occupation, and displacement of the indigenous peoples in their homeland, and their dwelling and settlement construction techniques devalued. The colonizers appropriated territories and sites for new forts, dwellings, missions and churches, and agriculture.
Spanish influences
Southeast
Spanish colonial architecture was built in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
from 1559 to 1821. The conch style is represented in Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, adorning houses with balconies of wrought iron, as appears in the mostly Spanish-built French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. Fires in 1788 and 1794 destroyed the original French structures in New Orleans. Many of the city's present buildings date to late 18th century rebuilding efforts.
The earliest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States is either St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
founded in 1565, or Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
The Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos
The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...
fort 1672-1695 is St. Augustine's oldest surviving structure. It and the California missions are the rare vestiges of 17th century Spanish colonial architecture in present day United States.
Southwest
Spanish exploration of the North American deserts, the present day Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, began in the 1540s. The conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
crossed this region in search of the mythical "cities of gold." Instead they found the ancient culture and architecture of the Pueblo people
Pueblo people
The Pueblo people are a Native American people in the Southwestern United States. Their traditional economy is based on agriculture and trade. When first encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century, they were living in villages that the Spanish called pueblos, meaning "towns". Of the 21...
. The Pueblo people built dwellings of adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
, a sun-dried clay brick, with exposed wooden ceiling beams. Their cubic form and dense arrangement gave villages a singular aspect. The modest unadorned structures remained constant and cool. The Spanish conquered these pueblos and made Pueblo de Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
the administrative capital of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México was a province of New Spain and later Mexico that existed from the late 16th century up through the mid-19th century. It was centered on the upper valley of the Rio Grande , in an area that included most of the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico...
Province in 1609. The Palace of the Governors
Palace of the Governors
The Palace of the Governors is an adobe structure located on Palace Avenue on the Plaza of Santa Fe, New Mexico between Palace Avenue and Washington Street. It is within the Santa Fe Historic District and it served as the seat of government for the State of New Mexico for centuries...
was built between 1610 and 1614, mixing Pueblo Indian and Spanish influences. The building is long and has a patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
. The Mission San Francisco de Asis
San Francisco de Asis Mission Church
San Francisco de Asis Mission Church is a church built between 1772 and 1816. It is located on the plaza in Ranchos de Taos, itself a historic district named Ranchos de Taos Plaza, about four miles southwest of the town of Taos, New Mexico....
in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
Ranchos de Taos is a census-designated place in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,390 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ranchos de Taos is located at ....
, dating from the 1770s, used the adobe technique, which gave the edifice a striking look of bold austerity. Centuries later the Pueblo Revival Style architecture
Pueblo Revival Style architecture
The Pueblo Revival style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it...
style developed in the region. The Mission San Xavier del Bac
Mission San Xavier del Bac
Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation...
near Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, has Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the...
detailing from southern examples in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
. Its facade is framed by two massive towers and the entrance is flanked by estipite
Estipite
The estipite column is a type of column or pilaster typical of the Churrigueresque baroque style of Spain and Spanish America used in the 18th century. It has the shape of an inverted cone or obelisk....
s.
California
In the late 18th century, the Spanish founded a series of presidioPresidio
A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...
s (forts) in the upper Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
Province to resist Russian and British colonization there, the Presidio of San Diego
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...
, Presidio of Santa Barbara
Presidio of Santa Barbara
The El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara, also known as the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, was a military installation in Santa Barbara, California. It was built by Spain in 1782, with the mission of defending the Second Military District in California...
, Presidio of Monterey, and Presidio of San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
were established for this and to support the occupation by new missions and settlements. From 1769 to 1823, the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s created a linear network of twenty one Missions in California
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
. The missions had a significant influence on later regional architecture. An example of a period residence is the Casa de la Guerra
Casa de la Guerra
The Casa de la Guerra was the residence of the fifth commandant of the Presidio de Santa Barbara, José de la Guerra y Noriega from 1828 until his death in 1858. Descendants of José lived in the home until 1943. The site is currently owned and operated by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic...
, in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
.
English influences
Excavations at the first permanent English speaking settlement, Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
(founded 1607) have unearthed part of the triangular James Fort and numerous artifacts from the early 17th century. Nearby Williamsburg was Virginia's colonial capital and is now a tourist attraction as a well preserved 18th century town.
The New World population of 200,000 in 1657, ninety percent of whom drew from England, used the same simple construction techniques as those in their respective mother countries. These settlers often came to the New World for economic purposes, therefore revealing why most early homes reflect the influences of modest village homes and small farms. The appearance of structures was very plain and made with little imported material. Windows, for example, were extremely small. The size did not increase until long after even the British were manufacturing glass. This was because the Venetians had not rediscovered the strictly Roman clear glass until the fifteenth century and it did not come to England until another hundred years later. The few windows that did exist on early colonial homes had small panes held together by a lead framework, much like a typical church’s stained glass window. The glass that was used was imported from England and was incredibly expensive. In the eighteenth century, many of these houses were restored and sash windows replaced the originals. These were invented by Robert Hooke (1635–1703) and were made so that one panel of glass easily slid up, vertically, behind another.
The prize architectural aspect of the house was the chimney. Large and usually made of brick or stone, the chimney was very fashionable at this time: 1600-1715, approximately. During the Tudor period in England, which lasted up until around 1603, coal became the popular material for heating the home. Before that, a wood fire was burned on the floor in the center of the house, with the smoke escaping only through windows and vents. With coal, this method could not suffice because the smoke was unacceptably black and sticky. It needed to be contained and the function of a chimney was to do just that.
The oldest remaining building of Plymouth, Massachusetts is the Harlow House built 1677 and now a museum. The Fairbanks House (ca. 1636) in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
is the oldest remaining wood frame house in North America. Several notable colonial era buildings remain in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Boston's Old North Church
Old North Church
Old North Church , at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent...
, built 1723 in the style of Sir Christopher Wren, became an influential model for later United States church design.
Georgian architecture
The Georgian styleGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
appeared during the 18th century and Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
took hold of colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is the private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The district includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of the original shires of Virginia —...
in the Colony of Virginia. The Governor's Palace there, built in 1706-1720, has a vast gabled entrance at the front. It respects the principle of symmetry and uses the materials that were found in the Tidewater region
Tidewater (geographic term)
Tidewater is a geographic area of southeast Virginia and northeastern North Carolina that is considered a part of the Coastal Plain. Portions of Maryland facing the Chesapeake Bay are also given this designation. The area gains its name because of the effect the area has from the changing tides of...
of the Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
colonies: red brick, white painted wood, and blue slate used for the roof with a double slant. This style is used to build the houses for prosperous plantation owners in the country and wealthy merchants in town.
In religious architecture, the common design features were brick, stone-like stucco, and a single spire that tops the entrance. They can be seen in Saint Paul's Church
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Mount Vernon, New York, just north of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The site was authorized in 1978 to protect Saint Paul's Church from increasing industrialization of the surrounding area...
(1761) in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
or Saint Paul's Chapel
St. Paul's Chapel
St. Paul's Chapel, is an Episcopal chapel located at 209 Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey Streets, in lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan.-History and architecture:...
(1766) in New York, New York. The architects of this period were more influenced by the canons of Old World architecture. Peter Harrison
Peter Harrison
Peter Harrison was a colonial American architect who was born in York, England and emigrated to Rhode Island in 1740. Peter Harrison and his brother, Joseph Harrison, came to the American colonies and established themselves as merchants and captains of their own "vessels." Peter Harrison returned...
(1716–1755) used his European techniques in designing the Redwood Library and Athenaeum
Redwood Library and Athenaeum
The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a private subscription library at 50 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1747, it is the oldest community library still occupying its original building in the United States.-History:...
(1748 and 1761), in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
and now the oldest community library still occupying its original building in the United States. Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
were two primary cities where the Georgian style took hold, but in a simpler style than in England, adapted to the colonial limitations.
The Georgian style predominated residential design in the British colonial era in the thirteen Colonies. At the Mount Pleasant mansion
Mount Pleasant (mansion)
Mount Pleasant is a mansion located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was built in what was then the countryside outside of the city by the privateer John Mcpherson...
(1761–1762) in Philadelphia, the residence is constructed with an entrance topped by a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
supported by Doric columns
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
. The roof has a balustrade and a symmetrical arrangement, characteristic of the neoclassic style popular in Europe then.
Architecture for a new nation
In 1776, the members of the Continental CongressContinental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
issued the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
of the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
. After the long and distressing American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
the 1783 Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
recognized the existence of the new republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, the United States of America. Even though it was a firm break with the English politically, the Georgian influences continued to mark the buildings constructed. Public and commercial needs grew in parallel with the territorial extension. The buildings of these new federal and business institutions used the classic vocabulary of columns, domes and pediments, in some referencing to ancient Rome and Greece. Architectural publications multiplied: in 1797, Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal style architecture and the later Greek Revival. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities and towns throughout New England until the Civil War...
published The Country Builder's Assistant. Americans looked to affirm their independence in the domains of politics, economics, and culture with new civic architecture for government, religion, and education.
Federal architecture
In the 1780s, the Federal style began to diverge bit by bit from the Georgian style and became a uniquely American genre. At the time of the War of Independence
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, houses stretched out along a strictly rectangular plan, adopting curved lines and favoring the decorative details such as garlands and urns. Certain openings were ellipsoidal in form, one or several pieces were oval or circular.
The Bostonian architect Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
fitted the Massachusetts State House
Massachusetts State House
The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...
' in 1795-1798 with an original gilded dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. He worked on the construction of several houses in Louisburg Square
Louisburg Square
Louisburg Square is a private square located in the Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Boston. It was named for the 1745 Battle of Louisbourg, in which Massachusetts militiamen led by William Pepperrell, who was made the first American baronet for his role, sacked the French...
of the Beacon Hill quarter in Boston. Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntyre was an American architect and craftsman, Chestnut Street District, a legacy to one of the earliest architects in the United States, Samuel McIntyre is a primary example of Federal style architecture....
designed the John Gardiner-Pingree house
National Register of Historic Places listings in Salem, Massachusetts
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Salem, Massachusetts.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts, United States...
(1805) in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
with a gentle sloped roof and brick balustrade. With Palladio as inspiration, he linked the buildings with a semi-circular column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
supported portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
.
The Federal style was popular along the Atlantic coast from 1780 to 1830. Characteristics of the federal style include neoclassical elements, bright interiors with large windows and white walls and ceilings, and a decorative yet restrained appearance that emphasized rational elements. Significant federal style architects at the time include: Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal style architecture and the later Greek Revival. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities and towns throughout New England until the Civil War...
, Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
, Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntire
Samuel McIntyre was an American architect and craftsman, Chestnut Street District, a legacy to one of the earliest architects in the United States, Samuel McIntyre is a primary example of Federal style architecture....
, Alexander Parris
Alexander Parris
Alexander Parris was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parris taught Ammi B. Young, and was among the group of architects influential in founding what...
, and William Thornton
William Thornton
Dr. William Thornton was a British-American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol, an authentic polymath...
.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, who was the third president of the United States between 1801 and 1809, was a scholar in many domains, including architecture. Having journeyed several times in Europe, he hoped to apply the formal rules of palladianism and of antiquity in public and private architecture and master planning. He contributed to the plans for the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, which began construction in 1817. The project was completed by Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was a British-born American neoclassical architect best known for his design of the United States Capitol, along with his work on the Baltimore Basilica, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States...
applying Jefferson's architectural concepts. The university library is situated under a The Rotunda
The Rotunda (University of Virginia)
The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
covered by a dome inspired by the Pantheon of Rome. The combination created a uniformity thanks to the use of brick and wood painted white. For the new Virginia State Capitol
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital of Virginia. It houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly...
building (1785–1796) in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Jefferson was inspired by the ancient Rome Maison Carrée
Maison Carrée
The Maison Carrée is an ancient building in Nîmes, southern France; it is one of the best preserved temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire.- History :...
in Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, but chose the Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
for its columns. A man of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, Thomas Jefferson had participated in the emancipation of New World architecture by expressing his vision of an art-form in service of democracy. He contributed to developing the Federal style in his country and adapting European Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
to American democracy.
Thomas Jefferson also designed the buildings for his plantation Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
, near Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
. It's an example of the Neo Palladian style, with the Hôtel de Salm
Palais de la Légion d'Honneur
The Palais de la Légion d'Honneur is the building on the west bank of the River Seine in Paris that houses the Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie and is the seat of the Légion d'honneur, the highest order of chivalry of France...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, that Jefferson saw when ambassador to France, as a model. Work commenced in 1768 and modifications continued until 1809. This American variation on Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
borrowed from British and Irish models and revived the tetrastyle portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns. This interest in Roman elements appealed in a political climate that looked to the ancient Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
as a model
New capital city
The United States CapitolUnited States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is an example of uniform urbanism: the design of the capitol building was imagined by the French Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a French-born American architect and civil engineer best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C..-Early life:...
. This ideal of the monumental city and neoclassicism . Several cities wanted to apply this concept, which is part of the [, but Washington, D.C. seems the most dedicated of all of them.
The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
was constructed after the creation of Washington, D.C. by congressional law in December 1790. After a contest, James Hoban
James Hoban
James Hoban was an Irish architect, best known for designing The White House in Washington, D.C.-Life:James Hoban was born and raised in a thatched cottage on the Earl of Desart's estate in Cuffesgrange, near Callan in Co. Kilkenny...
, an Irish American, was chosen and the construction began in October 1792. The building that he had conceived was modeled upon the first and second floors of the Leinster House, a ducal palace in Dublin, Ireland which is now the seat of the Irish Parliament. But during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, a large part of the city was burned, and the White House was ravaged. Only the exterior walls remained standing, but it was reconstructed. The walls were painted white to hide the damage caused by the fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, two new wings were added to support the development of the government.
The United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
was constructed in successive stages starting in 1792. Shortly after the completion of its construction, it was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Its reconstruction began in 1815 and did not end until 1830. During the 1850s, the building was greatly expanded by Thomas U. Walter
Thomas U. Walter
Thomas Ustick Walter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American architect, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s...
. In 1863, the imposing Statue of Freedom
Statue of Freedom
The Statue of Freedom — also known as Armed Freedom or simply Freedom — is a bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Originally named Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace, official U.S...
", was placed on the top of the current (new at the time) dome
United States Capitol dome
The United States Capitol dome is the massive dome situated above the United States Capitol which reaches upwards to in height and in diameter. The dome was designed by Thomas U...
.
The Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
is an Obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
memorial erected in honor of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the first American President. It was Robert Mills
Robert Mills (architect)
Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...
who had designed it originally in 1838. There is a perceivable color difference towards the bottom of the monument, which is because its construction was put on hiatus for lack of money. At 555.5 feet (169.3 m) high, it was completed in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888.
Frontier vernacular
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
of 1862 brought property ownership within reach for millions of citizens, displaced native peoples, and changed the character of settlement patterns across the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
and Southwest. The law offered a modest farm free of charge to any adult male who cultivated the land for five years and built a residence on the property. This established a rural pattern of isolated farmsteads in the Midwest and West instead of the European and eastern U.S. states' villages and towns. Settlers built homes from local materials, such as rustic sod, semi-cut stone, mortared cobble, adobe bricks, and rough logs. They erected log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
s in forested areas and sod house
Sod house
The sod house or "soddy" was a corollary to the log cabin during frontier settlement of Canada and the United States. The prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant...
s, such as the Sod House (Cleo Springs, Oklahoma)
Sod House (Cleo Springs, Oklahoma)
The Sod House in Cleo Springs, Oklahoma, also known as Marshall McCully Sod House was built in 1894. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The Sod House Museum maintains the structure....
, in treeless prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
s. The present day sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is a general term that describes environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of sustainability and the pressing economic and political issues of our world...
method of Straw-bale construction
Straw-bale construction
Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both...
was pioneered in late 19th century Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
with baling machines.
The Spanish and later Mexican Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
Ranchos
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
and early American pioneers used the readily available clay to make adobe bricks, and distant forests' tree trunks for beams sparingly. Locally made roof tiles were produced by the Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
. As milled wood became more available in the mid-19th century the Monterey Colonial architecture
Monterey Colonial architecture
Monterey Colonial is an architectural style developed in Alta California involving two stories, porches, a hip roof, and adobe walls. It was supposedly originated by Thomas O. Larkin who had moved from New England to Monterey, California and built the Larkin House in 1835...
style first developed in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
and then spread. The Leonis Adobe
Leonis Adobe
Leonis Adobe, built in 1844, is one of the oldest surviving private residences in Los Angeles County and one of the oldest surviving buildings in the San Fernando Valley. Located in what is now Calabasas, California, the adobe was occupied by the wealthy rancher, Miguel Leonis, until his death in...
, Larkin House
Larkin House
The Larkin House, located at 464 Calle Principale, Monterey, California was built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin. It is claimed that the house was the first two story house in all of California, and that it was the first house with a fireplace in Monterey...
, and Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe is the name of a historic ranch house built from adobe bricks that was owned and constructed by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, commandant of the Sonoma Pueblo from 1834 to 1857. It is the largest example of the Monterey Colonial style of architecture in the United States...
are original examples.
Greek Revival
Greek revival style attracted American architects working in the first half of the 19th century. The young nation, free from Britannic protection, was persuaded to be the new AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, that is to say, a foyer for democracy.
Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was a British-born American neoclassical architect best known for his design of the United States Capitol, along with his work on the Baltimore Basilica, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States...
(1764–1820) and his students William Strickland
William Strickland (architect)
William Strickland , was a noted architect in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee.-Life and career:...
(1788–1854) and Robert Mills
Robert Mills (architect)
Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...
(1781–1855) obtained commissions to build some banks and churches in the big cities (Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC).
Some state capitol buildings adopted the Greek Revival style such as in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
(Capitol building in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, rebuilt in 1833-1840 after a fire) or in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
(Capitol building in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
). One later example of these is the Ohio State Capitol in Columbus, designed by Henry Walters
Henry Walters
Henry Walters was president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad until he retired in 1902. He was founder of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.-Biography:...
and completed in 1861. The simple façade, continuous cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and the absence of a dome give the impression of the austerity and greatness of the building. It has a very symmetrical design and houses the Supreme Court and a library. A rare style also was adopted around this time, Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile during 1798....
.
Gothic Revival
From the 1840s on, the Gothic Revival styleGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
became popular in the United States, under the influence of Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
(1815–1852). He defined himself in a reactionary context to classicism and development of romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. His work is characterized by a return to Medieval decor: chimneys, gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s, embrasure
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
towers, warhead windows, gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
and severely sloped roofs. The buildings adopted a complex design that drew inspiration from symmetry and neoclassicism.
The great families of the east coast had immense estates and villas constructed in the style, with antipodes
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
of Neoclassicism
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
. Some took Horace Walpole
Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford
Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors,...
's Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa of Horace Walpole which he built in the second half of the 18th century in what is now an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham, London...
as a model. Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis , was one of the most successful and influential American architects of his generation, in particular his association with the Gothic Revival style....
(1803–1892) worked on villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
projects in the Hudson River Valley and used details from the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
to Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
repertoire. For the Jay Gould estate
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
"Lyndhurst" in Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
, Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis
Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis , was one of the most successful and influential American architects of his generation, in particular his association with the Gothic Revival style....
designed a building with a complex asymmetrical outline, and opened the double-height art gallery with stained glass windows.
New York City is home to James Renwick Jr's Saint Patrick Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
, an elegant synthesis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
and the Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
. The project was entrusted to him in 1858 but completed by the erection of two spires on the facade in 1888. The use of materials lighter than stone allowed to pass from flying buttress
Flying buttress
A flying buttress is a specific form of buttressing most strongly associated with Gothic church architecture. The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground...
es to exterior buttresses. Renwick also showed his talent in Washington, D.C. with the construction of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. But his critics reproached him for having broken the architectural harmony of the capital by building an eccentric combination in red brick using Byzantine, Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
, Lombard, and eclectic themes.
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
(1802–1878) specialized in the rural churches of the northeast, but his major work is still "Trinity Church" in New York. His red sandstone architecture makes reference to the 16th century forms in Europe. The Gothic Revival style was also used in the construction of universities (Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Harvard) and churches. The success of the Gothic Revival was prolonged up until the beginning of the 20th century in numerous Skyscrapers, notably in Chicago and in New York.
Late Victorian architecture
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and through the turn of the century, a number of related styles, trends, and movements emerged, are loosely and broadly categorized as "Victorian", due to their correspondence with similar movements of the time in the British Empire during the later reign of Queen Victoria. Many architects working during this period would cross various modes, depending on the commission. Key influential American architects of the period include Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, Frank Furness
Frank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...
, and Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
.
After the war, the uniquely-American Stick Style developed as a of construction that uses wooden rod trusswork, the origin of its name. The style was commonly used in houses, hotels, railway depots, and other structures primarily of wood. The buildings are topped by high roofs with steep slopes and prominent decoration of the gables. The exterior is not bare of decoration, even though the main objective remains comfort. Richard Morris Hunt constructed John N. Griswold's house in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
in 1862 in this style. The "Stick Style" was progressively abandoned after circa 1873, gradually evolving into the Queen Anne Style.
On the west coast in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, domestic architecture evolved equally towards a more modern style. San Francisco has many representations of the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, Stick-Eastlake
Stick-Eastlake
The Stick style was a late-19th-century American architectural style. According to McAlester, it served as the transition between the Carpenter Gothic style of the mid-19th century, and the Queen Anne style that it evolved into and superseded it by the 1890s....
, and Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture (United States)
In America, the Queen Anne style of architecture, furniture and decorative arts was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910. In American usage "Queen Anne" is loosely used of a wide range of picturesque buildings with "free Renaissance" details rather than of a specific formulaic style in...
styles of Victorian architecture, circa 1850s-1900. Constructed with Redwood lumber they resisted the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
itself, though some burned in the aftermath. They introduced the contemporary services of central heating and electricity. The Carson Mansion
Carson Mansion
The Carson Mansion is a large Victorian house located in Old Town, Eureka, California. Regarded as one of the highest executions of American Queen Anne Style architecture, the home is "considered the most grand Victorian home in America." It is one of the most written about and photographed...
conceived of by Builder-Architects, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom and built by an army of over 100 craftsman from the massive lumber operations of its owner, is prominently situated at the head of Old Town
Old Town Eureka
Old Town Eureka in Eureka, California, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. This Historic district is a area containing 154 buildings mostly from the Victorian era...
Eureka, California
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
on Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, United States entirely within Humboldt County. The regional center and county seat of Eureka and the college town of Arcata adjoin the bay, which is the second largest enclosed...
. It is widely regarded as one of the highest executions of Queen Anne style in California and the United States.
On the east coast the Queen Anne evolved into the Shingle Style architecture
Shingle Style architecture
The Shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture....
. It is characterized by attention to a more relaxed rustic image. Richardson designed the William Watts Sherman House
William Watts Sherman House
The William Watts Sherman House is a notable house designed by American architect H. H. Richardson, with later interiors by Stanford White. The house is generally acknowledged as one of Richardson's masterpieces, and the prototype for what later became known as the Shingle Style in American...
(1874–1875) in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Mary Fiske Stoughton House (1882–1883) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim FAIA was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partnership McKim, Mead, and White....
the Newport Casino
Newport Casino
The Newport Casino is located at 186-202 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987.- 1879 - 1900 :The complex was commissioned in 1880 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr...
(1879–1881) using shingle clad asymmetrical facades.
While medieval influence rode high, in the second half of the 19th century, architects also responded to commissions for estate scale residences with Renaissance Revival residences. Industry and commerce tycoons invested in stone and commissioned mansions replicating European palaces. The Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate
Biltmore House is a Châteauesque-styled mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States, at and featuring 250 rooms...
near to Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
is in the Châteauesque
Châteauesque
Châteauesque is one of several terms, including Francis I style, and, in Canada, the Château Style, that refer to a revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country homes built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the...
style of French Renaissance Revival
French Renaissance architecture
French Renaissance architecture is the style of architecture which was imported to France from Italy during the early 16th century and developed in the light of local architectural traditions....
, and is the largest private residence in the U.S. Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
interpreted the Louis XII and François I wings from the Château de Blois
Château de Blois
The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...
for it.
Rise of the skyscraper
The most notable United States architectural innovation has been the skyscraper. Several technical advances made this possible. In 1853 Elisha Otis
Elisha Otis
Elisha Graves Otis was an American industrialist, founder of the Otis Elevator Company, and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. He worked on this device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852, and had a finished product in...
invented the first safety elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
which prevented a car from falling down the shaft if the suspending cable broke. Elevators allowed buildings to rise above the four or five stories that people were willing to climb by stairs for normal occupancy. An 1868 competition decided the design of New York City's six story Equitable Life Building, which would become the first commercial building to use an elevator. Construction commenced in 1873. Other structures followed such as the Auditorium Building, Chicago
Auditorium Building, Chicago
The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. Completed in 1889, the building is located on South Michigan Avenue, at the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. It...
in 1885 by Dankmar Adler
Dankmar Adler
Dankmar Adler was a celebrated German-born American architect.-Early years:...
and Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
. This adopted Italian palazzo design details to give the appearance of a structured whole: for several decades American skyscrapers would blend conservative decorative elements with technical innovation.
Soon skyscrapers encountered a new technological challenge. Load-bearing stone walls become impractical as a structure gains height, reaching a technical limit at about 20 stories (culminating in the 1891 Monadnock Building
Monadnock Building
The Monadnock Building , is a skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the south Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of Burnham & Root and built in 1891...
by Burnham & Root in Chicago). Professional engineer William LeBaron Jenney solved the problem with a steel support frame in Chicago's 10-story Home Insurance Building
Home Insurance Building
The Home Insurance Building was built in 1884 in Chicago, Illinois, USA and destroyed in 1931 to make way for the Field Building . It was the first building to use structural steel in its frame, but the majority of its structure was composed of cast and wrought iron...
, 1885. Arguably this is the first true skyscraper. The use of a thin curtain wall in place of a load-bearing wall reduced the building's overall weight by two thirds. Another feature that was to become familiar in 20th century skyscrapers first appeared in Chicago's Reliance Building
Reliance Building
The Reliance Building is a skyscraper located at 32 North State Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The first floor and basement were designed by John Root of the Burnham and Root architectural firm in 1890, with the rest of the building completed by Charles B. Atwood in 1895...
, designed by Charles B. Atwood and E.C. Shankland, Chicago, 1890 - 1895. Because outer walls no longer bore the weight of a building it was possible to increase window size. This became the first skyscraper to have plate glass windows take up a majority of its outer surface area.
Some of the most graceful early towers were designed by Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
(1856–1924), America's first great modern
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
architect. His most talented student was Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
(1867–1959), who spent much of his career designing private residences with matching furniture and generous use of open space.
Beaux-Arts and the American Renaissance
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
's "White City" of the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
of 1893, held in Chicago, Illinois, ceremonially marks the dawn of the golden age for the Beaux-Arts style, and larger firms such as McKim, Mead and White. The era is documented in photo architectural albums such as the Architectural photographic series of Albert Levy
Albert Levy (photographer)
Albert Levy is a French photographer active in the 1870s-1890s. He is a pioneer on architectural photography that focused his work in Europe and the United States....
.
The Columbian Exposition also reflected the rise of American landscape architecture and city planning. Notable were the works of Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, an already-prominent and prolific landscape architect who had designed the Midway Plaisance
Midway Plaisance
The Midway Plaisance, also known locally as the Midway, is a park on the South Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its east end and Jackson Park at its west end. It divides the Hyde Park...
of the 1893 Exhibition, having previously designed New York's Central Park in the 1850s, the layout of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and many other works nationwide. Olmsted and his sons were also involved in the City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
, which, as its name suggests, sought to aesthetically (and thus culturally) transform cities. The aspirations of the movement can be seen in the McMillan Plan
McMillan Plan
The McMillan Plan was an architectural plan for the development of Washington, D.C., formulated in 1902 by the Senate Park Improvement Commission of the District of Columbia which had been formed by Congress the previous year.-United States Park Commission:...
for Washington, D.C..
As the century progressed, the Beaux-Arts influence would become somewhat more restrained, returning to its more Neoclassical roots. The Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
(1915–1922), made out of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and white limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, takes its form from doric order
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
Greek temple
Greek temple
Greek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in Greek paganism. The temples themselves did usually not directly serve a cult purpose, since the sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them...
s without a pediment. Its architect, Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon was an American Beaux-Arts architect who is best remembered for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , which was his final project.- Education and early career :...
, student of the ideas from the Beaux-Arts school, intended the 36 columns of monument to represent each of the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The Jefferson Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
was the last great monument constructed in the Beaux-Arts tradition, in the 1940s. Its architect, John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
, wanted to bring to light Jefferson's taste for Roman buildings. This is why he decided to imitate the Pantheon in Rome and grace the building with a similar type dome. It was severely criticized by the proponents of the International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
.
Early suburbs (1890-1930)
With the boom in the use of electric streetcars, the inner ring of suburbs developed around major cities, later to be aided by the advent of bicycles and automobiles. This boom in construction would result in a new, distinctly American form of house would emerge: the American FoursquareAmerican Foursquare
The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was...
.
Arts and Crafts Movement
- Greene and GreeneGreene and GreeneGreene and Greene was an architectural firm established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene , influential early 20th Century American architects...
- Gamble House (Pasadena, California), Robert R. Blacker HouseRobert R. Blacker HouseNot to be confused with the house that is part of the House System at the California Institute of TechnologyThe Robert Roe Blacker House, often referred to as the Blacker House or Robert R. Blacker House, is a residence in Pasadena, California, which is now on the U.S. National Register of Historic...
, Thorsen HouseThorsen HouseThe William R. Thorsen House, often referred to as the Thorsen House, was built in 1909 in Berkeley, California by William Randolph and Caroline Canfield Thorsen. Designed by Henry and Charles Greene, of the renowned Pasadena firm of Greene & Greene, in the American Craftsman style of the Arts and... - Bernard MaybeckBernard MaybeckBernard Ralph Maybeck was a architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley...
- Swedenborgian Church (San Francisco, California)Swedenborgian Church (San Francisco, California)Swedenborgian Church is a Swedenborgian church significant for its architecture in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is regarded as one of California's earliest pure Arts and Crafts buildings. The first pastor of the church the Reverend Joseph Worcester bought the... - Mary Jane ColterMary ColterMary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. As a child, Mary Colter traveled with her family through frontier Minnesota, Colorado and Texas in the years after the American Civil War. After her father died in 1886, Colter attended the California School of Design in San...
- Mary Jane Colter BuildingsMary Jane Colter BuildingsThe Mary Jane Colter Buildings are four structures at Grand Canyon National Park designed by Mary Colter:* Hermit's Rest* Desert View Watchtower* Lookout Studio, also known as The Lookout* Hopi House... - Julia MorganJulia MorganJulia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
- Asilomar Conference GroundsAsilomar Conference GroundsAsilomar Conference Grounds is a conference center built for the YWCA in 1913 at Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove, California. Julia Morgan designed and built 16 of the buildings on the property, of which 11 are still standing. It became part of Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds in... - Lummis HouseLummis HouseLummis House, also known as El Alisal, is a fanciful stone house built by Charles Fletcher Lummis in the late 19th Century in northeast Los Angeles, California, near the Arroyo Seco. It is operated by the Historical Society of Southern California as a historic house museum. The exterior of the...
- Adirondack ArchitectureAdirondack ArchitectureAdirondack Architecture refers to the rugged architectural style generally associated with the Great Camps within the Adirondack Mountains area in New York. The builders of these camps used native building materials and sited their buildings within an irregular wooded landscape...
, Log homeLog homeA log home is structurally identical to a log cabin...
Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School
- Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
- List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, List of Frank Lloyd Wright works by location- Taliesin EastTaliesin (studio)Taliesin , near Spring Green, Wisconsin, was the summer home of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright began the building in 1911 after leaving his first wife, Catherine Tobin, and his Oak Park, Illinois, home and studio in 1909. The impetus behind Wright's departure was his affair with...
, Taliesin WestTaliesin WestTaliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.Open to the public for tours, Taliesin... - Robie HouseRobie HouseThe Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark in the Chicago, Illinois neighborhood of Hyde Park at 5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue on the South Side. It was designed and built between 1908 and 1910 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is renowned as the greatest example of his Prairie...
, Ennis HouseEnnis HouseThe Ennis House is a residential dwelling in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA, south of Griffith Park. The home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Charles and Mabel Ennis in 1923, and built in 1924....
, FallingwaterFallingwaterFallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
, Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
- Taliesin East
Revivalism in the 20th century
The trend of reviving previous styles continued over from the 19th century. Many of the revivals beginning in the late 19th century on into the 20th century would focus more on regional characteristics and earlier styles endemic to the United States and eclectically from abroad, further influenced by the rise of middle-class tourism.Mediterranean revival
The early 20th century saw Mediterranean Revival style architecture enter the large estate design vocabulary. A major and significant example is the Hearst CastleHearst Castle
Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
on the Central Coast of California
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
, designed by architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
. The San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
estate Filoli
Filoli
Filoli is a country house set in of formal gardens surrounded by estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains....
, by Willis Polk
Willis Polk
Willis Jefferson Polk was an American architect best known for his work in San Francisco, California.-Life:He was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and was related to United States President James Polk....
, is in Woodside, California
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
with the mansion and gardens now part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
and open to the public.
the Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks is the conventional name for the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, situated on a historic property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The institution is administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. Its founders, Robert Woods Bliss and his wife...
estate, in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
, has Italian Renaissance garden
Italian Renaissance garden
The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landscape beyond, for contemplation, and for the...
s by early landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Beatrix Farrand
Beatrix Farrand
Beatrix Jones Farrand was a landscape gardener and landscape architect in the United States. Her career included commissions to design the gardens for private residences, estates and country homes, public parks, botanic gardens, college campuses, and the White House.Farrand was one of the founding...
and architectural design by several architects including Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
. The Harold Lloyd Estate
Harold Lloyd Estate
The Harold Lloyd Estate, also known as Greenacres, is a large mansion and landscaped estate located in the Benedict Canyon section of Beverly Hills, California. Built in the latter 1920s by silent film star Harold Lloyd, it remained Lloyd's home until his death in 1971. The estate originally...
, "Greenacres" in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, is a significant example from the 1920s, with extensive gardens by a leading estate Landscape designer in that era, A.E. Hanson.
Spanish Colonial revival
The 1915 Panama-California Exposition the architecture by Bertram GoodhueBertram Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...
and Carleton Winslow Sr. intentionally moved beyond the Mission Revival Style
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
, from their studying Spanish Colonial architecture and its Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the...
and Plateresque
Plateresque
Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" , was an artistic movement, especially architectural, traditionally held to be exclusive to Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance in the late 15th century, and spread over the next two centuries...
refinements in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The project was a popular success, and introduced the Spanish Colonial Revival style to many design professionals and the public in California and across the country.
George Washington Smith
George Washington Smith (architect)
George Washington Smith, , was an American architect and painter. He is noted particularly for his work around Santa Barbara, California, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America....
, based in Montecito
Montecito, California
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa...
and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, designed the detailed and integrated Andalusian Spanish Colonial Revival Casa del Herrero
Casa del Herrero
Casa del Herrero is a home and gardens located in Montecito near Santa Barbara, California. It is an estate designed and constructed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and made a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009...
estate in 1926. Smith, Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Goodhue
Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...
, Wallace Neff
Wallace Neff
Wallace Neff was an architect based in Southern California and was largely responsible for developing the region's distinct architectural style referred to as "California" style...
, and other notable architects created many 'Country Place Era' properties throughout California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
during this period. A civic example is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is located at 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California. Designed by William Mooser III and completed in 1929, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building replaced the smaller Greek Revival courthouse of the same location...
and a commercial example the Mission Inn
Mission Inn
The Mission Inn, now known as The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. Although a composite of many architectural styles, it is generally considered the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States.-History:The property began as a...
in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
.
Other colonials
- Colonial Revival architectureColonial Revival architectureThe Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
- American Colonial- Cape Cod styleCape Cod styleCape Cod style was a style of lighthouse architecture peculiar to the West Coast, where numerous well-preserved examples still exist. In such lighthouses, the light tower was attached directly to the keeper's dwelling, and centered on the roof; entry was achieved through a stairway in the top floor...
- Cape Cod style
- Dutch Colonial Revival architecture
- Tudor Revival architecture
- Pueblo Revival Style architecturePueblo Revival Style architectureThe Pueblo Revival style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it...
Exotic revivals
- Moorish Revival architecture, commonly used in Shriner temples and movie theatres.
Style Moderne and the Interwar skyscraper
- Mayan Revival architecture
Skyscrapers as architectural battleground
One culturally significant early skyscraper was New York City's Woolworth BuildingWoolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
designed by architect Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
, 1913. Raising previous technological advances to new heights, 792 ft (241 m), it was the world's tallest building until 1930. Frank Woolworth
Frank Woolworth
Frank Winfield Woolworth was the founder of F.W. Woolworth Company , an operator of discount stores that priced merchandise at five and ten cents...
was fond of gothic cathedrals
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. Cass Gilbert constructed the office building as a cathedral of commerce and incorporated many Gothic revival decorative elements. The main entrance and lobby contain numerous allegories of thrift, including an acorn growing into an oak tree and a man losing his shirt. The popularity of the new Woolworth Building inspired many Gothic revival imitations among skyscrapers and remained a popular design theme until the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
era. Other public concerns emerged following the building's introduction. The Woolworth Building blocked a significant amount of sunlight to the neighborhood. This inspired the New York City setback law that remained in effect until 1960. Basically the law allowed a structure to rise to any height as long as it reduced the area of each tower floor to one quarter of the structure's ground floor area.
Another significant event in skyscraper history was the competition for Chicago's Tribune Tower
Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower is a neo-Gothic building located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company. WGN Radio also broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Avenue. CNN's...
. Although the competition selected a gothic design influenced by the Woolworth building, some of the numerous competing entries became influential to other 20th century architectural styles. Second place finisher Eliel Saarinen
Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century....
submitted a modernist design. An entry from Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
brought attention to the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
school.
Roadside architecture
The automobile culture of the United States has spawned numerous forms of architectural expression peculiar to that country (or alongside Canada), often vernacularVernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
in origin. Diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
Post-War suburbs
The 1944 G. I. Bill of Rights was another federal government decision that changed the architectural landscape. Government-backed loans
Government-backed loans
A government-backed loan can simply be defined as a loan subsidized by the government, which protects lenders against defaults on payments, thus making it a lot easier for lenders to offer potential borrowers lower interest rates...
made home ownership affordable for many more citizens. Affordable automobiles and popular preference for single family detached homes led to the rise of suburbs. Simultaneously praised for their quality of life and condemned for architectural monotony, these have become a familiar feature of the United States landscape.
Early Modernism
Interest in the simplification of the interior space and exterior facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
progressed due to the work of Irving Gill
Irving Gill
Irving John Gill , American architect, is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. He designed several buildings considered examples of San Diego's best architecture.-Biography:...
, characterized by several Californian houses with flat roofs in the 1910s such as the Walter Luther Dodge house
Walter L. Dodge House
The Walter L. Dodge House was an architecturally significant house built in the Early Modern style in West Hollywood, California according to an Irving Gill design. The house received substantial coverage and recognition from architecture experts, but was targeted for redevelopment...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Rudolf M. Schindler
Rudolf Schindler
Rudolph Michael Schindler Rudolph Michael Schindler Rudolph Michael Schindler (born Rudolf Michael Schindler (1887 Vienna - 1953 Los Angeles) was an American, born in Austria, architect whose most important works were built in or near Los Angeles during the early to mid-twentieth century....
and Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
adapted European modernism to the Californian context in the 1920s with the former's "Lovell Beach House
Lovell Beach House
The Lovell Beach House is located on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California. The building was completed in 1926 and is now recognized as one of the most important works by architect Rudolf Schindler, second only to the Schindler House, built four years earlier for his family as a show...
" in Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
and Schindler House in West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
, and the latter's Lovell Health House in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
.
International style
- Ludwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der RoheLudwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
- Farnsworth House (Plano, Illinois), 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments860–880 Lake Shore Drive is a twin pair of glass-and-steel apartment towers on N. Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Construction began in 1949 and the project was completed in 1951.They were designated as Chicago Landmarks on June 10, 1996.... - Louis KahnLouis KahnLouis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
- Salk Institute for Biological StudiesSalk Institute for Biological StudiesThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...
, Phillips Exeter Academy LibraryPhillips Exeter Academy LibraryThe Phillips Exeter Academy Library in Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S., with 160,000 volumes on nine levels and a shelf capacity of 250,000 volumes, is the largest secondary school library in the world...
- Richard NeutraRichard NeutraRichard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
- Von Sternberg House, Kaufmann Desert HouseKaufmann Desert HouseThe Kaufmann House is a house located in Palm Springs, California that was designed by architect Richard Neutra in 1946.... - Eero SaarinenEero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
- TWA Flight CenterTWA Flight CenterThe TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
, Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
- Antoine PredockAntoine PredockAntoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...
- CLA BuildingCLA BuildingThe Classroom, Laboratory & Administration Building commonly known simply as the CLA Building is a building on the campus of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona...
, Flint RiverQuariumFlint RiverQuariumThe Flint RiverQuarium is a aquarium opened in 2004 and located on the banks of the Flint River in Albany, Georgia, United States.The aquarium follows the journey of the Flint River, and highlights the ecosystems of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint River basins.- Features :The Flint...
, McNamara Alumni CenterMcNamara Alumni CenterThe McNamara Alumni Center, also known as the Gateway Building, at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota is one of the more architecturally-unique buildings in the area. Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction began the complex in March 1998 and completed...
European architects who emigrated to the United States before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
launched what became a dominant movement in architecture, the International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
. The Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
introduced a new approach to a uniform glazing of the skyscraper's skin, and located in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. An influential modernist immigrant architect was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
(1886–1969) and Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
(1883–1969), both former directors of Germany's famous design school, the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
.
The Reliance Building's move toward increased window area reached its logical conclusion in a New York City building with a Brazilian architect on land that is technically not a part of the United States. United Nations headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
, 1949–1950, by Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
has the first complete glass curtain wall.
American government buildings and skyscrapers of this period have are a style known as Federal Modernism
Federal Modernism
The architectural style known as federal modernism emerged in 1949 after the US General Services Administration was created in response to the organizational needs of the US federal government during its time of post-war expansion. "The most gigantic business on earth," was established to...
. Based on pure geometric form, buildings in the International style have been both praised as minimalist monuments to American culture and corporate success by some, and criticized as sterile glass boxes by others.
Skycraper hotels gained popularity with the construction of John Portman
John Portman
John C. Portman, Jr. is an American architect and real estate developer widely known for popularizing hotels and office buildings with multi-storied interior atriums....
's (1924-) Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
followed by his Renaissance Center
Renaissance Center
Renaissance Center is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. Located on the International Riverfront, the Renaissance Center complex is owned by General Motors as its world headquarters...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
which remains the tallest skyscaper hotel in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
.
Postmodernism
In reaction to the "glass boxes" issue, some younger American architects such as Michael GravesMichael Graves
Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....
(1945- ) have rejected the austere, boxy look in favor of postmodern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
buildings, such as those by Philip C. Johnson (1906–2005) with striking contours and bold decoration that alludes to historical styles of architecture.
- Frank GehryFrank GehryFrank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
- List of Frank Gehry buildings- Chiat/Day BuildingChiat/Day BuildingThe Binoculars Building, originally the Chiat/Day Building, is a commercial office building located in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, California...
, Walt Disney Concert HallWalt Disney Concert HallThe Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
, Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
- Chiat/Day Building
See also
- Architectural sculpture in the United StatesArchitectural sculpture in the United StatesArchitectural sculpture is a general categorization used to describe items used for the decoration of buildings and structure. In the United States, the term encompasses both sculpture that is attached to a building and free-standing pieces that are a part of the architects design.-Development in...
- Architectural styleArchitectural styleArchitectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
- Culture of the United StatesCulture of the United StatesThe Culture of the United States is a Western culture originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore...
- Hawaiian architectureHawaiian architectureHawaiian architecture is a distinctive style of architectural arts developed and employed primarily in the Hawaiian Islands of the present-day United States — buildings and various other structures indicative of the people of Hawaii and the environment and culture in which they live...
- America's Favorite Architecture
- Category: American architectural styles
Further reading
- Fletcher, BanisterBanister FletcherSir Banister Flight Fletcher was an English architect and architectural historian, as was his father, also named Banister Fletcher....
; Cruickshank, Dan, Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture, Architectural Press, 20th edition, 1996 (first published 1896). ISBN 978-0-7506-2267-7. Cf. Part Six, Chapter 37. - Reiff, Daniel D. Houses from Books, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0-271-01943-7
External links
- Historic American Building Survey at the Library of Congress
- American Institute of Architects, the national professional organization