Chapter 1 Architectural Styles 13
were framed with decorative trim and embel-
lished with crowns, often supported with brackets.
Windows were double-hung with single-pane
or double-pane glazing, often placed in groups
of two or three. The entryway had tall arched
or curved double doors with a large single pane
of glass. The entry often had a small porch with
a bracketed roof, supported by square columns
with beveled corners. A square cupola or tower
was also common.
Victorian Styles
The Victorian period fl ourished during
the Industrial Revolution from 1860 to 1900.
Also known as the Gilded Age, it was a time of
prosperity, a time when the house represented
the wealth of the family. New technology and
mass-produced building materials allowed the
construction of extremely ornate homes. There-
fore, Victorian homes were seldom simply boxes
The common feature of a Gothic Revival
house was a steeply pitched, cross-gabled roof
with decorative gable trim. The Gothic (pointed)
arch of windows extending into the gable area
was another distinguishing feature. Finials were
often applied to the top of the gables to accen-
tuate the roof. Also, a one-story entry or full-
width porch with a fl attened Gothic arch was
common.
Italianate
The Italian villas (country houses) of rural
Central and Northern Italy were the inspiration
for the Italianate style. Italianate houses were
wood-frame or masonry. In its simplest form,
an Italianate house was square or rectangular
and two or three stories high, with a fl at or low-
pitched roof. A distinctive feature was wide over-
hanging eaves supported by decorative brackets.
See Figure  1-14. The tall, narrow windows
Denton Rumsey/Shutterstock.com
Figure 1-13. The distinctive feature of the Greek Revival style was the use of columns supporting a covered
front porch or entryway.
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