Chapter 1 Architectural Styles 15
Period Home Styles
The social and economic problems of the
Industrial Revolution pushed people to seek a
simpler life. People wanted to leave the excessive
Victorian era to return to a “traditional” way
of life. A period home represented the past,
when the virtues of tradition were important. It
provided the needed balance and stability the
people desired.
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival movement began near
the end of the Queen Anne period and lasted well
into the 1950s. Early examples of the Colonial
Revival style were loose interpretations of the
Colonial past. Typically, they were asymmetrical
Queen Anne structures with classical elements
of Roman and Greek design. By 1915, however,
the popularization of the nostalgic past created
a need for more accurate representations. The
Colonial Revival style borrowed many features
Queen Anne
The Queen Anne style is arguably the most
recognized of all Victorian styles. The style was
popularized in America by Boston architect
Henry Hobson Richardson. It became the dom-
inant style in the 1880s and remained popular
until the early 1900s.
Inspired by the English Renaissance and the
American Colonial style, the Queen Anne house
had asymmetrical forms, steeply pitched roofs,
projecting gables, patterned shingles and masonry,
massive chimneys, stucco, diamond pane win-
dows, and half timbers. See Figure 1-16. A full-
length or “wraparound” porch (one that extends
around more than one wall) was common on
the Queen Anne, as well as an integrated porch.
The asymmetrical structure was adorned with
patterned shingles, decorative fretwork, spindles,
posts, bay windows, fi nials, towers, and many
other decorations.
Susan Law Cain/Shutterstock.com
Figure 1-15. The Second Empire style allowed people to use the space under the double-pitched mansard roof
as living space.
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.