Colonial Revival architecture
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TheColonial Revivalarchitectural styleseeks to revive elements ofAmerican colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to theCentennial Exhibition of 1876,which reawakened Americans to the architectural traditions of their colonial past.[1]Fairly small numbers of Colonial Revival homes were builtc. 1880–1910, a period whenQueen Anne-style architecturewas dominant in the United States.[1]From 1910–1930, the Colonial Revival movement was ascendant, with about 40% of U.S. homes built in the Colonial Revival style.[1]In the immediate post-war period (c. 1950s–early 1960s), Colonial Revival homes continued to be constructed, but in simplified form. In the present-day, many New Traditional homes draw from Colonial Revival styles.[1]
Although associated with the architectural movement, "Colonial Revival" also refers tohistoric preservation,landscape architectureandgardendesign, anddecorative artsmovements that emulate or draw inspiration from colonial forms.[2]
Characteristics
[edit]While the dominant influences in Colonial Revival style areGeorgianandFederal architecture,Colonial Revival homes also draw, to a lesser extent, from theDutch Colonial styleand post-medieval English styles. Colonial Revival homes are often eclectic in style, combining aspects from several of these previous styles.[1][3]
Since Colonial Revival architecture pulls structural and decorative elements from other styles, there is not one single combination of elements that defines the style. However, some commonly found characteristics of Colonial Revival buildings include:[4][3]
- Gabled, hipped, or gambrel roofs
- Broken pediments
- Symmetrical facades
- Double hung windows and shutters
- Fanlights and sidelights
Cyril M. Harris'sAmerican Architecture: An Illustrated Booknoted that "Colonial Revival houses are usually the result of a rather free interpretation of their prototypes; they tend to be larger, may differ significantly from the houses they seek to emulate, and often exaggerate architectural details."[5]
Gallery
[edit]-
Historic Robinson Hall on theLouisiana Tech Universitycampus inRuston,Louisiana,is named for the second president of the institution,William Claiborne Robinson
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Colonial Revival port office inHyattsville, Maryland
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Colonial Revival home ofHenry M. JacksoninEverett, Washington
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Brown and Sypherd Residence Halls,University of Delaware.Much of the central campus is built in Colonial Revival style.
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Weiss Center,a town-owned facility inManchester, Connecticut,was a former post office. It is made of brick with limestone trim and contains a portico.
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The Robert Stranahan residence inToledo, Ohio,now a part ofWildwood Preserve Metropark
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Fairmont Senior High School,a public secondary school inFairmont, West Virginia
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TheBrooklyn CollegeLibrary, designed by architect Randolph Evans
See also
[edit]- Colonial Revival garden
- Dutch Colonial Revival architecture
- Mission Revival Style architecture
- New Classical architecture
- Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
- Wallace Nutting
- Colonial Williamsburg
Further reading
[edit]- Alan Axelrod, ed.The Colonial Revival in America.New York: W.W. Norton, 1985.
- William Butler,Another City Upon a Hill: Litchfield, Connecticut, and the Colonial Revival
- Karal Ann Marling,George Washington Slept Here: Colonial Revivals and American Culture, 1876–1986,1988.
- Richard Guy Wilson and Noah Sheldon,The Colonial Revival House,2004.
- Richard Guy Wilson, Shaun Eyring and Kenny Marotta,Re-creating the American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival,2006.
References
[edit]- ^abcdeMcAlester, Virginia Savage (2015-11-10).A Field Guide to American Houses the Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America's Domestic Architecture(Revised ed.). New York: Knopf. pp. 3, 68, 414.ISBN9780375710827.
- ^Brinkley, M. Kent; Chappell, Gordon W.; Doody, David M., eds. (1996).The gardens of colonial Williamsburg.Williamsburg, Va: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. p. 3.ISBN978-0-87935-158-8.
- ^ab"Architectural Style Guide".Historic New England.Retrieved2024-02-05.
- ^Schagrin, Danielle Lehr."Colonial Revival".Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.Retrieved2024-02-05.
- ^Harris, Cyril M., ed. (1998).American architecture, an illustrated encyclopedia.New York: W. W. Norton & comp.ISBN978-0-393-73029-6.
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