Hello and welcome back to our trip through the history of the American home! For this installment, we’re taking a look at Independent America. This means any style of home that took hold after the American Revolution.
After the War for Independence, Americans consequently didn’t want much to do with the “English influence” that pre-1776 architecture showcased. Builders began searching for new ways to construct unique homes and structures. The results are much of what Washington DC shows off today…read on!
Independent America
Federal Style
Adapted from the Georgian style, the Federal style was the first popular post-revolution design. It kept the rectangular look of the Georgian structures but incorporated some modifications. Plain
Blair House – Presidential Guest House
and dignified in their appearance, these were large and expansive homes with specialized spaces. Because of it’s Georgian roots, there is still a colonial flair about the Federal but the Roman architectural influence is undeniable. The discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1748 only increased the desire for this style of building.
There were three different styles of Federal- Jeffersonian, Adam, and Regency. Jeffersonian sports the classical Roman look with thick columns- the “government” look. Adam has slender columns and is much less “government” looking. Regency is typically brick with simple, Southern elegance.
After the Revolution, the government therefore decided that their new “federal city” was to be located on the Potomac River and the District of Columbia was formed. President George Washington called on Major L’Enfant, a French engineer, to plan this new city. As a result, the L’Enfant plan was born and the end product was a showcase of the Federal style of construction. While not the only style of building in Washington DC as the city was in it’s infancy at that point, there are several prominent buildings of this architecture. A few examples are the famous townhomes of Capitol Hill, the Decatur House, Woodley Mansion, and Blair House (the Presidential guest home).
Greek Revival
After the war of 1812, a new appreciation for and desire to symbolize democracy surged in the United States. Enter the Greek Revival style. Architects began to imitate the temples of Greece by constructing large front porticoes with columns. The roofs were gable or hip with shallow pitches and had decorative cornice trim on the roof line.
The unique thing about this type of construction was the building materials. Carpenters were becoming creative and found a way to emulate marble by using wood that was painted white. Marble is very expensive and not always available so this was a good way to get around that issue and still maintain the look they were going for.
Gothic Revival
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC
Where Federal and Greek styles championed straight lines, Gothic Revival went the opposite direction. This non-conforming style is known for it’s lack of straight lines and it’s purposefully asymmetrical design. Inspired by cathedrals, a Gothic Revival home is built to be fancy and mysterious. Features were no longer squared up but became pointed. Architects were again using wood to mimic stonework as they had in the Greek Revival style for the individual home.
This style of architecture is most famous for the large, public buildings it is used on. Just a few you might recognize would be St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, NY; Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, London; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia; New York Life Building in New York City, NY; and Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Next Time
For the next time, we’ll tackle the New Territories home and check out the Spanish and French influences that were prevalent there. There are many home styles that we see throughout the United States and we don’t know where they came from. The next “episode” of this series will dive in to a few very iconic home designs.
As always, if you’re looking to find out what your home might be worth, head on over to my Homebot page and sign up for your free, monthly valuation report. It has a ton of great info on potential refis, rental possibilities, and even Airbnb potential! Above all, it is a marvelous way to get a sense of where you stand as far as equity…because even if you aren’t selling right now, I know you’re curious!
See you next time!