Guide to Victorian Architectural Styles

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“Architecture, like government, is about as good as a community deserves. The shell which we create for ourselves marks our spiritual development as plainly as that of a snail denotes its species.” -John Maass The Gingerbread Age There were several different styles of Victorian architecture from 1840-1910. Sub-styles are listed below their major styles. It is very common to see two or more styles used together in harmony on the same house. Some rural areas were even building Victorians into the 1920s. (The dates are estimated dates of these styles.)
1840-1880 Gothic Revival: This style was characterized by its influence from medieval cathedrals. The houses very very romantic, had a vertical feel to them and were very embellished for homes of the day. Gothic Revival was the first Victorian style. It was also the first time that houses were being built with specific European influences. While using these influences designers and architects also incorporated American flavor – giving every Victorian architectural style a distinct look. John Ruskin helped make this style popular when he wrote a book praising the architecture in The Stones of Venicein 1851. The example house is one of the most famous of the period: Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York, circa 1838.
Components: Pointed-arch windows Lancet windows Steep-Pitched roofs Stone & brick construction Decorative masonry “Castle-like” decoration Decorative stone tracery Pinnacles Verandas Battlements & parapets Leaded glass Quatrefoil & trefoil windows Oriel windows
sub-style Carpenter Gothic: A sub-style of Gothic Revival that uses wood embellishments instead of brick or stone. The result is a strange menagerie of gingerbread and siding. One of the first people to promote this style was Alexander Jackson Downing who wrote Victorian Cottage Residences and The Architecture of Country Houses, praising Gothic Cottage Architecture. He directly influenced the way the new, rising middle-class built, painted and decorated their homes. The example house is “Sunnyside” in Ithaca, New York, circa 1851.
Components: “Dripping” bargeboard Vergeboard trim Vertical siding Steep-Pitched Roofs Symmetrical floor plan Exaggerated/elongated gables Elongated finials Pointed-arch windows One-story porches Steep cross gables Bay & oriel windows
sub-style Steamboat Gothic: Another sub-style of Gothic Revival with a strange twist. Steamboat and ship-inspired decorations and a tendency to over-do-it with gingerbread trim differentiate these homes from other styles. This style is the extreme of Carpenter Gothic and its explosion of details was popular at the same time as the heavily decorated Queen Annes. The example house is the “Rosalie” house in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, circa 1883.
Components: The same components of the carpenter gothic sub-style Large gingerbread-covered porches Nautical influences Overdone gingerbread Awnings
1840-1885 Italianate Style: These buildings were made in the style of Italian villas. They looked like rectangular, massive, symmetrical blocks. This style was very popular for public buildings. Alexander Jackson Downing was also a fan of the Italianate. In his book The Architecture of Country Houses, written in 1850, he praises this style: “The gay and sunny temperament of the South of Europe is well expressed in the light balconies, the grouped windows, the open arcades and the statue and vase bordered terraces of the Venetian and Italian villas…” The example house is the Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, circa 1876.
Components: Flat roofs Overhanging eaves Supporting eave brackets Decorative paired brackets & cornices Hooded windows “Tuscan” towers Decorative masonry Symmetrical floor plans Square cupola Arcade porch with baulstraded balconies Either 2 or 4 stories Bay windows Heavy double doors Roman arches
1850-1885 Second Empire: The characteristic features of these buildings were brought over from Europe from Napoleonic Paris to be incorporated into the new Victorian Architecture. They are massive, generally symmetrical, block-like structures. They are specifically characterized by their mansard roofs. The example house is the Goyer-Lee House in Memphis, Tennessee, circa 1843.
Components: Mansard roofs Huge dormer windows Cast-iron cresting Lancet or dome-top windows Window tracery Supporting eave brackets Bay windows Decorative stone or brick masonry Porticos Colored roof patterns with slate tile Cupolas Paired columns Tall first-story windows Classical pediments Rounded cornices above upper cornice
sub-style French Revival: A sub-style of French Revival characterized by a mansard roof on a simple house. The example house is the Tenney House in Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1877.
Components: Same as those above except simpler, less European May not have a mansard or may have a mansard and other roof types together Towers
1850-1900 Exotic: These were eccentric homes, rarely built, which go to the extreme in design. Some were styled after Asian or Muslim palaces or Egyptian temples. Most were made in the shape of an octagon, so this style is also known as “Octagonal.” The octagon house was the invention of the brilliant, yet eccentric Orson S. Fowler who wrote The Octagon House: A Home for All in 1853. He advocated new inventions of the age (even if they were not accepted by the mainstream public) such as dumbwaiters, speaking tubes, the indoor bathroom, hot running water and forced-air furnaces. The example house is the Armour House in Irvington-On-Hudson, New York, circa 1860.
Components: Any components taken from other styles plus- Onion domes Eccentric roofs Sometimes had 8 sides Wraparound porch Dormers Iron trim
1860-1890 Stick Style: This style was a transitional style from Gothic to Queen Anne. It was very decorative and often called Swiss Chalet. The most important feature is outside wall textures and surfaces in patterns and lines. The Stick Style is often combined with Eastlake and Queen Anne. Its key is the fact that it “shows” the inner-frame construction. Because of this it has “structural honesty.” Some elements of this style such as exposed rafters and porch beams would later be carried over to the Craftsman and Prairie-Style homes built at the beginning of the century. The example house is the Emlen Physick House in Cape May, New Jersey, circa 1879.
Components: Diagonal plank trim Horizontal plank trim Vertical plank trim Huge overhanging porches Gambrel roofs Some Tudor influence Ornamental trusses under gable eaves Beam-ends exposed (similar to craftsman)
1860-1890 Eastlake: Eastlake style architecture came from the movement for a better, more beautiful home environment named for Charles Lock Eastlake who was the architect who wrote Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details. Eastlake, Queen Anne and Stick Style are commonly found merged together. Eastlake is one of the few Victorian styles with its own matching furniture and the only style whose furniture was mass-produced. Charles Lock Eastlake was dead-set against cheap, mass-produced furniture made in factories, but ironically, his furniture style became just that after the public clamored for it. The example house is 3020 Observatory Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1893.
Components: Jacobean influences Rectangular outlines Geometric forms Pierced woodwork decoration Textured brackets Long rectangular windows, usually in pairs Ornamental gable trusses Pierced instead of turned porch woodwork Panel molds
1870-1910 Folk Victorian: These homes were basically vernacular farmhouse skeletons with gingerbread added to the owners fancy. They do not fall into any specific category. These homes were usually square or L-shaped and before the gingerbread details they were called Folk or National Style. This style came about from the mass-production of gingerbread and the urge of people to keep-up and make their homes look modern. Most of these homes are mistaken for Queen Annes, but are missing the tower which is the main component of that style. The example house is the Acers (pronounced Acres) house in Norman, Oklahoma, circa, 1892.
Components: Anything from any of the Victorian styles as long as it is basically mixed and matched Queen Anne influences Symmetrical and asymmetrical floor plans Eave brackets Porches with spindlework Carpenter gothic trim Pyramid-shaped roof or gabled roof Gables and side-wings Possible Mansard roof
1874-1910 Shingle Style: These homes are characterized by having no external decoration except layers of shingles covering all of the exterior. This style is uniquely American with no known European ties. It is considered by many to be the last Victorian style that was built. The buildings were completely suited to the saltwater environments from which they were born, where paint and decorative gingerbread would soon rot away. Some people consider these houses as “stripped-down” Queen Annes. The example house is the Stacy House in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, circa 1891.
Components: Gambrel roof lines Complex roofs Large porches “Vacation-cottage-by-the-sea” look Very rustic and informal Cedar shingles covering entire exterior Evolved from the Queen Anne style Sparing details
1880-1900 Romanesque Revival: This style was rustic, massive, and stonework was prevalent. It was used mostly for public buildings. The example house is the Kalteryer House in San Antonio, Texas, circa 1892.
Components: Heavy arches Hardly any detail Solid stone Complex floor plan Gables Towers
1880-1900 Queen Anne: This architecture took the Tudor Style (below) and went so far to the extreme it became a major style of architecture and its predecessor, English Queen Anne or Tudor Style, became a sub-style. These can be very wild and asymmetrical buildings. “The ideal Queen Anne should have the conical corner tower, it should be built of at least three incongruous materials, or better, imitations thereofs, it should have its window openings completely haphazard; it should represent parts of every known and unknown order of architecture; it should be so plastered with ornament as to conceal the theory of its construction; it should be a restless, uncertain, frightful collection of details, giving the effect of a nightmare about to explode.” -George Burgess The example house is the Haas-Lilienthal House in San Francisco, California, circa 1886.
Components: Bay windows Windows of all sizes Dormers Stained glass Gables, towers and turrets Porches and balconies Finials, cast-iron and metal roof trim Decorative trim Cantilevered upper stories Ornamental/patterned shingles Spindled porches Elaborate and exotic color schemes Eccentric Irregular, steeply-pitched roofs Brackets
sub-style English Queen Anne: The Queen Anne style was named for the Queen of England from 1665-1712 during the Tudor dynasty. It used the Tudor Style as a primary influence. It is sometimes called Tudor Revival. The example house is the Hill-Smith House in Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1840-1887.
Components: Pink shingles to simulate clay tiles Castle-like relief decorations (lions, shields) Gables Tudor influences
Short-lived or Rare Styles:
1830-1850 Egyptian Revival:This small niche in Victorian Architecture is characterized by a “monumental” effect throughout the building. It was used primarily in cemetery design; fitting, it seemed, to the Victorians, since Egyptian life revolved around death. The example structure is the Grove Street Cemetery Entrance in New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1845.
Components: Lotus-flower capitals on columns Smooth finish Bottom distinctly larger than top of building Cavetto cornices Symmetrical design Egyptian relief decorations
1860-1880 Moorish: This extremely rare style of architecture is often found on the east cost. With its Islamic and Persian influences it ties the look of an Arabian palace in with the Romanesque Revival making a delightful surprise for the viewer. The example house is “Olana” in Hudson, New York, circa 1870.
Components: Very colorful brickwork Pointed Arabian arched windows Colored slate roof tiles in patterns Islamic arches Pierced stonework Decorative wall textures and mouldings Squared design Decorative Islamic tile-work Persian influences
1860-1890 Chateauesque Style:This is the style of the Vanderbuilts, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and all those who wanted to be like them. These homes, with their massive elaborate architecture, could only be afforded by those at the top of the class system. They are the mansions of the modern Victorian feudal lords. The example house is the Kimball House in Chicago, Illinois, circa 1872.
Components: French influence, but no mansard roofs Renaissance elements Medieval feel Steeply pitched roofs Stone or brick Dormers Towers Gothic windows Elaborate chimneys
1850-1910 Railroad Style: The railroad style is the style of the train stations on the new Victorian railways. It spanned just about the entire era and was distinctly marked by the buildings having a platform with a very tall porch roof.
Components: Overhanging roof of platform Platform Large supporting brackets for roof No pillars Any style of Victorian architecture could be and was converted into a station
It is long since you built a great cathedral; and how you would laugh at me if I proposed building a cathedral on top of one of those hills of yours, to make it an Acropolis! But your railroad mounds, vaster than the walls of Babylon, and innumerable; your chimneys, how much more mighty and costly than cathdedral spires! your harbour-piers; your warehouses; your exchanges! —all these are built to your great Goddess of “Getting-on;” and she has formed, and will continue to form, your architecture, as long as you worship her; and it is quite vain to ask me to tell you how to build her; you know far better than I. –John Ruskin, “Traffic”
Resources The information found on this page is from the following resources: Blumenson, John J.-G. Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-1945. Nashville: American Association for Sate and Local History, 1979. Ferriday, Peter, ed. Victorian Architecture. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1963. Foy, Jessica H., and Schlereth, eds. American Home Life, 1880-1930: A Social History of Spaces and Services. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. Gillon, Edmond V., Jr. and Lancaster, Clay. Victorian Houses: A Treasury of Lesser-Known Examples. New York: Dover Publications, 1973. Larsen, Michael and Pomada, Elizabeth. Daughters of Painted Ladies: America’s Resplendent Victorians. New York: E.P. Duton, 1987. Larsen, Michael and Pomada, Elizabeth. America’s Painted Ladies: The Ultimate Celebration of Our Victorians. New York: EP Dutton, 1992. Larsen, Michael and Pomada, Elizabeth. How to Create Your Own Painted Lady: A Comprehensive Guide To Beautifying Your Victorian Home. New York: EP Dutton. Maas, John. The Gingerbread Age. New York: Greenwich House, 1983. Maas, John. The Victorian Home in America. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1972. f=ifr McAlester, Lee and Virginia. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. McArdle, Alma deC., McArdle, Deirdre Bartlett, and Hamilton, Frederick L. Carpenter Gothic: 19th Century Ornamented Houses of New England. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1978. McCrum, Mark and Sturgis, Matthew. 1900 House. Macmillan Ltd., 1999. Ormsbee, Thomas H. Field Guide to American Victorian Furniture. New York: Bonanza Books, 1962. Rifkind, Carole. A Field Guide to American Architecture. New York: The New American Library, 1980. Robinson, Judith Helm. Carpenter’s Lace Architivity Cards. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1980.