Archictectural Styles of the 1900s
- The National style was fading from popularity by 1900, but is commonly seen today in the simple gable-front houses that stand in many American neighborhoods. Some have porches whose gabled roofs are held up by spindlework pillars in the Queen Anne style. Some houses added a side gabled wing at right angles to the front of the house. Many were built in a hall and parlor plan (one story, two rooms wide and one room deep), others in an L plan (two stories, two rooms wide and one room deep), or a mass plan (more than one room deep).
- The Colonial Revival style began around 1880 and was popular until around 1955, and can still be seen all over the country in two-family houses in areas ranging from run-down neighborhoods to beautiful mansions. This style of building accentuated the front door with a decorative pedestal supported by pilasters or columns to form an entry porch. The windows were spaced evenly on either side of the door, if the door was in the center, and the windows had double-hung sashes. These houses could be built out of all sorts of materials, but masonry was most commonly used. Neoclassical was also a popular style in the 1900s. Many of the buildings built in this style were and are very grand. A Neoclassical building often had a full-height entry porch with pediments held up by classical Greek columns. It might also have full-width side porches, lots of cornices, balustrades along the roof line and bay windows. Many government buildings are built in this style.
- Tudor buildings had a steeply pitched roof and side gables. About half the houses built in this style were decoratively half timbered. A Tudor building had narrow windows that came in groups and massive chimneys decorated with chimney pots. They usually had wall cladding of stucco, brick, stone or wood. Some rare examples of Tudor houses had false thatched roofs. Chateauesque style, whose heyday was from 1880 to 1910, was a very busy style. Examples can still be seen in upscale neighborhoods. The roof was pitched and often decorated with spires, pinnacles, turrets, gables and shaped chimneys. Other gables, dormer windows and other elements were also ornamented. The windows and doorways could also be arched.
- Italian Renaissance style, which peaked from 1850 to 1955, was a more elegant style than Chateauesque. The elements of the style were borrowed from the Italians. The roof was low pitched and sometimes flat, and some were covered with ceramic tiles. The upper story windows were smaller than the ones on the first floors, and there were arches above the front door and the first-story windows. The porches, if there were any, were recessed and arched. This style is also the style of many government buildings.
