Posts Tagged ‘Queen Anne Style’

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Understanding Queen Anne Architecture

January 1st, 2010

Queen Anne style homes are often easy to spot, but hard to define. It’s partially that elusivity combined with distinctness that makes the style so attractive to buyers and preservationists across the nation. Queen Anne homes are often referred to as the most ornate buildings of the Victorian era, and combine a variety of aesthetics and building methods from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

One of the reasons Queen Anne architecture looks so different from other styles is that it was generally only used on houses. While other styles like Gothic Revival and Federal were being adapted for commercial buildings, churches, and public institutions, Queen Anne architecture was specifically made for upscale houses and mansions, using the latest materials and methods of the machine age. Another developmental difference between Queen Anne and other styles is that it didn’t tend to draw on past eras, but instead produced a new building school that helped set the stage for 20th century homes.

The defining characteristics of the Queen Anne style are many and not always consistent, but there are a few key elements. In general, Queen Anne homes use high-pitched, irregular roofs, spindles and lookouts, decorative structure elements such as columns, and covered balconies. Many Queen Anne homes also employ stained glass, turrets, half timbering in the gables similar to the Tudor style, and patterned masonry. Different sub-styles of the Queen Anne movement include Spindled, Free Classic, Half-Timbered, and Patterned Masonry.

While generally very attractive, Queen Anne homes are often derided as being excessive, or “ginger-bread” like. It’s true that Queen Anne architecture was the product of a rapidly changing era, and many of the homes included features never seen before, so the criticism holds some weight.

The name for the Queen Anne style is often attributed to an 1852 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray entitled “The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. , A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne,” which was popular for decades in the English speaking world. By contrast, stylish and modern furnishings from the historical reign of England’s Queen Anne, came to be classified in a style known as “William and Mary. ”

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The Zenith of Wood Architecture: Stick Homes

December 30th, 2009

Stick architecture offers a uniquely American blend of Victorian and frontier building styles. Of the many styles developed during the Victorian era, this building style did the most to emphasize wood construction, and was incorporated into more building shapes. It continues as one of the most widely recognized building forms of the late 19th centuries, particularly in the northeast and California.

The Stick style emphasized strong, clean lines, many angles, and few curves. With wood construction finally developed as a common building method not reliant on masonry or other materials, homes could now be built higher and at steeper pitches without worrying about excess weight. Stick homes typically rose three or more stories above ground and incorporated two or three wings, in similar fashion to the Queen Anne style of the same era, but without the same emphasis on elaborate windows, towers, and doorways.

Ornamental elements did find their way into the Stick style, but they tended to be more focused on the sides of the building, and at either end. Stick homes often had a wooden sheathing or vertical corner boards suggesting a weave or lattice of stick work. This was often complemented by an inverted picket fence, and ornamental bands of decorative wood at floor levels. These exterior wood elements and sheathing served to emphasize the wooden frame beneath. Windows and doorways, meanwhile, would typically call attention to wood framing rather than disguise it in decorative features. The stick aesthetic of exposed wooden beams is also commonly called half-timbering.

Large porches were another common element on stick homes, and came in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Some houses in this style featured a porch that extended well into the body of the home, becoming a sort of ante-entrance. This building feature worked particularly well on homes in hotter states like California, where a regional variant called the California Stick was developed.

Stick architecture was used primarily for houses, but its less clearly defined style also made it ideal for larger residential buildings such as university dormitories and inns.

Many of the nation’s most famous Sticks are located in northeast states like Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. One of the finest examples of the style, the 1870 home of oil baron Jacob Cadwallader, is located in Titusville, Pa.

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Understanding Shingle Architecture

December 23rd, 2009

Shingle architecture helped define the look of many of America’s most popular waterfront communities in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Reminiscent of the Queen Anne style, this building form helped residents make the most of lake and ocean real estate with a variety of ornamental features to enhance view, and construction materials that worked well in wet, coastal climates.

As the name suggests, Shingle architecture relies heavily on the use of shingles on roofs and exterior walls. As a result, shingle style homes looked naturally more ornate than most homes, and required less ornamentation. The shingle skin of these homes also provided extra insulation, and kept the homes dryer and warmer during wet winter months. Stone counteractions on many of these homes also helped extend their life span for many generations of residents.

The exterior style of shingle homes was also defined by large, asymmetrical shapes, and generally horizontal profiles. Unpractical on small city properties, the style worked well on large coastal estates – many of the most famous examples of shingle architecture were built on the New England seashore. Shingle style homes tended to rely less on form than their Queen Anne predecessors, although they employed many of the same shapes. Features like gambrel roofing, polygon towers, and multiple eaves helped evoke the Queen Anne style while allowing for progression of the form. Since Shingle architecture is less clearly defined in shape, it’s sometimes more difficult to identify at a glance, except for the telltale shingle roof and siding.

Although Shingle architecture became fairly widespread around the turn of the 20th century under New York architects like William Rutherford Mead, Stanford White, and Charles Follen McKim, the style never attained the same popularity as Queen Anne architecture.

The interior style of Shingle homes was often characterized by the use of natural light. Shingle home floor plans were generally more open, and room to room transitions were often more informal than Queen Ann style homes, primarily because of their larger size. In this way, Shingle homes were often more accommodating to guests and large families.

Home buyers and sellers in the northeast and great lakes region will likely come across the Shingle style at some point, and a basic understanding of the form could prove a great advantage over other investors.

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