What Style is Your House: Colonial Revival

Courtesy of Worcester Heritage Preservation Society

During the Gay Nineties, we began to look back at our own heritage for architectural inspiration.  New Houses included features found in American houses of the 18^th and early 19^th centuries.  Known as the Colonial Revival, it quickly became the favorite style of prosperous Americans in the years between 1890 and World War One.

Meant to be formal, elegant and impressive, the Colonial Revival is usually rectangular, generally larger and more elaborate than its colonial counterpart.  Look for Classical details throughout the exterior:  columns, dentils, pediments and quoins.  You can often find Palladian windows, which are three-part windows where the middle one is taller and has a rounded arch.  Many houses also had balustrades on the roof.  Architects didn’t build exact replicas of colonial homes.  Some details and elements are exaggerated and are out of proportion.  Modern conveniences such as windows with large panes, long porches and bay windows were added.  Entrances consist of large porches with oversize sidelights and fanlights, which are fan shaped windows over the front door.  Roofs are usually hipped or gambrel.

It was most popular in Massachusetts’ prosperous suburbs but owners of smaller houses also adopted the style.  The owners of these houses wanted to impress people with their quiet good taste.  They stayed away from the eccentric decoration or quaint features that attracted attention.  Colonial revival architecture reflected a change in popular taste.  The public began to tire of the jumbled appearance and eccentric features of the Queen Anne style.  The Colonial Revival represented a way towards simplicity and formality.