Architecture / Style / Victorian

Chronology

• 1860-1890 (Whiffen)
• 1870-1890 (Blumenson)
• 1870-1910 (McAlester)

Description

A loosely defined catchall word. The architecture of the Industrial Revolution was largely coincidental with the reign of Victoria (1837-1901), which spanned from carpenter Greek Revival to the steel-framed skyscraper. May refer to any of the following styles:

• Folk Victorian
• High Victorian Gothic
• Victorian Gothic
• Victorian Romanesque
• Victorian
• Victorian Italianate House Styles (1840-1885)
• Victorian Queen Anne House Styles (1880-1910). Towers, turrets, wrap around porches and other fanciful details.
• Victorian Stick & Eastlake House Styles (1860-1890). Trusses and stickwork suggest medieval building techniques.

Variations

Glossary

• towers
• turrets
• wrap around porches
• trusses
• stickwork

Sources Cited

• Baker, John Milnes. American House Styles: A Concise Guide. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Ltd., 2002.
• Blumenson, John J.G. Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide for Styles and Terms, 1600-1945. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1981.
• McAlester, Virginia. A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture. New York, NY: Knopf, 2015.

Also see Architecture / Style index.