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Typical Period Architectural Features

Post-Medieval English: 1600–1700 • Chimneys are not prominent
• Gable or hipped roof of low pitch
• Steeply pitched roof (usually of wood shingles) with little or no rake • Cornice lines emphasized with wide band of trim (plain or with incised
or eave overhang decoration, representing classical entablature)
• Side-gabled entrance • Porches common, either entry or full-width supported by prominent
• Massive central chimney (in the north), paired chimneys (in the square (vernacular) or rounded columns (typically Doric style)
south), stone-end chimneys (Rhode Island) • Columns typically in Greek orders, many still have Roman details
• Small casement windows with leaded diamond panes (Doric, Ionic or Corinthian), vernacular examples may have no clear
• Second-floor wall overhang, sometimes decorated with brackets classical precedents
or pendants
• Batten doors
• Asymmetrical door and window openings Gothic Revival: 1840–1880

• Common forms are side-gabled with prominent central cross-gable and
Georgian: 1700–1780 asymmetrical L-shaped plan
• Steeply pitched roofs
• Symmetry, centered façade entry with windows aligned horizontally • Gables commonly decorated with bargeboards or vergeboards
and vertically • Open cornices and exposed rafters
• One- or two-story box, two rooms deep • Wall surface extends into gable without break; no eave trim
• Commonly side-gabled and sometimes with a gambrel or hipped roof • Wood-frame “Carpenter Gothic” predominate
• Raised foundation • Vertical board-and-batten siding common
• Paneled front doors, capped with a decorative crown (entablature); • Windows commonly extend into gables, frequently with pointed arches
often supported by decorative pilasters; and with a rectangular transom • Square-topped windows with hood molds common
above (later high-style examples may have fanlight transoms) • Doors with pointed arches or Gothic motifs and decorative crowns;
• Cornice emphasized by decorative moldings, commonly dentils some batten doors
• Double-hung sash windows with small lights (nine or twelve panes) • Broad one-story porches common (entry or full-width) usually
separated by thick wooden muntins supported by flattened Gothic arches
• Five-bay façade (less commonly three or seven) • Chimneys tall and slim, sometimes medieval in character
• Center chimneys are found in examples before 1750; later examples • Looser/irregular floor plans allowed because of advances in framing
have paired chimneys technologies (balloon frame)
• Wood-frame with shingle or clapboard walls (upper windows touch
cornice in most two-story examples)
Italianate: 1840–1885

Federal: 1780–1820 • Two or three stories; typically asymmetrical, two-story L- or
T-shaped plans
• Two-story, rectangular construction • Low-pitched, hipped roof with widely overhanging eaves
• Side gable or low-hipped roofs • Large eave brackets dominate cornice lines arranged singly or in pairs
• Raised foundations • Tall, narrow windows, with 1:1 glazing; commonly arched or
• Semi-circular or elliptical fanlights over front entry curved upper sash
• Elaborate door surrounds with decorative crowns or small entry porches • Paired and triple windows frequent; bay windows common
• Cornice emphasized with decorative molding • Windows frequently embellished with heavy crown molding or
• Double-hung sash windows (six over six) pediments in inverted U-shape
• Sash separated by thin wooden muntins • Smooth exterior finish, often stucco; less commonly clapboard or
• Windows arranged in symmetrical rows, usually five-ranked board and batten siding
• Northern preference for wood frame, clapboard iding; southern • Porches nearly universal, centered, or full-width; small entry porches
examples used brick construction most common
• Louvered shutters • Paired doorways common; large-pane glazing in door itself;
arched doors; elaborate framing decorations

Greek Revival: 1825–1860
Second Empire: 1855–1885
• Heavy entablature and cornices
• Gable-front orientation common in northeast; also gable-front • Mansard (dual-pitched) roof with dormer windows on steep,
and wing subtype lower slope; roof profile can be straight, flared, or curved; colored roof
• Generally symmetrical façade, though entry is often to one side shingles and slate or tin tiles form decorative patterns
• Front door surrounded by narrow sidelights and rectangular transom, • Molded cornices bound lower roof slope above and below
usually incorporated into more elaborate door surround • Decorative brackets beneath eaves
• Windows typically six over six double-hung sash • Beneath roofline decorative details are usually similar to Italianate
• Small frieze-band windows set into wide band trim below cornice • Typically square or L-shaped blocks of between two and four stories
not uncommon • One or two-story bay windows common

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