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Early New England


1640-1780
Colonial
Georgian
1720-1780
For want of a more descriptive
Federal
1790-1825
term, the period from the close of
Greek Revival
1825-1860
the Revolutionary War to the
Gothic Revival
1840-1865
beginning of the Greek Revival
decades, circa 1825, is known as
Italianate
1840-1885
the Federal period. In domestic
French Second
1855-1885
design, rural examples are very
Empire
similar to those built in
Stick Style
1860-1890
pre-revolutionary times, while
Shingle Style
1880-1900
houses built in prosperous cities
Queen Anne
1880-1910
such as Boston, Providence, Salem
Colonial Revival
1880-1955
and Portsmouth where subtlety
Tudor
1890-1940
influenced by designs from
post-revolutionary France. These house plans emphasized large
geometric massing, plain, flat wall surfaces and delicate ornamentation
drawn from Classical sources and confined to door, window and
cornice moldings. Brick, laid in Flemish bond, was the favored building
material, but many frame examples can be found. These houses are
usually of three stories and conceal a nearly flat roof behind a
balustrade set at the eaves. The five bay facades have a centered
entrance above which a Palladian window may be set. Sidelights
usually grace the front door which is crowned with an elliptical
fanlight. Windows are set widely apart and are double hung sashes
with small panes of glass in either a six-over-six or a nine-over-six
configuration. Lintels may be splayed and have a centered keystone
block. Exterior shutters are seen only in rural houses; high style
examples had internal shutters that folded into the interior window
jambs.
Federal 1790-1825

Mailing Address:
POBox 1046,
Douglas, MA
01516
Deliveries:
274 Main Street,
Douglas, MA
01516
Phone:
508-476-7271
Fax:
508-476-7746

The formal high-style Federal


house was nearly cubical with an
almost flat roof. There is a leaded
fanlight over the door. Red brick
with white trim was preferred and
many were built in New
England's prosperous coastal
cities in the first decades of the
nineteenth century. This is the
Loring-Emmerton house of 1818
in Salem, MA.
The design of decorative details was taken from Classical mythology
and depicted on the interior plaster panels and moldings. These designs
came by way of the English brothers Adam and are seen in the blue
and green pastels made popular by Josiah Wedgewood.
This home in Brooklyn, CT is
typical of most Federal homes,
showing an entrance with an
elliptical fanlight and sidelights, a
Palladian window above, and
corner pilasters.

Charles Bullfinch was the best known architect of this period in New
England. While he transformed colonial Boston into the city we
recognize today, Samuel McIntire did the same in the Salem area, and
John Holden Green introduced the new taste to Providence.

4/10/2013 7:38 PM

::Antique Homes Magazine::

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file:///F:/Architecture/Styles/Antique Homes Magazine.htm

Federal architects were influenced


by French fashion. The plain walls
and the oval rooms shown here at
the Gore residence in Waltham,
MA were, in fact, designed by a
French architect.
Rural house designs are usually two story, five bay and end gabled
with a centered entrance. But, evidence of a Federal, rather than
Georgian date of construction include lighter, more delicate moldings,
slender, attenuated Classical columns and pilasters and a centrally
located Palladian window or elliptical fanlight. An attached carriage
house is not uncommon, having elliptical arches over each of several
stalls.

In cities, the Federal house


adapted easily to row house
design. Here, in Fitchburg,
MA, a series of four show the
changes made by separate
owners.

This Cape Cod form was built


around 1810 in Douglas, MA.
It is Federal in style because of
the plain walls, centered
entrance with transom lights
above, and relatively large
windows.

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4/10/2013 7:38 PM

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