American Colonial Revival Architecture
American Colonial Revival Architecture was a movement that brought back the colonial style of architecture that dominated the American society for many years.
It brought back elements of the colonial arts and adopted them to the current living style in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. After the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, Americans became connected with their colonial past and wanted a way to create an updated style of that living.
Americans were able to visit colonial places that were still around and could finally appreciate the previous style of American culture.The architecture that was dominant in American society came from its British ancestor that brought their style of living to American when the country was first established.
This style of architecture is sometimes known as Neo-Georgian because of its resemblance to the Georgian and federal styles that dominated the country in previous years. This revival in Colonial Architecture is known as the historic revival of American culture and living throughout thecountry.
A place where the colonial style of living is featured is in Williamsburg, Virginia. This old colonial town still to this day has American Colonial Architecture that is visited by many Americans to get a sense of the style of living when the country was first established. During this time that American Colonial Architecture was revived, many of those who wanted to learn of this style went to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Characteristics
The characteristics of this style of architecture come from the style that dominated the American society during the time of the Revolutionary War. The structures are usually no more than two stories and more horizontally structured.
They are usually built from wood, brick or stone, the common materials used to build structures during the Colonial era. The accented door ways are featured with evenly spaced windows on each side. The doorways are commonly under an overhead addition to the house that is held by large, solid beams.
When entering the homes, the doorways are usually located at the center of the structure. The comfort of the modern style homes are represented by side porches additions to homes. The bottom floors of the homes are usually used for the entertainment rooms such as the family room and dining room.
[ American Colonial Revival with a porch - Roosevelty Historic District ]
The upper levels of the Colonial style homes contain the bedrooms. To recapture the modern style with in the homes, antique furnishings are included on the interior.
There are several neighborhoods in Historic Phoenix that represent this style of colonial revival. Wonderful examples can be seen in districts like Encanto-Palmcroft, Los Olivos and even Windsor Square has an example.
Learn about the other popluar architectural styles in Phoenix.
