Colonial architect definition9/17/2023 Their popularity was spurred on by the famed “Levittown” suburbs built on Long Island. Colonial revival homes were increasingly popular in the 1940s and constructed in homage to the original Cape Cod seaside style. I discovered that these quaint cottage-like homes were Cape Cod Revivals. I was probably the only child-dork who was obsessed with finding out the architectural style of Susan’s dream house in Miracle on 34th Street. Decorated in similar plain Puritan styles, with shingled exterior walls, these homes are the epitome of historic seaside style. These charming homes, with their steep rooflines, central chimneys and occasional small upstairs dormer windows, were like “baby” versions of the grander American Colonials. The architectural term “Cape Cod” was coined by the President of Yale in 1800 to describe the houses he saw when he visited Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It is best known for being included in Washington Irving’s, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Irving is also buried in the graveyard behind the church. Built in the 17 th century, this structure, with its stone walls and gambrel bell-shaped roofline, is one of the oldest churches in the United States. One of the more famous historical Dutch Colonial structures is the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. But Dutch Colonials always featured the trademark gambrel roof, flared eaves and (usually) Dutch doors. Some houses were built using brick and stone, and others with wood frame structures. These two-story gabled farmhouses varied by region. The hallmark Dutch Colonial houses of this region were styled with practical European details. This region of the country was known as New Amsterdam. Picture courtesy of CLK Hatcher, via Wikimedia Commons Dutch Colonialsĭutch colonists began settling areas in New Jersey and New York (specifically the Hudson River Valley) around 1630. Their exteriors were painted in earth tones, with paint made from natural plant resources, in shades of white, ochre, reddish brown and muted green. The wealthier colonists would also recreate Georgian architecture (like the Ropes Mansion mentioned above).Īll of these Colonial house styles were simple and utilitarian by today’s standards, with hand-crafted furniture, beautifully sewn quilts and wood beams/trim. The Saltbox Colonial, the more traditional box-shaped homes with sloping roofs and center fireplaces, were also common. The First Period English style homes (as seen above in the photo of the “Witch House” in Salem, MA) were perhaps the most ornamented, with casement windows with diamond-shaped panes. The ornamentation and decoration of these homes were as you would expect, given their Puritan origins. Puritans arrived in New England in 1620, and the earliest houses were sheds and cabins, but over time architecture became defined by first-period English-style homes. But true American Colonial architecture refers to any house built before the American Revolution. These modern-era homes are far larger and fancier than true American Colonial houses. Most of us are familiar with the 1920s to 1940s Colonial Revival architecture movement. Picture Courtesy of Willjay, via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license American Colonials But the credit for my American Colonial love will always go to one Miss Bette Midler and the movie Hocus Pocus. I also enjoyed reading more American Revolution roadside history plaques in New Jersey than I ever would have imagined. I took photos of the quaint stone cottages and churches in Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson River Valley. I journeyed through Vermont and admired the historic farmhouses. My obsession with these homes continued when I moved to the New York area for several years. The Ropes Mansion, built in the 1720s, is a stunning example of Colonial architecture and is considered to be one of the finest historical homes in New England. As it turns out, that home is an actual historic house in Salem, Massachusetts. The minute my then-13-year-old eyes saw it on screen, every window lit with candles, I fell in love. One of the movie’s characters, Allison, lives in a beautiful historic mansion. My love of Pre-Revolutionary architecture began with the camp Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus. But, like a lot of things in my life, pop culture tends to outrank the lofty and highbrow. I’d like to say my fascination with American Colonial architecture began in a lofty highbrow way, like attending an architectural seminar or reading an important historical book.
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