The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture . Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism , the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture with picturesque aesthetics. The resulting style of architecture was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms the past according to his own nature."
60-547: Litchfield Villa , or Grace Hill , is an Italianate mansion built in 1854–1857 on a large private estate now located in Prospect Park , Brooklyn , New York City . It is located on Prospect Park West at 5th Street. The villa was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis , America's leading architect of the fashionable Italianate style , for railroad and real estate developer Edwin Clark Litchfield. The structure
120-534: A Pueblo (village) into a Victorian Downtown – now almost entirely demolished but with residential remnants in its Angelino Heights and Westlake neighborhoods. San Francisco is particularly well known for its extensive Victorian architecture, especially in the Haight-Ashbury , Lower Haight , Alamo Square , Western Addition , Mission , Duboce Triangle , Noe Valley , Castro , Nob Hill , and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. The extent to which any one
180-462: A balustraded parapet . The principal block is flanked by two lower asymmetrical secondary wings that contribute picturesque massing, best appreciated from an angled view. The larger of these is divided from the principal block by the belvedere tower. The smaller, the ballroom block, is entered through a columned porte-cochère designed as a single storey prostyle portico . Many examples of this style are evident around Sydney and Melbourne, notably
240-558: A gold rush and population boom during the 1880s in the states of New South Wales and Victoria . There were fifteen styles that predominated: The Arts and Crafts style and Queen Anne style are considered to be part of the Federation Period, from 1890 to 1915. Western influence in architecture was strong when Hong Kong was a British colony . Victorian architecture in Hong Kong: Georgian architecture
300-490: A cost of $ 150,000 ($ 5.09 million in 2023). It predates the construction of Prospect Park, which opened in 1867. The original plans for the park called for it to be built around Litchfield Villa, since Litchfield was loath to sell his property. The New York City Parks Commission ultimately acquired the Litchfield plot in 1868 for $ 1.7 million ($ 389 million in 2023), representing 42% of the overall land expenditure for
360-540: A loose style of an Italian village. It is now owned by a charitable trust. Williams-Ellis incorporated fragments of demolished buildings, including works by a number of other architects. Portmeirion's architectural bricolage and deliberately fanciful nostalgia have been noted as an influence on the development of postmodernism in architecture in the late 20th century. The Italianate revival was comparatively less prevalent in Scottish architecture , examples include some of
420-473: A meaningful way. Some styles, while not uniquely Victorian, are strongly associated with the 19th century owing to the large number of examples that were erected during that period: During the 18th century, a few English architects emigrated to the colonies, but as the British Empire became firmly established during the 19th century, many architects emigrated at the start of their careers. Some chose
480-478: A modest spate of Italianate villas, and French chateaux" by 1855 the most favoured style of an English country house was Gothic, Tudor, or Elizabethan. The Italianate style came to the small town of Newton Abbot and the village of Starcross in Devon, with Isambard Brunel's atmospheric railway pumping houses. The style was later used by Humphrey Abberley and Joseph Rowell, who designed a large number of houses, with
540-721: A number of Italianate lighthouses and associated structures, chief among them being the Grosse Point Light in Evanston, Illinois . The Italianate style was immensely popular in Australia as a domestic style influencing the rapidly expanding suburbs of the 1870–1880s and providing rows of neat villas with low-pitched roofs, bay windows , tall windows and classical cornices. The architect William Wardell designed Government House in Melbourne —the official residence of
600-707: Is an example of this further evolution of the style. As in Australia, the use of Italianate for public service offices took hold but using local materials like timber to create the illusion of stone. At the time it was built in 1856, the official residence of the Colonial Governor in Auckland was criticized for the dishonesty of making wood look like stone. The 1875 Old Government Buildings, Wellington are entirely constructed with local kauri timber, which has excellent properties for construction. ( Auckland developed later and preferred Gothic detailing.) As in
660-602: Is considered to be Davis' greatest Italianate villa, and is currently the Brooklyn borough headquarters of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation . Davis also designed a coach house, greenhouse, and chicken house for the property, none of which is extant. Davis created blueprints in several different styles, including the Gothic Revival and Italianate styles, before eventually selecting
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#1732783209984720-536: Is more prominent in Ireland than Victorian architecture. The cities of Dublin, Limerick, and Cork are famously dominated by Georgian squares and terraces . Though Victorian architecture flourished in certain quarters. Particularly around Dublin's Wicklow Street and Upper Baggot Street and in the suburbs of Phibsboro , Glasnevin , Rathmines , Ranelagh , Rathgar , Rathfarnham , and Terenure . The colourful Italianate buildings of Cobh are excellent examples of
780-537: Is the "largest surviving example" is debated, with numerous qualifications. The Distillery District in Toronto, Ontario contains the largest and best-preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. Cabbagetown is the largest and most continuous Victorian residential area in North America. Other Toronto Victorian neighbourhoods include The Annex , Parkdale , and Rosedale . In
840-765: Is the birthplace of the writer Katherine Mansfield . Victorian Architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era , during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign, roughly from 1850 and later. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles (see Historicism ) . The name represents
900-570: The British Empire . During the early 19th century, the romantic medieval Gothic Revival style was developed as a reaction to the symmetry of Palladianism , and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. By the middle of the 19th century, as a result of new technology , construction was able to incorporate metal materials as building components. Structures were erected with cast iron and wrought iron frames. However, due to being weak in tension, these materials were effectively phased out in place for more structurally sound steel . One of
960-1176: The David Sasoon Library are some examples of Victorian Architecture in Mumbai. In Kolkata (Formerly called Calcutta) buildings like the Victoria Memorial , Calcutta High Court , St Paul's Cathedral , The Asiatic Society of Bengal are some examples of Victorian Architecture in Kolkata. In Chennai (Formerly called Madras) some examples include Madras High court , State Bank of Madras and St. Mary's Church . Many churches and colleges such as Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Kochi , University College Trivandrum , Government College of Fine Arts Trivandrum , Napier Museum , State Central Library of Kerala , Government Victoria College Palakkad , CMS College Kottayam and SB College Changanasserry are some of finest examples of Victorian architecture in Kerala. Efforts to preserve landmarks of Victorian architecture are ongoing and are often led by
1020-944: The Lazio and the Veneto or as he put it: "...the charming character of the irregular villas of Italy." His most defining work in this style was the large Neo-Renaissance mansion Cliveden , while the Reform Club 1837–41 in Pall Mall represents a convincingly authentic pastiche of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, albeit in a 'Grecian' Ionic order in place of Michelangelo 's original Corinthian order . Although it has been claimed that one-third of early Victorian country houses in England used classical styles, mostly Italianate, by 1855
1080-696: The Medici . Upon his return to Lebanon in 1618, he began modernising Lebanon. He developed a silk industry, upgraded olive oil production, and brought with him numerous Italian engineers who began building mansions and civil buildings throughout the country. The cities of Beirut and Sidon were especially built in the Italianate style. The influence of these buildings, such as those in Deir el Qamar , influenced building in Lebanon for many centuries and continues to
1140-560: The Old Treasury Building (1858), Leichhardt Town Hall (1888), Glebe Town Hall (1879) and the fine range of state and federal government offices facing the gardens in Treasury Place. No.2 Treasury Gardens (1874). This dignified, but not overly exuberant style for civil service offices contrasted with the grand and more formal statements of the classical styles used for Parliament buildings . The acceptance of
1200-527: The architecture of Aberdeen . While Scottish architects pioneered this style it soon spread right across the United Kingdom and remained popular for another forty years. Its architectural value in preserving and reinventing the past is significant. Its influences were diverse but the Scottish architects who practiced it were inspired by unique ways to blend architecture, purpose, and everyday life in
1260-467: The governor of Victoria —as an example of his "newly discovered love for Italianate, Palladian and Venetian architecture ." Cream-colored, with many Palladian features, it would not be out of place among the unified streets and squares in Thomas Cubitt's Belgravia , London, except for its machicolated signorial tower that Wardell crowned with a belvedere . The hipped roof is concealed by
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#17327832099841320-523: The British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture . Although Victoria did not reign over the United States, the term is often used for American styles and buildings from the same period, as well as those from
1380-544: The Civil War. Its popularity was due to being suitable for many different building materials and budgets, as well as the development of cast-iron and press-metal technology making the production more efficient of decorative elements such as brackets and cornices. However, the style was superseded in popularity in the late 1870s by the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. The popularity of Italianate architecture in
1440-416: The Italianate blueprint. The villa is located on raised ground behind a short stone retaining wall . The facade is made of brick that is painted to mimic stone. The front of the villa, facing west, contains a square four-story-high tower attached to an octagonal three-story pavilion. The first and third floors of the octagon contain curved bay windows with balconies. On the first floor, there are porches on
1500-502: The Italianate style as defined by Sir Charles Barry into many of his London terraces. Cubitt designed Osborne House under the direction of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , and it is Cubitt's reworking of his two-dimensional street architecture into this freestanding mansion which was to be the inspiration for countless Italianate villas throughout the British Empire. Following the completion of Osborne House in 1851,
1560-646: The Italianate style for government offices was sustained well into the 20th century when, in 1912, John Smith Murdoch designed the Commonwealth Office Buildings as a sympathetic addition to this precinct to form a stylistically unified terrace overlooking the gardens. The Italianate style of architecture continued to be built in outposts of the British Empire long after it had ceased to be fashionable in Britain itself. The Albury railway station in regional New South Wales , completed in 1881,
1620-564: The Italianate style was his 1805 design of Sandridge Park at Stoke Gabriel in Devon . Commissioned by the dowager Lady Ashburton as a country retreat, this small country house clearly shows the transition between the picturesque of William Gilpin and Nash's yet to be fully evolved Italianism. While this house can still be described as Regency , its informal asymmetrical plan together with its loggias and balconies of both stone and wrought iron; tower and low pitched roof clearly are very similar to
1680-776: The Italianate style, such as the James Lick Mansion , John Muir Mansion , and Bidwell Mansion , before later Stick-Eastlake and Queen Anne styles superseded. Many, nicknamed Painted Ladies , remain and are celebrated in San Francisco . A late example in masonry is the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Angeles . Additionally, the United States Lighthouse Board , through the work of Colonel Orlando M. Poe , produced
1740-732: The US, the South End of Boston is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest and largest Victorian neighborhood in the country. Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky , also claims to be the nation's largest Victorian neighborhood. Richmond, Virginia is home to several large Victorian neighborhoods, the most prominent being The Fan . The Fan district is best known locally as Richmond's largest and most 'European' of Richmond's neighborhoods and nationally as
1800-647: The United States, and is an example of an intact 19th-century urban neighborhood. According to National Register of Historic Places, Cape May Historic District has one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States. The photo album L'Architecture Americaine by Albert Levy published in 1886 is perhaps the first recognition in Europe of the new forces emerging in North American architecture. Canada's chief dominion architects designed numerous federal buildings over
1860-543: The United States, 'Victorian' architecture generally describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900. A list of these styles most commonly includes Second Empire (1855–85), Stick-Eastlake (1860– c. 1890 ), Folk Victorian (1870–1910), Queen Anne (1880–1910), Richardsonian Romanesque (1880–1900), and Shingle (1880–1900). As in the United Kingdom, examples of Gothic Revival and Italianate continued to be constructed during this period and are therefore sometimes called Victorian. Some historians classify
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1920-498: The United States, and others went to Canada, Australia , New Zealand, and South Africa. Normally, they applied architectural styles that were fashionable when they left England. By the latter half of the century, however, improving transport and communications meant that even remote parts of the Empire had access to publications such as the magazine The Builder , which helped colonial architects keep informed about current fashion. Thus,
1980-729: The United States, the timber construction common in New Zealand allowed this popular style to be rendered in domestic buildings, such as Antrim House in Wellington, and Westoe Farm House in Rangitikei (1874), as well as rendered brick at "The Pah" in Auckland (1880). On a more domestic scale, the suburbs of cities like Dunedin and Wellington spread out with modest but handsome suburban villas with Italianate details, such as low-pitched roofs, tall windows, corner quoins , and stone detailing, all rendered in wood. A good example
2040-464: The architect Alexander Thomson who practised in Glasgow was a pioneer of the use of cast iron and steel for commercial buildings, blending neo-classical conventionality with Egyptian and Oriental themes to produce many truly original structures. Other notable Scottish architects of this period are Archibald Simpson and Alexander Marshall Mackenzie , whose stylistically varied work can be seen in
2100-602: The buildings of the Italian Renaissance , though sometimes at odds with Nash's semi-rustic Italianate villas. The style was employed in varying forms abroad long after its decline in popularity in Britain. For example, from the late 1840s to 1890, it achieved huge popularity in the United States , where it was promoted by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis . Key visual components of this style include: A late intimation of John Nash 's development of
2160-713: The case in Italy, and utilises more obviously the Italian Renaissance motifs than those earlier examples of the Italianate style by Nash. Sir Charles Barry , most notable for his works on the Tudor and Gothic styles at the Houses of Parliament in London, was a great promoter of the style. Unlike Nash, he found his inspiration in Italy itself. Barry drew heavily on the designs of the original Renaissance villas of Rome ,
2220-503: The construction of Cronkhill in Shropshire . This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian eras. The Italianate style was further developed and popularised by the architect Sir Charles Barry in the 1830s. Barry's Italianate style (occasionally termed "Barryesque") drew heavily for its motifs on
2280-858: The course of the Victorian era. Thomas Fuller's completion of the Canadian Parliament Buildings in 1866, in particular, established a High Victorian Gothic influence over Canadian architectural design for several consecutive decades, producing many public buildings, churches, residences, industrial buildings, and hotels. Because India was a colony of Britain, Victorian Architecture is prevalent in India, especially in cities like Mumbai , Kolkata, Kerala and Chennai. In Mumbai (Formerly called Bombay) buildings like Municipal Corporation Building , Bombay University , Bombay High Court , Asiatic Society of Mumbai Building (Former Town Hall) and
2340-578: The early work of Alexander Thomson ("Greek" Thomson) and buildings such as the west side of George Square . The Italian, specifically Tuscan, influence on architecture in Lebanon dates back to the Renaissance when Fakhreddine , the first Lebanese ruler who truly unified Mount Lebanon with its Mediterranean coast, executed an ambitious plan to develop his country. When the Ottomans exiled Fakhreddine to Tuscany in 1613, he entered an alliance with
2400-2190: The elements of several different styles and are not easily distinguishable as one particular style or another. Notable Victorian-inspired cities during this era include, Astoria in Oregon ; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania ; Washington, D.C. ; Boston in Massachusetts ; Alameda , Eureka , San Francisco , and Midtown Sacramento in California ; The Brooklyn Heights and Victorian Flatbush sections of New York City , Garden City on Long Island , and Albany , Troy , Buffalo , and Rochester in Upstate New York ; Asbury Park / Ocean Grove , Cape May , Deal , Flemington , Freehold , Hackettstown , Jersey City / Hoboken , Metuchen , Montclair , Ridgewood , Plainfield , Summit , and Westfield in New Jersey ; Chicago , Galena , and Winnetka in Illinois ; Detroit and Grand Rapids in Michigan ; Cincinnati and Columbus in Ohio ; Galveston in Texas ; Baltimore in Maryland ; Louisville in Kentucky ; Atlanta in Georgia ; Milwaukee in Wisconsin ; New Orleans in Louisiana ; Richmond in Virginia ; St. Louis in Missouri ; and Saint Paul in Minnesota . Los Angeles grew from
2460-415: The first floor is located past the staircase. Past the rotunda and the drawing room there is a reception room that is also shaped like an octagon, and behind that is a dining room. The first floor also contains a circular library, a map room inside the western turret, and chambers for Edwin Clark Litchfield's wife Grace Hill Hubbard, who was reportedly partially disabled. The second floor has balconies around
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2520-438: The fully Italianate design of Cronkhill , the house generally considered to be the first example of the Italianate style in Britain. Later examples of the Italianate style in England tend to take the form of Palladian -style building often enhanced by a belvedere tower complete with Renaissance -type balustrading at the roof level. This is generally a more stylistic interpretation of what architects and patrons imagined to be
2580-498: The greatest exponents of iron frame construction was Joseph Paxton , architect of the Crystal Palace . Paxton also continued to build such houses as Mentmore Towers , in the still popular English Renaissance styles. New methods of construction were developed in this era of prosperity, but ironically the architectural styles, as developed by such architects as Augustus Pugin , were typically retrospective. In Scotland ,
2640-413: The ground, or even flat roofs with a wide projection. A tower is often incorporated hinting at the Italian belvedere or even campanile tower. Motifs drawn from the Italianate style were incorporated into the commercial builders' repertoire and appear in Victorian architecture dating from the mid-to-late 19th century. This architectural style became more popular than Greek Revival by the beginning of
2700-399: The influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent architects produced English-derived designs around the world, including William Butterfield ( St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide ) and Jacob Wrey Mould (Chief Architect of Public Works in New York City ). The Victorian period flourished in Australia and is generally recognised as being from 1840 to 1890, which saw
2760-463: The largest contiguous Victorian neighborhood in the United States. The Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio is recognized as the largest collection of late Victorian and Edwardian homes in the United States, east of the Mississippi . Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota , has the longest line of Victorian homes in the country. Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio , has the largest collection of early Victorian Italianate architecture in
2820-511: The later years of Gothic Revival as a distinctive Victorian style named High Victorian Gothic. Stick-Eastlake , a manner of geometric, machine-cut decorating derived from Stick and Queen Anne, is sometimes considered a distinct style. On the other hand, terms such as " Painted Ladies " or " gingerbread " may be used to describe certain Victorian buildings, but do not constitute a specific style. The names of architectural styles (as well as their adaptations) varied between countries. Many homes combined
2880-494: The new railway station as the focal point, for Lord Courtenay, who saw the potential of the railway age. An example that is not very well known, but a clear example of Italianate architecture, is St. Christopher's Anglican church in Hinchley Wood , Surrey, particularly given the design of its bell tower . Portmeirion in Gwynedd , North Wales, is an architectural fantasy designed in a southern Italian Baroque style and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in
2940-409: The north and south sides of the villa, covered by canopies that are supported by columns of the classical order . A pair of cylindrical turrets adorn the north side of the building. On the first floor inside the octagon, there is a rotunda that is lit by a skylight. A double staircase branches off the south end of the rotunda, rising to the second-floor, and an elaborately decorated drawing room on
3000-455: The park, even though the plot constituted just over five percent of the park's acreage. The Litchfields leased the property from the city until 1882, and the following year, the Brooklyn Park Commission started using the house as its headquarters. Subsequently, Frank J. Helmle designed an annex at the back in 1911–1913. The villa was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. After years of neglect, an extensive renovation
3060-423: The present time. For example, streets like Rue Gouraud continue to have numerous, historic houses with Italianate influence. The Italianate style was popularized in the United States by Alexander Jackson Davis in the 1840s as an alternative to Gothic or Greek Revival styles. Davis' design for Blandwood is the oldest surviving example of Italianate architecture in the United States, constructed in 1844 as
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#17327832099843120-428: The preservation of this impressive collection, with large-scale renovation efforts beginning to repair urban blight. Cincinnati's neighbouring cities of Newport and Covington, Kentucky also contain an impressive collection of Italianate architecture. The Garden District of New Orleans features examples of the Italianate style, including: In California, the earliest Victorian residences were wooden versions of
3180-439: The regional Victorian style in Ireland. Further examples of Victorian architecture in the country include Dublin's George's Street Arcade , the Royal City of Dublin Hospital on Baggot Street and the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital on Adelaide Road. During the British colonial period of British Ceylon: Sri Lanka Law College , Sri Lanka College of Technology , Galle Face Hotel and the Royal College Main Building. In
3240-407: The residence of North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead . It is an early example of Italianate architecture, closer in ethos to the Italianate works of Nash than the more Renaissance-inspired designs of Barry. Davis' 1854 Litchfield Villa in Prospect Park, Brooklyn is an example of the style. It was initially referred to as the "Italian Villa" or "Tuscan Villa" style. Richard Upjohn used
3300-407: The rotunda. A chamber above the first floor dining room contains a skylight and a ticket room. There are also servants' quarters on the villa's north end. On the third floor, there are a chapel and a billiard room, and on the fourth floor, there is a roof terrace. There was a kitchen and storage rooms in the basement. Litchfield purchased the land in 1852, and the structure was built in 1854–1857 at
3360-419: The style became a popular choice of design for the small mansions built by the new and wealthy industrialists of the era. These were mostly built in cities surrounded by large but not extensive gardens, often laid out in a terrace Tuscan style as well. On occasions very similar, if not identical, designs to these Italianate villas would be topped by mansard roofs , and then termed chateauesque . However, "after
3420-510: The style extensively, beginning in 1845 with the Edward King House . Other leading practitioners of the style were John Notman and Henry Austin . Notman designed "Riverside" in 1837, the first "Italian Villa" style house in Burlington, New Jersey (now destroyed). Italianate was reinterpreted to become an indigenous style. It is distinctive by its pronounced exaggeration of many Italian Renaissance characteristics: emphatic eaves supported by corbels , low-pitched roofs barely discernible from
3480-424: The style was falling from favour and Cliveden came to be regarded as "a declining essay in a declining fashion." Anthony Salvin occasionally designed in the Italianate style, especially in Wales, at Hafod House, Carmarthenshire, and Penoyre House , Powys, described by Mark Girouard as "Salvin's most ambitious classical house." Thomas Cubitt , a London building contractor, incorporated simple classical lines of
3540-481: The time period following 1845 can be seen in Cincinnati, Ohio , the United States' first boomtown west of the Appalachian Mountains . This city, which grew along with the traffic on the Ohio River , features arguably the largest single collection of Italianate buildings in the United States in its Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood, built primarily by German-American immigrants that lived in the densely populated area. In recent years, increased attention has been called to
3600-405: Was funded by an anonymous descendant of the Litchfield family. The renovation, under the direction of architect Ralph Carmosino, was completed in 2008. The original stucco was removed from the house, and many of the interior details, including the elaborately painted ceiling murals, were lost. Italianate The Italianate style was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash , with
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