Architectural Styles of the 19th Century American West

Italianate

• The Italianate style was popular in towns and cities in the Midwest and on the West Coast from 1850-1880. Modeled after an Italian villa, the style began in England as part of a backlash against formal styles. The most distinctive features included an asymmetrical floor plan, porches with columns and a square tower on the roof. Architectural features also included flat roof lines, corniced eaves and bay windows. The Italianate style reached the pinnacle of popularity in 1860.

Monterey Colonial

• The Monterey Colonial style became popular in California in the 1830s. This architectural style blended the earlier Spanish/Mexican influences in California with Eastern American designs. Thomas Larkin created the style by building homes with redwood frames and walls made from the adobe mud material used by Mexican immigrants in Mission architecture. Unlike Mission architecture, Monterey Colonial homes had two floors and a center hall plan with rooms on either side, as well as a two-storey veranda.

Log Cabin

• Swedish, Swiss and German immigrants working as fur traders and ranchers in 19th-century American West brought with them the technique of log cabin construction. In addition, the gold rush brought a wave of workers from the East who needed accommodation quickly. As a result, the vertical log construction style, which featured gabled roofs, became popular. In fact, Scottish and Irish immigrants rejected their traditional stone house designs in favor of log-house architecture. The style was also applied in the construction of schools, churches and barns.

Greek Revival

• The Greek Revival, or Territorial, style flourished from 1800-1855. Typical Greek Revival architecture featured low-pitched gable roofs, square or rounded columns and a wide horizontal section above the doorway. The house was symmetrical, had simple lines and the gable end of the home faced the street. The entrance door was surrounded by a rectangular transom and sidelights. This architectural style, which did not have English origins and thus was not associated with colonialism, came to represent the new democracy.