Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several innovations on

Palladian architecture Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

by Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries first for Jefferson's Monticello estate and followed by many examples in government building throughout the United States. An excellent example of this is the White House. This style shares its name with its era, the Federalist Era. The name Federal style is also used in association with

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

design in the United States of the same time period. The style broadly corresponds to the classicism of

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

style in the German-speaking lands, Regency architecture in Britain and to the French Empire style. It may also be termed Adamesque architecture. The White House and Monticello were setting stones for federal architecture. Phila-elfrethsalley

Salem Town Hall in Old Town Hall Historic District

In the early American republic, the founding generation consciously chose to associate the nation with the ancient democracies of Greece and the republican values of Rome. Grecian aspirations informed the Greek Revival, lasting into the 1850s. Using Roman architectural vocabulary, the Federal style applied to the balanced and symmetrical version of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

that had been practiced in the

American colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

' new motifs of neoclassical architecture as it was epitomized in Britain by Robert Adam, who published his designs in 1792.

Characteristics

American Federal architecture typically uses plain surfaces with attenuated detail, usually isolated in panels, tablets, and friezes. It also had a flatter, smoother façade and rarely used

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

. It was most influenced by the interpretation of ancient Roman architecture, fashionable after the unearthing of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

and

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

. The

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

was a common symbol used in this style, with the

ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

a frequent architectural motif. The classicizing manner of constructions and town planning undertaken by the federal government was expressed in federal projects of lighthouses, harbor buildings, and hospitals. It can be seen in the rationalizing, urbanistic layout of L'Enfant Plan of Washington and in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 in New York. The historic eastern part of

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...

in New York, between Broadway and the Bowery, is home to Federal-style row houses at 7 to 13 and 21 to 25

. The classicizing style of Federal architecture can especially be seen in the quintessential New England meeting house, with their lofty and complex towers by architects such as Lavius Fillmore and Asher Benjamin. This American neoclassical high style was the idiom of America's first professional architects, such as Charles Bulfinch and Minard Lafever. Robert Adam and James Adam were leading influences through their books.

Legacy of Federal architecture in Salem, Massachusetts

In Salem, Massachusetts, there are numerous examples of

American colonial architecture American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. T ...

and Federal architecture in two historic districts:

Chestnut Street District The Chestnut Street District is a historic district bounded roughly by Bridge, Lynn, Beckford, and River Streets in Salem, Massachusetts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and enlarged slightly in 1978. The distri ...

, which is part of the

Samuel McIntire Samuel McIntire (January 16, 1757 – February 6, 1811) was an American architect and craftsman, best known for his work in the Chestnut Street District, a classic example of Federal style architecture. Life and career Born in Salem, Massachuset ...

Historic District containing 407 buildings, and the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, consisting of 12 historic structures and about of land along the waterfront.

Architects of the Federal period

* Asher Benjamin * Charles Bulfinch * John Holden Greene * James Hoban * Thomas Jefferson * Minard Lafever * Benjamin Latrobe *

Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American military engineer who designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States) known today as the L'Enfant Plan (1791). Early life an ...

John McComb Jr. John McComb Jr. (1763 – 1853) was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1790 and 1825, McComb was New York city's leading architect. John McComb Jr. was born on October 17, 1763 in New Yo ...

* Robert Mills * Alexander Parris * William Strickland * Martin E. Thompson * William Thornton * Ithiel Town * Ammi B. Young Modern reassessment of the American architecture of the Federal period began with Fiske Kimball.''Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and the Early Republic,'' 1922.

References

External links

Definition of Federal-style architecture

Bibliography for federal style research, photographs of federal houses, federal style pattern book. {{Authority control 18th-century architecture in the United States 19th-century architecture in the United States American architectural styles House styles Federal .

Characteristics

Legacy of Federal architecture in Salem, Massachusetts

Architects of the Federal period

See also

References

Further reading

External links