Victorian Architecture
The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era — the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. Many styles and trends overlapped each other during this time, therefore buildings constructed during the Victorian era usually have characteristics of one or more these styles: Gothic Revival, Folk Victorian, Victorian Italianate, Second Empire or Mansard, Victorian Queen Anne, Victorian Stick, Richardsonian Romanesque and Shingle Style.
The most popular Victorian styles spread quickly through widely published pattern books. Builders often borrowed characteristics from several different styles, creating unique, and sometimes quirky mixes with elaborate ornamentation.
Victorious Cape May
Picturesque Cape May holds the distinction of being the oldest seashore resort in the United States and one of the most unique.
Housing Diversity in Squirrel Hill – Key to a Successful Neighborhood
I recently had the pleasure of spending a little more than a week in the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill on the east end of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Squirrel Hill is a large residential neighborhood that had it’s early beginnings with a few country homes in the mid 18th century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a large boom [...]
Urban Doorways in San Francisco
Doorways are everywhere in and around the Mission District of San Francisco — every block is surrounded by a multitude of doorways! Just like the Bay Window, the doorway is a dominant visual and structural urban element of San Francisco’s row house and Victorian architecture. Not only is it a uniquely identifiable feature of the city – as the threshold between building [...]
San Francisco Bay Window
The “Bay Window” is perhaps one of the most identifiable architectural features of the City of San Francisco. It is a visual and structural element permeating throughout the city that seems almost like a mandatory architectural feature which every building incorporates into its design. Over time, the Bay Window has become synonymous with San Francisco — a distinguishing [...]
Mission to Noe Valley
I will be in San Francisco for a few weeks — enjoying what many consider to be the most walkable city in the United States. An urban environment that never disappoints, San Francisco is a marvelous case study in livable and walkable streets. For those that love cities, San Francisco is an urban jewel in what I sometimes call [...]
