Evening star., 1903-07-28
A M ERICAN HON E s
TWO CENTURIES OF ARCHITEC
TURE IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Beginnings and Growth, Blunders
and Triumphs-From Logs
to Marble.
From the Boston Transcript.

1t Is often claimed that the United States
has no architectural history and that little
or nothing can be learned by a study of
the architecture of the last two centuries
in America. 1t IS perhaps worth while to
run over the work Of these years and see
if this is not mistaken idea.
The first period of our architectural his
tory was that which saw the development
of the simplest type OF settlers dwelling.
Every house which is an honest expression
of circumstances and surroundings is use
full as an example. The log cabin, built
with the by-product II clearing the land
for cultivation. taught our New England
ancestors the fine craft Of wood working
which still IS found in the skillful handling
of ak displayed by the guides in the back
woods. 1t taught, also, first hand, the art
of dressing and framing timber, which
would undoubtedly have had marked
influence on early architecture here as 1t
had on that of England in the forestry
districts in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. but for the fact that, as soon
as the country became fairly settled, the
classic influence, entirely predominant in
the Old country, took possession here and
modified the frank expression of timber
frame.
The First Period.
The first period Of architecture ter
minated about the middle of the eighteenth
century. Before that the type was an ex-
tremely simple building with no pretense
at being architectural In the sense Of con-
forming to any of those rules which taken
together form style. The little old house
of the Albees at New Castle, N H., is an
excellent example of this simple, quiet,
lowly house. nesting under the great elms,
It's beauty lies in it's restful character, its
mOdeSfN and A similar char
aCter is found in the Fairbanks at Dedham,
and in a number of the early Rhode Island
houses, like the Manton house at Manton.
But this utter simplicity was running
counter to the ever-increasing influence of
English civilization and culture, which was
rapidly taking the places of the simpler
modes of living and methods of thought
of the days of the settlers and pioneers
The houses Of the governors of the states
and of the merchants and of other promi-
nent men were modelled on the houses
which We're common among people of that
class in England. The handling of. wood
had however. become thoroughly In
grained in the American carpenter that
the English types We're modified by and
made to conform to the conditions of wood
construction. The clumsy apboarding of
England which one still sees occasionally,
wide boards. overla pped and tarred. pro-
duced the shaved pine clapboard Neither
tile or slate were available for roofs, and
to replace this the split shingle of spruce
pliie VI CeddI WAS produced Dy the mandy
lumberman. This,w the precursor Of the
modern sawn shingle. The house which
was the outcome Of this second phase was
generally a two-story bulding-the early
one was practically one story and a big
roof-with hfpped gambrel roof The
plan was more regular, and the exterior
showed more study of architectural prece-
dent.
Although the ma ajority Of this later eigh-
teenth century work was executed In wood
there was among the wealthy a consdera-
BILE use of the more durable materials
Brick was imported from England and
Holland for New England, Virginia and
New York magnates. and in Pennsylvania
they used the native stone.
Revolutionary War Period.
This brings to the war Of independ-
ence. which made a considerable break In
our architectural tendencies and traditions;
and yet. not much would have seem
ed likely. considering the momentous
change in position as a people. Before
touching this however let US Just
glance at another phase of architecture
which existed here in the eighteenth CEN
tury, but which had no influence until later
events brought 1t in contact with us: that
is. the work based the late Spanish
Renaissance, which. strongly rooted in
Mexico and the West Indies. had spread
into Texas and southern California.
With the opening years of the nineteenth
century when our people were beginning to
settle down to new conditions architecture
for a time reflected, though somewhat
family. the fashions which succeeded each
other in England and France In the end
of the eighteenth century the Adam broth
ers in England had been influential in
drawing attention to Greek art, and this
tendency reacted on the somewhat coarse
detail which was then in fashion
Gothic Imitation.
This phase of our nincteenth-century ar
chitectural fashions was, however, digni-
fed ard beautiful compared with that
which followed it, senseless unintellgent
attempt to revive Gothic. The revival OF
classic interest had thrown into disrepute
Gothic and all the styles which intervened
between the Roman empire and the Re
naissance. They were claSsed as more
less barbaric, and their true place in his
tory ignored. The reaction from this led
to a study Of medieval days. but until the
days of Violet le Due and Pugin 1t
neither Intelligent nor appreciative. But
1t served to create a somewhat general in
tereSt in the Gothic period. The attempts
at reproducing this in stone were hard
enough-WitnesS Gore Hall at Harvard
but when 1t came to weak limitations In
wood the result was truly awful The
Greek movement and the Gothic movement
came incidents in the architectural his
tory of the last century, rather than
generally adopted styles, and by the time
of the civil war had reached an arch-
tectural hodge e-podge which was little less
than chaos. Architects with little or no
definite training designed for men without
either training or taste.
Riches and Bad Taste.
The growing wealth and Importance
which came to the country ten years after
the civil war were displayed in buildings
the chief features Of which were extrava-
gance and bad taste. The architects
sought after originality at all costs, the
owner sought to display his newly earned
riches. This tendency is not entirely gone
yet. There is now, however, very strong
counter current, for which we may feel
truly thankful Largely this Is due to the
appreciation by the architects themselves
of the importance of their profession and
of the impossbility of engaging in it with
any creditable success without thorough
education and thorough practical training.
Thirty years ago few men studied archi-
lecture in our technical schools, and a still
smaller number, not content with mere
foreign travel availed themselves of the
advantages of the Ecole des Beaux Arts
in Paris. These men were the leaven They
set standard. and since then the require
ments of the profession have been steadily
advancing, and its standards steadily