FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE

COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

BRIEF HISTORY
• is the name for the • American revival of Roman
classicizing architecture built architecture, especially
in the newly founded United associated with Thomas
States between c. 1780 and Jefferson and Benjamin
1830, and particularly from
1785 to 1815. This style Latrobe. It flourished from
shares its name with its era, 1785 to 1820 and later in
the Federalist Era. The name governmental building. The
Federal style is also used in Federal style had definite
association with furniture philosophical ties to the
design in the United States concept of Rome as the
of the same time period. republic that the new
American country thought it
reflected.
FAMOUS EXAMPLE

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MASSACHUSSETTES

STATE CAPITOL
 DAVENPORT HOUSE

ELFRETH ALLEY
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. It was most influenced
by the interpretation of ancient Roman
architecture, fashionable after the
unearthing of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The
bald eagle was a common symbol used in this
style, with the ellipse a frequent
architectural motif.
 PLANS
• Federal style house plans
present a formal, rigorously
balanced face to the street.
Rooflines can be peaked with
little overhang, although larger
versions sometimes feature a
flat roof flanked by a
decorative balustrade.

• Interior design mirrors the

home's exterior symmetry, with
large open rooms well-lit by
numerous windows.
• two or three stories high
and two rooms deep. Some
structures have been made
larger, modified with
projecting wings or
attached dependencies, or
even both. In some
instances, one finds an
elaborate curved or
polygonal floor plan such as
with the Octagon House in
Washington DC (1799)
located at 18th Street
and New York Avenue NW.
ROOFS
• Hip roofs capped by a
balustrade and simple gable
shapes (such as those on
numerous Federal town houses
in Washington, D.C.) and even
roofs with a center gable
crowned by a front façade
pediment, are among the most
popular Federal roof styles.
The Friendship House, located
on South Carolina Avenue SE on
Capitol Hill (c. 1795), is an
example of the front façade
pediment.
• Dormers often pierce the roof
to bring light and space into an
attic. The Carberry House
(1803) at 421½ Sixth Street
S.E. in the Capitol Hill area of
Washington, D.C. is a
particularly good example.
COLUMNS
• Tall, slender columns or
pilasters frame the •WALLS
entrance.
The homes are often made
of brick.
 OPENING
• Like Georgian architecture, Federal
houses, both wood-framed and
brick, are flat, with symmetrically
hung six over six window courses.
They have simple masonry lintels and
door surrounds. The more expensive
homes have fancier entryways,
utilizing classical Roman columns and
pediments.
• Windows. An elliptical fanlight, or
fan-shaped window, tops the door,
with long, rectangular windows on
either side. For a final touch, a
Palladian window is placed directly
over the door for a symmetrical
look. All other windows are
symmetrically aligned as well.
• Known for dramatic windows, three-
part or Palladian windows with curved
arches.
• doorway’s surround might also include
ornate molding or a small entry porch.
MOULDINGS
• Mouldings are typically
composed using the Ogee,
Fillet, Ovolo, Bead, and
Quirk, and ithe molding
profiles of Classical
Architecture. Its
decorations and mouldings
are less ornamental than
Georgian but still typically
include fine details.
• Federal Style Mouldings are
typically painted, while the
doors are typically stained
and often engineered with
exotic tropical hardwood
veneers. Frequently, doors
might be painted with faux
bois or wood grained, when
the more expensive and
authentic product was not
available or affordable.
ARCHITECTS
• Thomas Jefferson, third US President,
Governor of Virgina and author of the
Declaration of Independence, was one of the
best American architects of the late-18th and
early-19th century. A well-educated man,
familiar with Greek art, he was introduced to
Neoclassical architecture during his tenure as
an Ambassador to France.
• Involved in the design and construction of the
US Capitol Building, when President (1801-9),
as well as urban planning in Washington DC.
His own architectural designs included those
for his own residence Monticello House (1768-
1809), the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond
(1788), and the Rotunda at the University of
Virgina, Charlottesville (1822-6).
• Today, Jefferson is
regarded as a key
contributor to late-18th
century architecture and
an important figure in
American Art during the
early days of the Republic.
• Benjamin Latrobe is one of the
most influential American
architects of the early 19th
century, the British-born
Benjamin Latrobe is famous for
his work on the United States
Capitol in Washington DC -
when he reworked the original
design by William Thornton
(1759-1828), after the fire of
1814.
• He is also well known for his
masterpiece of neoclassical
architecture, the Baltimore
Basilica (1806-21), America's
first Roman Catholic Cathedral.
• An important figure in 19th
century architecture,
Latrobe is today regarded
as America's first
professional architect,
involved in a wide range of
architectural projects,
including landscaping, town
planning, sewage works and
prisons, as well as high-
profile works of public art
like the US Capitol
• One of the earliest American
architects, William Thornton
achieved early fame for his
design of the US Capitol
Building in Washington DC, in
the style of neoclassical
architecture. He was also
active in domestic
architecture, being
responsible for the John
Tayloe town house, known as
The Octagon (1799-1802)
and Thomas Peter's villa,
Tudor Place (1808-16).
• Thornton also served as the
first Architect of the Capitol
and Superintendent of the
United States Patent Office. A
serious and sophisticated, if,
strictly speaking, amateur
artist, Thornton is significant
for his experimentation with
classicism and his efforts to
express the meaning of the new
American political order in the
language of late-18th century
architecture
 ADAM BROTHERS
• The British architects Robert
(1728-1792) and James
(1730-1794) Adam were the
leading practitioners of the
neoclassic style in the late
18th century. Their graceful,
elegant work is based chiefly
on ancient Roman and
Renaissance motifs.They were
the second and third sons of
William Adam (1689-1748), a
prominent Scottish architect.