Queen Anne

Queen Anne architecture came into fashion in the United States during the 1880s. The architectural design was made capable by the Industrial Revolution and an advance in technology. The style is meant to be romantic, fanciful, and occasionally a little flamboyant. The "painted ladies" of San Francisco and the brownstones of Brooklyn are all of the same style, though it is difficult to recognize if you can not look past the vibrant "paint ladies" colors.

Features

 * Steep roof
 * Complicated, asymmetrical shape
 * Front-facing gable
 * One-story porch that extends across one or two sides of the house
 * Round or square towers
 * Wall surfaces textured with decorative shingles, patterned masonry, or half-timbering
 * Ornamental spindles and brackets
 * Bay windows

History
The Queen Anne style can mean several things. In Britain, Queen Anne refers to the Baroque style of architecture that was developed during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) or a style that appeard in the late 19th century that had many of the same characteristics of the classic Queen Anne architecture. In the United States, the Queen Anne style became popular in the late 19th century. While its popularity was questionable throughout the early 1900s, things like the wrap around porch and the front-facing gable would be seen on houses for years to come.

Three distinct variations of the Queen Anne emerged early on. The first of these styles was the "stick" style. The stick style was a type of balloon framing in houses. Traditional ornate features were to be left off of this style while building. Things such as large towers and gingerbread (trim) were thrown to the wasteside in an attempt to maximize picturesque value.

The second variation of the Queen Anne was the "Eastlake" style. Charles Eastlake (of which the style is named) was a well known furniture maker at the time, and the houses were meant to reflect his personal taste in carpentry and design. Eastlake houses were riddled with complex patterns (made by machines). The patterns were to be placed in a repetitive mannor, places like the inside plates of hinges. Though Charles Eastlake desired a simplistic design approach, most things that are catagorized under his name are anything but.

The third and final style that was born from the Queen Anne style was the "shingle" style. With the rise of the first New England school of architecture, the shingle style was born. With a renewed interest in the Colonial Style America, architects found a greater demand for something of a colonial style house. These colonial styled houses brought back shingled surfaces as well as their massing. Some homeowners yearned for an antiqued, weathered look. In order to make the consumer happy, some architects dipped the cedar shakes into buttermilk, let them dry, and then installed them. This treatment left the facade of the house with a grayish tinge to it.

Architects
Notable architects associated with this style include:
 * Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom