Architectural Eclecticism

Architectural eclecticism was a nineteenth and early twentieth century approach in which architects combined elements drawn from more than one historical period into a single, deliberately original design, rather than reproducing one historical style faithfully. Structural features, ornament and cultural motifs were chosen for how well they suited a given building and its setting, so that, unlike straightforward revival architecture, the driving purpose was invention rather than nostalgia for a particular past. The approach flourished first in Europe, through the Beaux-Arts tradition in France, Victorian eclecticism in England and the Grunderzeit style in Germany, reached its widest popularity in North America between roughly 1883 and 1926, and spread further through colonial contact before going into decline as modernist movements gained ground in the 1930s. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/