Styles and Movements

Federal Architecture

Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical Architecture

Federal architecture is the neoclassical building style current in the United States roughly from the 1780s to the 1830s, taking its name from the newly independent federal republic and drawing heavily on the delicate ornamental vocabulary Robert Adam had developed in Britain, adapted to simpler American construction and budgets. Its houses are typically symmetrical box shaped forms with low pitched roofs, marked by a semicircular or elliptical fanlight window set above the front entrance, slender attached columns or pilasters framing the doorway, and restrained swag and urn motifs rather than the heavier classical detail of the preceding Georgian period. Architects Charles Bulfinch in Boston and Samuel McIntire in Salem, Massachusetts were among the style's most prominent practitioners, and Federal era rowhouses still line historic districts of Boston, Philadelphia and other early American cities. The style also shaped major early public buildings of the new republic, with Federal era design contributing to the original architecture of the United States Capitol and the White House before later remodeling and additions altered their appearance.

Facts

Period

1780 to 1830 1

Origin Region

United States 1

Federal Architecture

129 entries

Building Type

Building Family

Place

Completed Year

Standing Status

Group

Material

Showing 51 to 100 of 129, page 2 of 3.

Connections

Influenced By

Adam Style

American Federal style is directly modeled on the British Adam style.

Georgian Architecture

The post-independence American Federal style is a direct regional development from British Georgian architecture.

Notable Examples

Ebenezer Watts House

Source Ebenezer Watts House (Wikipedia)

Edge Hill (Shadwell, Virginia)

Source Edge Hill (Shadwell, Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Edward Mooney House

Source Edward Mooney House (Wikipedia)

Eleazer Hart House

Source Eleazer Hart House (Wikipedia)

Elephant Hotel

Source National Park Service: National Historic Landmark Nomination: Elephant Hotel

Elisha Camp House

Source Elisha Camp House (Wikipedia)

Elisha Gilbert House

Source Elisha Gilbert House (Wikipedia)

Elisha Williams House

Source Elisha Williams House (Wikipedia)

Elmwood (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)

Source Elmwood (Shepherdstown, West Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana)

Source Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana) (Wikipedia)

Eyre Hall

Source Eyre Hall (Wikipedia)

Fairview Plantation

Source Fairview Plantation (Wikipedia)

Farmer's Delight

Source Farmer's Delight (Wikipedia)

Fort Hill (Burlington, West Virginia)

Source Fort Hill (Burlington, West Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Fotheringay (Elliston, Virginia)

Source Virginia Department of Historic Resources: Fotheringay (Elliston, Virginia) (Virginia Landmarks Register 060-0005)

Fox Hill Plantation

Source Virginia Department of Historic Resources: Fox Hill Plantation (Virginia Landmarks Register 051-0009)

Frascati (Somerset, Virginia)

Source Frascati, Somerset, Virginia (Wikipedia)

Frey House

Source Frey House (Wikipedia)

Gates Homestead

Source Gates Homestead (Wikipedia)

Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins House

Source Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins House (Wikipedia)

Gen. Jacob Brown Mansion

Source Gen. Jacob Brown Mansion (Wikipedia)

George T. Wisner House

Source George T. Wisner House (Wikipedia)

Hampstead (Tunstall, Virginia)

Source Hampstead (Tunstall, Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Hart-Cluett Mansion

Source Hart-Cluett Mansion (Wikipedia)

Hiram Sibley Homestead

Source Hiram Sibley Homestead (Wikipedia)

Hoffman Farm

Source Hoffman Farm (Wikipedia)

Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge

Source Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge (Wikipedia)

Hope Plantation

Source Hope Plantation (Wikipedia)

Howard's Neck Plantation

Source Howard's Neck Plantation (Wikipedia)

Huntley (plantation)

Source Huntley (plantation) (Wikipedia)

J. Sahler House

Source J. Sahler House (Wikipedia)

James W. Marshall House

Source James W. Marshall House (Wikipedia)

Jedediah Higgins House

Source Jedediah Higgins House (Wikidata)

Jedediah Hotchkiss House

Source Jedediah Hotchkiss House (Wikipedia)

Jefferson County Alms House

Source Jefferson County Alms House (Wikipedia)

Jemima Wilkinson House

Source Jemima Wilkinson House (Wikipedia)

John Evert Van Alen House

Source John Evert Van Alen House (Wikipedia)

John Kane House

Source John Kane House (Wikipedia)

John Wolf Kemp House

Source John Wolf Kemp House (Wikipedia)

Joshua Wells House

Source Joshua Wells House (Wikipedia)

Judge Gideon Frisbee House

Source Judge Gideon Frisbee House (Wikipedia)

Latta Place

Source Latta Place (Wikipedia)

Locust Hill (Leesburg, Virginia)

Source Locust Hill (Leesburg, Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Long Branch Plantation

Source Long Branch Plantation (Wikipedia)

Maidstone-on-the-Potomac

Source Maidstone-on-the-Potomac (Wikipedia)

Maizefield

Source Maizefield (Wikipedia)

Manton-Hunt-Farnum Farm

Source Manton-Hunt-Farnum Farm (Wikidata)

Additional Source Manton-Hunt-Farnum Farm (Wikipedia)Lead

Marietta (Glenn Dale, Maryland)

Source Marietta, Glenn Dale, Maryland (Wikipedia)

Marshall's Grove

Source Marshall's Grove (Wikipedia)

Mason-Tillett House

Source Mason-Tillett House (Wikidata)

Showing 51 to 100 of 144 in Notable Examples, page 2 of 3.

In the Other Atlases

Originated In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Federal architecture - Wikipedia

Sources

1. Federal architecture - Wikipedia

Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (region clause)
Federal-style architecture is the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815
Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (start-year clause)
Federal-style architecture is the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815
Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (end-year clause)
Federal-style architecture is the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815
In Group: Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical Styles of North America, Lead paragraph
Federal-style architecture is the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of Andrea Palladio with several innovations on Palladian architecture by