Renaissance Revival architecture

Renaissance Revival, or Neo-Renaissance, is a group of nineteenth century architectural revival styles that drew on Renaissance precedent rather than the Greek or Gothic Revival traditions more common elsewhere in the period. The style emerged around 1840 and had largely declined by 1890, though examples continued to be built into the early twentieth century, and its architects freely combined Italian, French and Flemish Renaissance sources with Mannerist and Baroque elements they considered a continuous tradition. Characteristic features include rusticated masonry and quoins, windows framed by architraves, doors crowned by pediments and entablatures, strong horizontal cornice lines, grand staircases modeled on French chateaux and small square upper floor windows marking mezzanine levels. Because nineteenth century architects applied their own stylistic labels loosely and often blended Renaissance forms with Gothic Revival or Baroque features, the boundary between Neo-Renaissance and its related revival styles is often difficult to draw precisely.