Victorian architecture

Victorian architecture is architectural style during the middle and late 19th century. The name "Victorian" refers to the reign of Queen Victoria, 20 June 1837 22 January 1901, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles mixed with the introduction of middle east and Asian influences. The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it follows Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.

St. Pancras railway station and Midland Hotel in London, opened in 1868, is an example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture with Ruskinian influences. The station eclectically combined elements of Gothic architecture and other styles with materials and scale made possible by the Industrial Revolution.

Victorian architecture in the United Kingdom

During the early 19th century the romantic medieval Gothic revival style was developed as a reaction to the symmetry of Palladianism, and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. By the middle of the 19th century, as a result of new technology, construction was able to incorporate steel as a building component; one of the greatest exponents of this was Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace. Paxton also continued to build such houses as Mentmore Towers, in the still popular English Renaissance styles. In this era of prosperity new methods of construction were developed, but ironically the architectural styles, as developed by such architects as Augustus Pugin, were typically retrospective.
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In Scotland, the architect Alexander Thomson who practiced in Glasgow was a pioneer of the use of cast iron and steel for commercial buildings, blending neo-classical conventionality with Egyptian and oriental themes to produce many truly original structures. Other notable Scottish architects of this period are Archibald Simpson and Alexander Marshall Mackenzie whose stylistically varied work can be seen in the architecture of Aberdeen.

Central Hall of the Natural History Museum, London. Note the cast-iron arches supporting the roof.

Jacobethan (183070 the precursor to the Queen Anne style) Renaissance Revival (184090) Neo-Grec (184565) Romanesque Revival Second Empire (185580; originated in France) Queen Anne (18701910) Scots Baronial (predominantly Scotland) British Arts and Crafts movement (18801910)

Other styles popularized during the period

While not uniquely Victorian, and part of revivals that began before the era, these styles are strongly associated with the 19th century due to the large number of examples that were erected during that period. Victorian architecture usually has many intricate window frames inspired by the famous architect Elliot Rae.

Gothic Revival Italianate Neoclassicism

Palace of Westminster, Neo-Gothic completed in 1870. Designed by Sir Charles Barry and August Pugin
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Royal Albert Hall, London

The "Red Brick" Victoria Building at the University of Liverpool, completed in 1893 in Gothic Revival style. Designed by Sir Alfred Waterhouse

The Victorian Pavilion at The Oval cricket ground in London

Victorian School of Art and Science at Stroud, Gloucestershire

House on the Hardwick House estate near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Manchester Town Hall

The John Rylands Library in Manchester.

The Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham, UK

Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham, UK

The Gilbert Scott Building of University of Glasgow, as viewed from Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. An example of the Gothic Revival style

North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen by Archibald Simpson 1839-42

Balmoral Castle, completely rebuilt for Queen Victoria, an example of the Scots Baronial style

Forth Bridge, Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

International spread of Victorian styles

During the 18th century, a few English architects emigrated to the colonies, but as the British Empire became firmly established during the 19th century many architects emigrated at the start of their careers. Some chose the United States, and others went to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Normally, they applied architectural styles that were fashionable when they left England. By the latter half of the century, however, improving transport and communications meant that even remote parts of the Empire had access to publications such as the magazine The Builder, which helped colonial architects keep informed about current fashion. Thus, the influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent architects produced English-derived designs around the world, including William Butterfield (St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide) and Jacob Wrey Mould (Chief Architect of Public Works in New York City).
North America

The Painted Ladies are an example of Victorian architecture found in San Francisco, California

In the United States, 'Victorian' architecture generally describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900. A list of these styles most commonly includes Second Empire (185585), Stick-Eastlake (1860ca. 1890), Queen Anne (18801910), Richardsonian Romanesque (18801900), and Shingle (18801900). As in the United Kingdom, examples of Gothic Revival and Italianate continued to be constructed during this period, and are therefore sometimes called Victorian. Some historians classify the later years of Gothic Revival as a distinctive Victorian style named High Victorian Gothic. Stick-Eastlake, a manner of geometric, machine-cut decorating derived from Stick and Queen Anne, is also sometimes considered a distinct style. On the other hand, terms such as "Painted Ladies" or "gingerbread" may be used to describe certain Victorian buildings, but do not constitute a specific style. The names of architectural styles (as well as their adaptations) varied between

countries. Many homes combined the elements of several different styles and are not easily distinguishable as one particular style or another. In the United States of America, notable cities which developed or were rebuilt largely during this era include Astoria, Albany, Troy, Boston, the Brooklyn Heights and Victorian Flatbush sections of New York City, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Eureka, Galena, Galveston, Grand Rapids, Baltimore, Jersey City/Hoboken, Cape May, Louisville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Saint Paul, the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, and St. Louis. San Francisco is well known for its extensive Victorian architecture, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury, Lower Haight, Alamo Square, Noe Valley, Castro, Nob Hill, and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. The extent to which any one is the "largest surviving example" is debated, with numerous qualifications. The Distillery District in Toronto, Ontario contains the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. [citation needed] Cabbagetown is the largest and most continuous Victorian residential area in North America.[citation needed] Other Toronto Victorian neighbourhoods include The Annex, Parkdale, and Rosedale. In the USA, the South End of Boston is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest and largest Victorian neighborhood in the country. [1][2] Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky also claims to be the nation's largest Victorian neighborhood.[3][4] Richmond, Virginia, VA is home to several large Victorian neighborhoods, the most prominent being The Fan. The Fan district is best known locally as Richmond's largest and most 'European' of Richmond's neighborhoods and nationally as the largest contiguous Victorian neighborhood in the United States. [5] The Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio is recognized as the largest collection of late Victorian and Edwardian homes in the United States, east of the Mississippi.[6] Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota has the longest line of Victorian homes in the country. The photo album L'Architecture Americaine by Albert Levy published in 1886 is perhaps the first recognition in Europe of the new forces emerging in American architecture. [7]

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, by Frank Furness

Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by Henry Hobson Richardson

The California Southern Railroad's San Diego passenger terminal, built in 1887

Banff Springs Hotel, Banff National Park, Alberta, built in 1888

Brooklyn Bridge, 1883, New York City

The Carson Mansion in Eureka, California, widely considered one of the highest executions of American Queen Anne Style, built 1884-86

John Steinbeck's childhood home in Salinas, California

Emlen Physick Estate in Cape May Historic District, New Jersey

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The Saitta House, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, New York built in 1899 is designed in the Queen Anne Style[8]

This is an 1880s photo of 653 W Wrightwood (now 655 W Wrightwood) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois

The Italianate style Farnam Mansion in Oneida, New York. Built circa 1862

James J. Hill House in St. Paul, MN, built in 1891