My Style- Greek Revival Home
By: Tara Ansari
Greek Revival:
1825-1860, Greek Revival became known as the national style, so pervasive were the temple-fronted façades on the nation’s churches, banks, town halls, and houses. Appropriate to the nation’s emerging sense of self, one of the country’s first Greek Revival buildings was the Second Bank of the United States, built in Philadelphia between 1819 and 1824.
Characteristics:
Homes in the Greek Revival style were usually painted white to resemble the white marble of impressive and costly public buildings. The details were bold, but with simple moldings. Heavy cornices, gables with pediments, and unadorned friezes were typical. The gable-fronted house, found throughout America, is one of the style’s enduring legacies.
Materials:
Stucco and wood, and occasionally stone, are the essential building materials of the Greek Revival style. Intended to resemble stone or marble temples the buildings were usually painted white or enhanced with a faux finish such as the Lee Mansion at Arlington National Cemetery.
Roof:
Low pitched gable and hip roofs were typical. The cornice line was embellished with a wide band of trim to emphasis the temple-like roof. Standing seam tin or cedar shingles were materials used at the time.