North American Architecture Through the Ages

Paper Summary:

The architecture of North America spans many centuries and many distinct periods. This paper examines North American architecture from the pre-Aztec period up until the independence of the United States. The paper begins with an examination of Teotihuacan, in the Valley of Mexico and its influence the architecture of the Aztecs and other peoples in the pre European age. The paper then discusses native American architecture such as the pueblos of the American Southwest. Finally, the paper discusses architectural design and trends following the colonization of North America by European settlers and up until the Declaration of Independence.

From the Paper:

"As the King's representative, the Governor of the Virginia Colony was an individual positioned somewhere between the sacred and the profane. Later American architecture - particularly as one approached the Federalist Period - further extended this separation between the different spheres of existence. In the nation's new capital, even the government was broken down into distinct branches. The vast neoclassical bulk of the Capitol and the White House, located as they were at opposite ends of the monumental Mall, emphasized the distance between these two functions. The whiteness of the structures underscores the purity and virtue of the new system as did the restrained lines and severe order of the columns and other classical elements. The Federalist style proper continued the trend toward simplicity and the overt representation of the ideals of the New Republic. Designed by architect Samuel McIntire, the John Gardner House in Salem, Massachusetts, perfectly captures the new American emphasis. Its severe cubic plan and intensely regular facade suggest that it is the domestic sphere that advertises the rue values of the American people. The focus is on the centrally-placed entrance, and thin white Corinthian columns stand out against the structure's brick walls with their regular lines of windows and straight stringcourses. In this paean to Federalist architecture and socio-cultural vales, the theme of North American architecture has come full circle. Cosmic symbolism has been transferred from the meeting place of the overall community to the dwelling place of the individual - a fitting monument to America's embrace of the individual."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Doxtater, Dennis. "Parallel Universes on the Colorado Plateau: Indications of Chacoan Integration of an Earlier Anasazi Focus at Canyon De Chelly." Journal of the Southwest 45.1-2 (2003): 33+.
• Gowans, Alan. Styles and Types of North American Architecture: Social Function and Cultural Expression. New York: Icon Editions, 1993.
• Moctezuma, Eduardo Matos. "6 From Teotihuacan to Tenochtitlan Their Great Temples." Trans. Scott Sessions. Mesoamerica's Classic Heritage: From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs. Ed. David Carrasco, Lindsay Jones, and Scott Sessions. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2000. 185-194.
• O'Connor, Mallory McCane. Lost Cities of the Ancient Southeast. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1995.
• Roth, Leland M. A Concise History of American Architecture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1980.

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