Richardsonian Romanesque Houses

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the main features and materials used in Richardsonian houses, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. The paper explains how the broadly Romanesque qualities symbolized solidity and security for hardworking, successful people who desired to make their homes tranquil oases of domestic bliss. The paper further explains that this style was popular throughout America because it suited the mood of the times in its eclectic approach to architectural taste.

From the Paper:

"The Nineteenth Century was a period of considerable historicism in art and architecture. As Americans and Europeans struggled to come to terms with the effects of growing industrialization, they liked to the past, to earlier times for models that seemed both familiar and satisfying. The lure of gothic and Romanesque was in large measure, too, a part of the Romantic spirit of the age. Romanticism sought to capture the deep spiritual and emotional essence of the West's many ethnic groups, looking back into history at fundamental beliefs, and the ancient legends and tales that had helped to shape them. Richardsonian Romanesque was a major form of this historical romanticism in architecture. Like other architectural styles - Renaissance Revival, Second Empire, Beaux Arts, and others - that were common after the mid-Nineteenth Century, it incorporated a variety of disparate elements to achieve an overall "feel" of the period it attempted to evoke."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gowans, Alan. Styles and Types of North American Architecture: Social Function and Cultural Expression. New York: Icon Editions, 1993.
• Roth, Leland M., ed. America Builds: Source Documents in American Architecture and Planning. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
• Roth, Leland M. A Concise History of American Architecture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1980.
• Roth, Leland M. Understanding Architecture Its Elements, History, and Meaning. 1st ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993.

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