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Renaissance
Revival
c.1900-1920
According to
Virginia and Lee McAlester in Field Guide to American Houses
(1984), thirty
years after the wane of the popular
Italianate style of architecture,
interest in the Italian Renaissance was renewed. This was due in large
part to the landmark Villard House in New York designed by the architecture
firm of McKim, Mead and White. The style provided a stark contrast to the
highly embellished Queen Anne and related styles.
Unlike the earlier Italianate style, the
Renaissance Revival tended to be more authentic to its Italian predecessors
for the following reasons:
·
by the late nineteenth century, a great many American
architects and their clients had visited Italy and become familiar with its
architecture
·
improved printing technology allowed for excellent
photographic documentation of actual Italian buildings
·
the perfection of masonry
veneering techniques after
World War I made it possible to replicate Italian models
Identifying features of the Renaissance
Revival style include a low-pitched hipped roof, typically covered in tiles;
arched windows and doors; an entrance are accented by columns or
pilasters; symmetrical façade; and walls covered in brick, stone, stucco
or other similar material.
The Martinsville City Hall, built in 1917,
is one of the county's few examples of the Renaissance Revival style.
Renaissance Revival:
Martinsville City Hall (1917), Martinsville
(essay adapted from Field Guide
to American Houses (1984) by Virginia and Lee McAlester)
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