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Second Empire
c.1860-1880
At about the time of the
Civil War, a new style enjoyed a rather brief but intense popularity. This
was the Second Empire or French Mansard style based on contemporary French
architecture. During the years when Louis Napoleon reigned over France's
Second Empire (1851-1870), French architects revived the
mansard roof,
a dual-pitched
hipped roof, the lower slope being quite steep with a
concave, convex or straight surface, and the upper slope being of so low a
pitch that it is often concealed. The mansard roof is a seventeenth century
design associated with the work of architect Francois Mansart.
In France, the Second
Empire was a period of highly-charged nationalism, and to the French people
the mansard roof was a distinctly French innovation whose nineteenth century
revival evoked the glories of their country's late Renaissance era. To
Americans, increasingly looking to Paris for the latest in fashion, the
Second Empire style was a strikingly modern and sumptuous style of
architecture.
The major defining element of the Second
Empire style is the mansard roof, but the style is also is characterized by
lavish ornamentation and boldness of form. Second Empire houses and public
buildings were generally imposing structures, often with towers. The roof
ridges were decorated with cast iron
crests,
quoins and
decorative eaves brackets, and windows and doors had round heads and highly
embellished surrounds. The style was well suited to the flamboyant
post-Civil War railroad era when ostentation and excessiveness of taste were
not discouraged.
Only one example of the Second Empire style
remains in Morgan County. The Alfred Ennis House, in Martinsville's
East
Washington Street Historic District, is a rather modest example. This
two story brick house exhibits the trademark mansard roof, a central tower
with cresting and decorative dormers indicative of the Second Empire style.
Second Empire: Alfred
Ennis House (1869-70), 571 East Washington Street, Martinsville
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