Architectural Styles

American Colonial

Alt names / subperiods 

Timeline

Distinguishing Features

Geographic Presence

Colonial

Early American

 

Wikipedia

1600-1790

  • Symmetrical Facades
  • Steep gabled roofs
  • Central Entryways
  • Wood Construction
  • small casement leaded glass windows (usually due to a scarcity of glass in the colonies)
  • rich ornamentation (in the more expensive house only)
  • massive central chimney
  • Colonial, Georgian, Federal, and Dutch Colonial influences
  • USA
  • New England
  • mid-Atlantic
  • southern colonies

Common Building Types

Landmark buildings

Historic Accommodation Types

Accommodation Examples

  • Colonial homes
  • Meetinghouses
  • Plantation Houses
  • Public Buildings
  • Stores a
  • Taverns
  • churches
  • Colonial Williamsburg
  • Independence Hall Philadelphia
  • Paul Revere House Boston
  • Old Sturbridge Village Massachusetts
  • Salem Witch House
  • Monticello Charlottesville
  • Fairbanks House Massachusetts
  • Old State House Boston
  • Christ Church Philadelphia
  • Inns
  • Taverns
  • Ordinaries
  • Stagecoach inns / posting houses
  • Boarding houses
  • Private hospitality (staying with families or patrons)
  • Public houses with rooms
  • Ferries/river-crossing lodging
  • Military or government lodging
  • Wayside Inn (Sudbury, Massachusetts)
  • Union Oyster House / early tavern buildings (Boston area)
  • City Tavern (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • Fraunces Tavern (New York City, New York)
  • Raleigh Tavern (Williamsburg, Virginia)
  • King’s Arms Tavern (Williamsburg, Virginia)
  • Historic “ordinaries” and taverns in Charleston (South Carolina)
  • Green Dragon Tavern Boston (demolished)

Landmarks

Original Accommodation

Adapted Visitor Accommodation