16. Early Gothic Revival

There are a few different 'varieties' of the famous Gothic Revival houses. The Early Gothic Revival is my favourite. At the moment I know of only 4 of them in North America; two are in the United States. The others are in Hamilton and Kingston. There are a multitude of decorations ascribed to the Gothic Revival 'family'. Most of them appear in this example.

What to look for (clues)?

• Houses are asymmetrical and rambling.


• A number of different window shapes; each with its own moulding. May include a 2nd story bay window (oriel).


• Portions of the roof or even a bay window may have battlements.


• A dull gray stucco appears common.


• Fancy bargeboards (gingerbread) appears on the edge of the gable ends along with wooden drops or finials at the high points and corners.
  

Where to find it?

This beautiful Early Gothic Revival resides on Brock Street in Kingston. The home has the regal name of 'Elizabeth Cottage'. (Please leave a comment below if you have discovered other homes with this style.)
The style is occasionally referred to as 'Regency Gothic'.

4. Medieval English Cottage

The Medieval English Cottage has at least two gables at the front which usually intersect. One of the gables has a curved line, which I surmise, in ancient days, sagged under the weight of the sodden thatching on the roof.

What to look for (clues)

• The façade contains a small, uncovered porch leading to a round-headed door. Rough-cut stones frequently encircle the door.

• A large chimney, centrally placed, is part of the façade.

• Sets of tall, narrow windows, usually with small, internal diamond or rectangular shapes, are common.

• The main body of the house has steeply pitched side gables.

• 
  
• A further name for this style is 'English Vernacular Cottage'.
  

Where to find it

This appealing style emigrated to Canada around 1900 and was most prominent in the first half of the last century. The cottage can be found alone or in clusters in most urban centers in Ontario. These particular homes ‘live’ in Waterloo.

15. The Bay 'n Gables

I thought that this was a rare Toronto style until I checked my ‘unknown’ files and found that it is quite common in South Western Ontario. It may appear as a single dwelling, a double, or as part of row housing.

The façade is composed of 3 sections. The central section has the entryway(s) and a verandah or porch, above which are windows or a balcony. A small gable appears at the roof line or as part of a dormer above.

The two matching sides of the façade project and have a single or two-story bay which is
topped by another gable at the roofline or on the roof.








What to look for (clues)

• The 2 sides of the façade project forward while the central area recedes.
• The entrance(s) to the building is at the center.
• Either fancy gingerbread or dormers create 3 gables.
• The ornamentation is usually ‘borrowed’ from existing styles with the emphasis on Gothic Revival and Italian.
• The houses are moderately large and solid.
  

Where to find it

It is a style found in older sections of our cities and far more abundant than I had believed. (This is proving to be a fairly common occurrence as I attempt to identify houses.) It may also appear in rural settings.
Based on what I have seen, the Bay ‘n Gable homes tend to be conservative in colour.
This top example is in Cambridge (Galt). The next is in Guelph and the last two in Elmira.

NOTE: I believe that this style is also the 'H' shape of the Gothic Revival!

14. The Second Empire

The Second Empire style originated in France under the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. It quickly became popular and spread to England and later North America. Originally favoured for public and civic buildings, this dramatic and colourful style was adopted for residences and was

considered “the HIGH style of the VICTORIAN ERA”.
























What to look for (clues)

• The top story is a continuation of the shingled, flat roof (mansard).

• Large windows with elaborate mouldings poke through the top story. Other windows, in a variety of shapes, grace the rest of the building.

• This heavily decorated, large building may be balanced or wildly asymmetrical. Protrusions commonly stick out from the front and sides of the house.

• The brackets on the large eaves are usually paired.

• Very imaginative paint jobs make the style even more prominent.

Where to find it

The style is common and can be found, I believe, pretty well throughout Canada. Simpler versions have the mansard roof on all 4 sides, except in Quebec and New Brunswick, where some versions have the mansard only at the sides and the house looks like it is wearing a toupee! There are also samples where the mansard appears only at the front and back.

Plain, smaller, modern versions appear in Ontario suburbs. I’ll do a later study of these under the name ‘Mansards’. Happily, the older Second Empire style has made a recent return in Waterloo County in the form of senior homes and a hotel.

The top and bottom pictures are from a delightful Second Empire in St. Marys. The next two photos were taken in Paris. The massive stone Second Empire lives in Kingston.

13. The Federal

Another building that evolved from the Georgian is the Federal (Adam in England, Louis XVI in France). It uses many of the styling clues that are present in the ‘Late Georgian’ style.

What to look for (clues)

• Rectangular in shape, the smaller side is often at the front. The main door appears in a corner of the façade. The building is asymmetrical. Side walls may appear higher than the roof in an attempt to prevent the spread of fire in urban dwellings.
• Smaller structure than the average Georgian.
• Entryway is similar to the Late Georgian but often with an uncovered stoop. Greek or Roman pilasters (fake pillars) may be present.
• Windows (3 over 2) have large colourful shutters. Fancy brick or stonework often appears above and below the windows.
• Gables may appear at the front or side of the building. There is a moderately steep roof and one or two chimneys.
• 

Where to find it

The style is more common in the North Eastern states where it may appear as row housing, but can also be found in some of the older areas of Canadian cities as individual dwellings. For some reason, this particular style is usually well maintained and dramatically painted.

The main photo is from Preston (Cambridge). The others are, in order, from Kitchener, Elmira and London.

This is another style that is sometimes called Neoclassical.

12. The Bungalow

The bungalow first appeared as a single-floored inn along main roads in India. It later emigrated to California where 9 versions were developed. From there it spread across the United States and Canada around 1900 - 1930.

The style became one of the most popular house kits in the Sears-Roebuck’s catalogue.
The vast majority of Canadian bungalows, and there are many, range from 2 ½ to 3 storys.







What to look for (clues)

• The large, shallow-sloped main roof includes the front verandah

• The piers for the verandah may be an entirely tapered shape using boulders, stone or brick or use these materials as a base and have small wooden columns above.

• A very large dormer protrudes through the roof.

• The bungalow creates a low, sprawling silhouette.
• 
  
• Where to find it

The larger form of the bungalow is very prevalent throughout Ontario cities. It may also be found in Quebec and in the Eastern Provinces.

The house with the shed dormer (as opposed to a gable dormer) is in Preston (Cambridge).

The remaining houses are all in Waterloo

The style is associated with a number of other styles including Arts and Craft, Prairie and Craftsman.

11. Classical Greek Revival

This attractive and dramatic style originated in Greece. The Americans, believing that the Greek ideals of democracy, simplicity and beauty matched what they were trying to achieve in the new republic, seized upon the style for their public buildings. People, trying to impress, began using the style for large homes. There are many of them in the Eastern United States.

What to look for (clues)

• Buildings are massive and very symmetrical. 1 or 2 full length verandahs are common.

• One large flat roof or a massive gable roof which might have a further gable over the top center of the facade.
  

• Dramatic columns extend from 1 to 3 stories. Fake pillars (pilasters) form ½ pillars against the façade, but actually bear no weight.


• There are many decorative items including urns, scrolls, fluted pillars, etc.

Where to find it

There are few 'pure' classical homes in Canada. One of them is the 1834 Willowbank in Queenston, which appears at the top. (It is presently being used as a school of restorative arts.) However, many, many Canadian homes use decorative elements from the Classical Revival to successfully 'spice up' their house. A good example is this Doric entryway enhancing a small house in Stratford.

Many ante bellum* homes in the United States (*built before the Civil War) use this style. (Sometimes you see small homes with these huge columns and they look rather ridiculous.)

There are primarily 3 main types of Classical Greek Revival home and they differ according to the top of the pillars:

• If it’s plain, it’s DORIC (as seen below)
  


• If it uses scrolls, it’s IONIC (to the right)
  

• If it uses leaves, it’s called CORINTHIAN.

Note: A rather rare number of small Classical Greek Revivals exist that do not match the ones described above. We will examine this in a later posting.

10. The Loyalist: Ontario Cottage

In ‘Ontario’, many people who couldn’t afford the larger Georgian built the Loyalist Ontario Cottage to replace their original cabin or stone cottage.

A ridiculous law of the day charged far more for a 2-story house than a cottage, so many people disguised their house as a cottage. I frequently have great difficulty deciding whether a building is an Ontario Cottage or an Ontario House!

What to look for (clues)

• A small, plain, symmetrical house whose central small gable breaks the roof line. A little, often half-moon shape, may appear within this gable.

• Building is 1 to 1 ½ storys with the long side facing the road.

• Verandahs or small uncovered porches may or may not be present.

• Main story windows larger than earlier models. The roof has a shallow incline.

• The entryway may possess glass squares above, and possibly beside the door, for interior light.

Where to find it

This style was popular in both the country and city. Many people later expanded the cottage and added decorative elements that are commonly found in Gothic Revival homes.

The main picture is from Prescott.

Brantford has so many Loyalist Cottages (albeit with a larger central gable) that they dubbed them the Brantford Cottages. (The two other pictures are from Brantford.) I'm not sure what Stratford thinks because they have many similar homes.

(The Loyalist-Ontario House will appear as a later style.)

The Loyalist Ontario Cottage and House sometimes fall under the ‘umbrella’ of ‘Neoclassic’ which was attached to homes that evolved from the Georgian.

9. Spanish Homes

The South-West and Florida areas in the United States both have many examples of Spanish homes. The Western versions are usually built with adobe (sun-dried bricks made from clay) with projecting wooden beams.

Spanish homes from both regions have to cope with hot summers and have either an attractive open area or enclosed courtyard with shade trees where entertainment can take place.
Small numbers of these Spanish styles now exist in Canada.

What to look for (clues)

• A low, shallow-pitched roof covered by red tiles.


• Curved arches for doorways and windows are common.


• The walls are normally covered with a gleaming white stucco, although pastel colours may be used.


• A front park-like area or central, walled courtyard.


• Ornamentation is made from black cast-iron or carved stone.

Where to find it

The Spanish homes are usually found in the suburbs of cities, but not always. They tend to be quite distinctive and are easily identified.

8. The Regency

The term Regency comes from the Prince Regent of England. This gentleman did considerable travel in the tropics and attempted to bring back to Britain some of the architectural styles that he had seen.
Many of Canada’s earliest settlers had been British soldiers who had served in hot climates. They wanted known architecture that allowed the wind to blow through and cool the house in the summer. They opted for the Regency.
The style was also used by manufacturing companies who wanted small urban homes for some of their workers.

What to look for (clues)

1. A very balanced (symmetrical), small, urban house.


2. Normally a single story building or cottage.


3. A shallow hipped roof (slanted 4 directions with a small flat area on top).


4. Very large windows or French doors with matching sets at the back of the house.


5. Usually there are attractive shutters that enhance the windows.


6. Some later versions added a small peak in the roof above the front door, which made the building appear more like a Loyalist Cottage.
   

Where to find it

The main and wooden Regencies are in Guelph. The other house is in Cambridge (Preston). Stratford and Brantford also contain many Regencies.

A number of the early Regencies were, over time, expanded and grew into an entirely different style. There are also homes called Regency Villas but I have yet to find one.

(A tiny number of Canada’s earliest homes, unrelated to the ones described here, were also dubbed Regencies. We’ll discuss these unique, larger homes under the topic ‘Picturesque’.)

7. The Cape Cod

The early American settlers built Cape Cods along the wind-blown coasts of New England and New Brunswick. They were usually constructed by shipwrights and were extremely tight. The houses were normally very plain due to the damaging winds that swept the area. Where shutters existed, they were not for decoration, but to be swung shut to protect the smallish, expensive windows.What to look for (clues)

• A small 1 ½ story building where the moderately steep roof extends down to the top of the main story.

• Roof and house are normally covered by wooden shingles that are left unpainted and weather to a gray colour. Newer houses would generally be wood and painted.
  

• A large chimney straddles the roof behind the front door.

• The specific type of Cape Cod ( full, ¾, or ½ ) depends upon the number and location of the windows in relation to the door.

• This example at the top is a ‘full’ Cape Cod on Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick very close to Maine. The next picture is located at Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia.
  

Where to find it

The Cape Cod style was originally constructed in the 1600’s close to the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. Surprisingly, the style, or at least Colonial Revival Versions, became popular in the time period around 1930 to 1960, but this time they were built in suburbs around Ontario towns and cities. (They are no longer encased in wooden shingles.)

The red brick house is in Waterloo, the 'yellow' brick in Kitchener.

6. Dutch Colonial Revival

The Dutch initially settled around the present city of New York and up along the Hudson River. They were defeated here by the British in the 1600’s. Styles from this early colony have crept up into Canada. This was particularly true for the Dutch who fled to Canada at the time of the American Revolution in the late 1700’s.

What to look for (clues)

• The roof sometimes curves out at the base (bell cast). This creates very large eaves.

• The gambrel shape (barn style) may appear as decorations on any side of the house.

• The front of the house normally faces the road.

• There are usually windows on the second story that either project through the roof or are part of a larger dormer.
  

The house portrayed at the top is one of a pair that were built in 1905 in Stratford. This delightful urban house is more common than you would expect throughout Ontario.The second house is in Kitchener, while the third is an historic house on Queen Street in Toronto. The final house is a modern version in Waterloo. The style is alive and well!

5. Art Moderne

The architects of the 1930’s sought a stream-lined, modern, up-to-date look that moved away from the Cubism and hard-edged Art Deco that preceded it. Buildings and experimental transportation at 2 major fairs (Chicago,1934,New York,1939) created the impetus. A streamlined train and Chrysler Airflow Sedan titillated the American public who, in the throes of the depression, yearned for something hopeful, clean and new.

What to look for (clues)

• Smooth, usually white (or pastel) stucco finishes.
  
• Large expanses of glass or the new, vertically stacked, glass bricks.
• Some curved corners rather than square ones.
• Long, horizontal lines (string courses) that made the design appear taller. In many cases the roof was flat.
• Circular, decorative windows that look like portholes on a ship.
  

Where to find it


Many older neighbourhoods dating back to the 1930’s have 1 or 2 of these distinctive urban homes. Entryways varied from very plain to very heavy with cement framing around the door. The first two homes are on the same street street in Kitchener. The other house is in Quebec City.

(Art Deco homes exist, but they are rare.)