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.