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.