Antebellum

Description:

Most ante-bellum houses, meaning there were built before the outbreak of the Civil War, are the Federal style, as far as grand houses are concerned. They are generally symmetrical and boxy. They have center entrances on the front and rear, evenly spaced windows, gable roofs, and end chimneys. Two good examples in Mecklenburg County are Cedar Grove and Oaklawn.

Craftsman Bungalow

Description:

Bungalows were designed by the British for use in colonial India. Therefore, they are fashioned for warm weather. The roofs are hipped, thereby providing large attics for storage and for capturing the heat in the summer. Windows are grouped for greater sunlight and for greater ventilation. Bungalows have broad overhanging eaves, again to hold off the heat, as well as big porches to sit on in the evening. The Craftsman style, of which Bungalows are a subset, is characterized by simplicity and lack of the fanciful ornamentation one finds in Victorian homes. The Ratcliffe-Otterbourg House is an excellent local example of a Craftsman Bungalow.

Colonial Revival

Description:

The Colonial Revival style became popular in the late nineteenth century. It draws its inspiration from Georgian Colonial architecture. Buildings of this type have strictly symmetrical facades and are usually rectangular in plan with no or minimum projections. Eaves have classical detailing. Windows are usually double-hung sash except when Palladian windows are used for accent. The first house of this type appeared in Newport, Rhode Island in 1885-86. C. C. Hook brought Colonial Revivalism to Charlotte in the 1890's. His oldest Colonial Revival style house is the Gautier-Gilchrist House on East Park Avenue in Dilworth.

Greek Revival

Description:

Greek Revival denotes rectangular buildings that have no arches, that depend upon large columns for support and ornamentation, and usually have smooth exterior wall surfaces. These buildings feature pediments attached to the basic boxy building. Many people would call any building with large columns Greek Revival. It features a stronger classical influence than antebellum, associations with American/Greek democracy.

Italianate

Description:

Italianate houses draw their inspiration from villas in northern Italy. They are squarish in shape, have low-pitched hipped roofs, large windows, and broad overhanging eaves. An excellent local example would be Ingleside.

Neoclassical

Description:

This style became wildly popular at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. It was inspired by the mammoth White City of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Its most distinctive feature would be the lavish use of columns, usually Corinthian. Often features a classical pedimented entry with an entablature above the cornice line. Many Neoclassical buildings have windows grouped in twos or threes, with the main floor having semicircular arched windows. An excellent local example would be the Charlotte City Hall and the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, both on East Trade St.

Queen Anne

Description:

This is one of the most popular high Victorian styles. Developed in Great Britain and displayed at the Centennial exposition in Philadelphia, the syle is characterized by great compexity. Irregular massive, great variety of windows and sheathing material, complex roofs, filigree -- these are just some of the qualities that make up Queen Anne. An excellent local example would by the J. P. Carr House. The Blakeney House is somewhat less ornate and would be called Country Queen Anne, meaning that it was fashioned by a local carpenter.

Tudor Revival

Description:

Tudor Revival derives its inspiration from early England. These buildings lavishly feature stone, ornate chimneys, half-timberings, thick walls, dark interiors, and steep rooflines. An excellent local example is the Hamilton-Jones House in Eastover.