Greek Revival Style

Tagged As:

Believe Greek (structure, that is), and columns must come to mind. Over 2,000 years ago, that the Greeks created three orders of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Each column had a base, shaft and capital, and every order was decorated and proportioned in a different way. A resurrection of Greek structure propagate throughout the United States in the early 19th century, stemming from democratic beliefs and the capacity to copy the orders, that had been documented for centuries. The most important feature of a Greek Revival house is really a columned portico (porch) with a pediment, typically on the front in a symmetrical composition.

Chadsworth Columns

Greek Revival has been popular for civic buildings, banks and other institutions whose owners desired to express that the merits associated with Greece, the cradle of democracy. Residences at the same style therefore appear grand, owing to large columns (frequently two stories tall) and a pediment above, normally highlighted with an attic window.

Chadsworth Columns

This house has columns in the Doric order — the simplest order, with a rotating shaft and a capital that seems to bulge under the weight of the attic above.

Chadsworth Columns

Inside the same house, the architect utilized an Ionic column at an opening between two rooms. The Ionic order is a step up in sophistication from the Doric. The shaft is fluted (it has vertical concave grooves), and the funds is called a coil scroll, called a volute.

Chadsworth Columns

Elsewhere in the house is a Corinthian column, which has a fluted shaft (the like the Ionic order) but is restricted by sculptural acanthus leaves.

Chadsworth Columns

Oftentimes the Greek Revival portion of a house is the porch with columns and pediment; the piece behind it can be of a different fashion — for instance, Georgian, as in this case.

Scott Daves Construction Co., Inc

Here is back and just another Greek Revival front.

Bosworth Hoedemaker

A pared-down and modest design, when it embraces the porch, columns and pediment, can remember the Greek Revival style.

See related