Federal architecture

<h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2>
<p>American Federal architecture typically uses plain surfaces with attenuated detail, usually isolated in panels, tablets, and <a href="/facts/Friezes/jltsW5LW">friezes</a>. It also had a flatter, smoother façade and rarely used <a href="/facts/Pilasters/jTyy3A4r">pilasters</a>. It was most influenced by the interpretation of ancient <a href="/facts/Roman_architecture/1wtv6yFU">Roman architecture</a>, fashionable after the unearthing of <a href="/facts/Pompeii/TJ8jt7M6">Pompeii</a> and <a href="/facts/Herculaneum/PFkCSNq6">Herculaneum</a>. The <a href="/facts/Bald_eagle/sPc1AQCj">bald eagle</a> was a common symbol used in this style, with the <a href="/facts/Ellipse/1wUDnGxY">ellipse</a> a frequent architectural motif.
</p><p>The classicizing manner of constructions and <a href="/facts/Town_planning/dcuv8eTp">town planning</a> undertaken by the federal government was expressed in early federal projects of lighthouses, harbor buildings, universities, and hospitals. It can be seen in the rationalizing, urbanistic layout of <a href="/facts/L%27Enfant_Plan/1EByAwC6">L'Enfant Plan</a> of Washington and in the <a href="/facts/Commissioners%27_Plan_of_1811/nk2P507R">Commissioners' Plan of 1811</a> in New York.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> The historic eastern part of <a href="/facts/Bleecker_Street/VxTmK9wf">Bleecker Street</a> in New York, between Broadway and <a href="/facts/Bowery/3nebjc0U">the Bowery</a>, is home to Federal-style row houses at 7 to 13 and 21 to 25 <a href="/facts/Bleecker_Street/VxTmK9wf">Bleecker Street</a>. The classicizing style of Federal architecture can especially be seen in the quintessential New England meeting house, with their lofty and complex towers by architects such as Lavius Fillmore and <a href="/facts/Asher_Benjamin/lIPsmlKU">Asher Benjamin</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
</p><p>This American neoclassical high style was the idiom of America's first professional architects, such as <a href="/facts/Charles_Bulfinch/pdgC0dMp">Charles Bulfinch</a> and <a href="/facts/Minard_Lafever/cSl9Tvt8">Minard Lafever</a>. <a href="/facts/Robert_Adam/Qu9nqvTo">Robert Adam</a> and <a href="/facts/James_Adam_(architect)/4vxq2KVQ">James Adam</a> were leading influences through their books.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h2 id="legacy-of-federal-architecture-in-salem-massachusetts">Legacy of Federal architecture in Salem, Massachusetts</h2>
<p>In <a href="/facts/Salem,_Massachusetts/VoujDzut">Salem, Massachusetts</a>, there are numerous examples of <a href="/facts/American_colonial_architecture/KLWJe6NU">American colonial architecture</a> and Federal architecture in two historic districts: <a href="/facts/Chestnut_Street_District/CuErjbK5">Chestnut Street District</a>, which is part of the <a href="/facts/Samuel_McIntire/cvntbFeu">Samuel McIntire</a> Historic District containing 407 buildings, and the <a href="/facts/Salem_Maritime_National_Historic_Site/vdy3rjx4">Salem Maritime National Historic Site</a>, consisting of 12 historic structures and about 9 acres (4 ha) of land along the waterfront.
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<h2 id="architects-of-the-federal-period">Architects of the Federal period</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Asher_Benjamin/lIPsmlKU">Asher Benjamin</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Charles_Bulfinch/pdgC0dMp">Charles Bulfinch</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/John_Holden_Greene/pTtW3vot">John Holden Greene</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/James_Hoban/nDIeXEWg">James Hoban</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Thomas_Jefferson/8yxtcjKK">Thomas Jefferson</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Minard_Lafever/cSl9Tvt8">Minard Lafever</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Benjamin_Latrobe/DNxE4QNU">Benjamin Latrobe</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Pierre_L%27Enfant/kDKNfDNS">Pierre L'Enfant</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/John_McComb_Jr./prJfos0d">John McComb Jr.</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Samuel_McIntire/cvntbFeu">Samuel McIntire</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Robert_Mills_(architect)/X2WuND6H">Robert Mills</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Alexander_Parris/uzIjF60S">Alexander Parris</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/William_Strickland_(architect)/cM1g94U7">William Strickland</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Martin_E._Thompson/pQmLbp40">Martin E. Thompson</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/William_Thornton/bclkwXhG">William Thornton</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ithiel_Town/a0YBypbQ">Ithiel Town</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ammi_B._Young/7Kx20pCL">Ammi B. Young</a></li></ul>
<p>Modern reassessment of the American architecture of the Federal period began with <a href="/facts/Fiske_Kimball/UqoBEdMq">Fiske Kimball</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Adam_style/s3wlV3qt">Adam style</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Boscobel_(Garrison,_New_York)/F893wFHC">Boscobel (Garrison, New York)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Hamilton_Grange_National_Memorial/z5eyeg95">Hamilton Grange National Memorial</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_houses_in_Fairmount_Park/y0rkPRg7">List of houses in Fairmount Park</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lyre_arm/6FbCuN2g">Lyre arm</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Manasseh_Cutler_Hall/jnAsnaLJ">Manasseh Cutler Hall</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Morris%E2%80%93Jumel_Mansion/HECzeDWp">Morris–Jumel Mansion</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Craig, Lois A., <i>The Federal Presence: Architecture, Politics and National Design</i>. The MIT Press: 1984. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-262-53059-7.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Federal-style">"Federal style"</a> at <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/CEyVsjlN">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i></li>
<li><a href="https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/design-and-construction/design-excellence-program-overview/design-excellence-program/guiding-principles-for-federal-architecture">"Federal Architecture"</a> at <a href="/facts/General_Services_Administration/Np3opv9x">General Services Administration</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>The design vocabulary of Federal architecture is accessibly illustrated and contrasted with Greek Revival in Rachel Carley, The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture, 1994, ch. 5 "Neoclassical Styles", pp. 90ff. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>For the federal government's role in Federal architectural style and its symbolism, see Lois Craig, ed. The Federal Presence: Architecture, Politics and Symbols in United States Government Building (Federal Architecture Project, Cambridge: MIT Press) 1978, chs. 1–3, with brief text and extended captions to multiple illustrations. <a href="/wiki/MIT_Press" target="_blank">/wiki/MIT_Press</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"British Empire / Thirteen Colonies (USA) / Early Independence-era / Religious | Colonial Architecture Project". <a href="http://www.colonialarchitectureproject.org/index?/category/2250-religious" target="_blank">http://www.colonialarchitectureproject.org/index?/category/2250-religious</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Creating Your Architectural Style. Pelican Publishing. 15 September 2009. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4556-0309-1. <a href="978-1-4556-0309-1" target="_blank">978-1-4556-0309-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and the Early Republic, 1922. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Federal architecture open-in-new

Federal architecture