Architecture Guide

Home features:
Arches
Columns
Dormers
Roofs
Windows
Classic Moulding

Architecture:
Art Deco
California Bungalow
Cape Cod
Colonial
Contemporary
Craftsman
Creole
Dutch Colonial
Federal
French Provincial
Georgian
Gothic Revival
Greek Revival
International
Italianate
Monterey
National
Neoclassical
Prairie
Pueblo
Queen Anne
Ranch
Regency
Saltbox
Second Empire
Shed
Shingle
Shotgun
Spanish Eclectic
Split Level
Stick
Tudor
Victorian

Greek Revival --This style is predominantly found in the Midwest, South, New England, and Midatlantic regions, though you may spot subtypes in parts of California. Its popularity in the 1800s stemmed from archeological findings of the time, indicating that the Grecians had spawned Roman culture. American architects also favored the style for political reasons: the War of 1812 cast England in an unfavorable light; and public sentiment favored the Greeks in their war for independence in the 1820s.

Identify the style by its entry, full-height, or full-building width porches, entryway columns sized in scale to the porch type, and a front door surrounded by narrow rectangular windows. Roofs are generally gabled or hipped. Roof cornices sport a wide trim. The front-gable found in one subtype became a common feature in Midwestern and Northeastern residential architecture well into the 20th century. The townhouse variation is made up of narrow, urban homes that don't always feature porches. Look for townhouses in Boston, Galveston, Texas., Mobile, Ala., New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va., and Savannah, Ga.