(1830-60)--The term Gothic Revival refers to a literary and aesthetic movement of the 1830s and 1840s that occurred in England and later in the United States. A pervasive current within this movement was known as Romanticism. Adherents believed that the wickedness of modern times could benefit with a dose of "goodness" presumed to have been associated with the Christian medieval past. Architecture was chosen as one of the vehicles to bring this message to the people. The revival style was used for everything from timber cottages to stone castles and churches. Some structures had only one or two Gothic features, most commonly a steeply pitched roof or pointed arches, whereas other buildings, usually churches, were accurate copies of English Gothic structures.
A derivative style called Victorian Gothic (1860-90) became popular after the Civil War. Influenced by the writings of English theorist John Ruskin (1819-1900), this style is distinguished by contrasting colors of brick and stone in bold polychromatic patterns and decorative bands. This more freewheeling interpretation of the Gothic was well suited to the florid decorative approach of the late 19th century.
Gothic Revival is characterized by:
Asymmetry
Pointed arches
Large pointed windows with tracery and colored glass
Steeply pitched roofs
A curvilinear gingerbread trim along the eaves (on houses)
Towers
Battlements (a fortified wall with alternate solid parts and openings; used for defense or a decorative motif)
An overall picturesque quality
Trinity Church, at Broadway and Wall Street (Richard Upjohn, 1846), is one of the most celebrated, authentic Gothic Revival structures in the United States. Here you see all the features of a Gothic church: a steeple, battlements, pointed arches, Gothic tracery, stained glass windows, flying buttresses (an external bracing system for supporting a roof or vault), and medieval sculptures. This was the tallest building in the area until the late 1860s.
The Jefferson Market Library, at 425 Sixth Ave. (Frederich Clarke Withers and Calvert Vaux, 1874-77), is a magnificent structure in the Victorian Gothic mode. Built as a courthouse, the asymmetrical structure sports striking bands of red brick and white stone, stained-glass windows, pointed arches, and a dramatic clock tower.
Rival Revivals: Architectural Styles in the Late 19th Century
On the eve of the Civil War, the United States was a country of diverse tastes, interests, and cultures, and its differences were reflected in the country's architectural styles. During the latter half of the 19th century, several modes -- including Victorian Gothic, Italianate, Renaissance Revivals, Second Empire, and even the exotic Moorish and Egyptian Revivals -- coexisted. What these styles share is a certain eclecticism and picturesqueness. Mid-century architects reasoned that no age had produced the perfect architectural expression, so why not borrow freely from the best of the past and even mix different styles on the same building?
Although some of these styles were popular, none became dominant. In the 1870s in Chicago, technological advancements and imaginative design were coming together to create the world's first skyscrapers -- the style that would one day dominate New York and the country's other urban areas.
