Colonial Revival  / Early Revival (Old Colony Style)

Variants

Waves of Revival

The First Wave
Pictured is the New Jersey Pavilion for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Based on George Washington’s headquarters at Morristown, this example from the end of the Victorian period added a ceremonial Georgian pediment—and a Victorian wrap-around verandah.

Transitional
This typical Foursquare house has Colonial Revival details like the front door with sidelights (but no fanlight above), corner pilasters, and a modified Palladian window. Houses of this era often had classical or “colonial” features grafted onto Queen Anne or transitional house forms. These are not Colonial replicas. But they are no longer Victorian.


Academic
Pictured is The Beverly, “A Stately Colonial Home,” from the 1927 Montgomery Ward catalog. Sales copy points to the Colonial windows and quaint entrance. Despite the obvious 20th-century date of this dwelling (and the fact that it’s being marketed to the middle class), this example, like most built from 1910 through the 1930s, is more academically correct that the transitional revival houses had been. The emphasis is on not only classical details but also the rectilinear, symmetrical forms of the 18th century. Many such houses build during the 1920s boom survive across the nation. The Colonial Revival reappeared after the Second World War, along with both formal classical and Early American interiors.