Queen Anne Style 1880s - 1910 (U.S. National Park Service) (2024)
History of the Style
The Queen Anne style, popular in American from 1880 to 1910, evolved out of the Colonial Revival style; the two styles were fashionable at the same time. The Queen Anne style was imported by English architects who were inspired by the half-timbered walls and patterned masonry of Medieval and Jacobean style-buildings. In Queen Anne buildings, there was an emphasis on the playful use of different building materials; the first floor may be brick, the second floor stucco or wood-frame, the roof was often an intersecting gable roof, with opportunities for dormers or turrets, the windows were often multi-paned and stained-glass; wooden spindlework, now more affordable as the mill technology improved, was applied at entryways and porches. In an effort to make the building look somewhat half-timbered and medieval, the architects placed a greater emphasis on the second story and drew attention there by applying several layers of different shaped shingles.
The playful character of this style is also represented in the floor plan. In earlier American styles, like the Greek Revival style, the interior floor plans were very boxy and symmetrical. In the Queen Anne style, the box has now been pulled open and apart: rooms now flow from one another, in an asymmetrical pattern, often around the significant central family staircase. Oddly, the name of this style is historically inaccurate: while the name “Queen Anne” refers to the English queen of 1710, these buildings are actually based on 12thcentury to 16th century designs.
The army’s version of the Queen Anne style is less elaborate and exuberant than comparable buildings found throughout the country. During its popularity, the Queen Anne style was highly-decorated and a bit feminine; the style was probably not the most suitable style choice for a working, male-dominated army post. The buildings at Fort Mason and the Presidio have one or two decorative shingles patterns at the second level, unlike some of the fanciful San Francisco buildings which would have four or five patterns. The army’s Queen Anne buildings are of a single building material (in this case, wood-frame); none of the buildings have turrets and or extensive wooden tracery. But they do have wrap-around porches, asymmetrical floor plans and some wooden spindle work.
The two Queen Anne buildings at Fort Mason are located on Franklin Street and were both constructed in 1891 for $1,255.00; one was built for a non-commissioned officer and the other built for the hospital steward (the non-medical supervisor of the army post hospital). Each building has horizontal wooding siding and a decorative wooden frieze that runs along the building at the 2nd story. On both buildings, the frieze on the north elevation is interrupted by a tall, 4-over-4 double-hung window.
The Queen Anne style, popular in American from 1880 to 1910, evolved out of the Colonial Revival style; the two styles were fashionable at the same time. The Queen Anne style was imported by English architects who were inspired by the half-timbered walls and patterned masonry of Medieval and Jacobean style-buildings.
Characteristics of these houses generally include a side-gabled roof and a sturdy brick or wood facade. The style did up the drama with contrasting dark window shutters against stark white multi-paned windows and short-reaching porticos and pediments.
'The characteristics of Queen Anne architecture are stone dressings such as quoins, exposed brick, hipped roofs, dormer windows, sash windows, platbands and cornices,' says architectural historian and paint expert Edward Bulmer.
Anne supported the Acts of Union of 1707, which united the crowns of England and Scotland into one country. She also successfully laid the way for George I to succeed her, while never letting him visit England during her reign, in case his presence threatened her power.
Queen Anne furniture is "somewhat smaller, lighter, and more comfortable than its predecessors," and examples in common use include "curving shapes, the cabriole leg, cushioned seats, wing-back chairs, and practical secretary desk-bookcase pieces." Other elements characterizing the style include pad feet and "an ...
Most homes in the 1910s had walls decorated with beadboard, wallpaper, or wood trim, while the floors were often tile or hardwood. Rich and deep colors were very common would have been painted on the walls, included in wallpaper, or incorporated in textiles.
Victorian homes were the predominant style of architecture, although there were other styles during this period as well. There were also “sub styles” of Victorian architecture, such as Shingle Style, Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, Second Empire, Italianate, Folk Victorian, and Eastlake.
Art Nouveau, ornamental style of art that flourished between about 1890 and 1910 throughout Europe and the United States. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line and was employed most often in architecture, interior design, jewelry and glass design, posters, and illustration.
Cubist painters emphasized two-dimensionality of the canvas through the reduction of objects into geometric forms, and depicts the subject from numerous viewpoints, through the breaking and reassembling of objects into abstract form.
Queen Anne buildings almost always have a steep roof with cross gables or large dormers, an asymmetrical front façade, and an expansive porch with decorative wood trim. A round or polygonal front corner tower with a conical roof is a distinctive Queen Anne feature on many buildings of this style.
In shape and form, the Shingle style resembles the Queen Anne style, but it lacks the abundant decorative details. Porches are expansive, often wrapping around the front and sides of the building. Roofs are generally sweeping and multi-gabled. Windows are small and multi-paned and are often grouped in pairs or triples.
The Queen Anne style draws from many different aesthetic historical eras, such as Middle Ages Gothic and Elizabethan Renaissance. Victorian architecture draws from only one era, such as the Gothic Victorian house being influenced by the Middle Ages alone.
You will still see touches of both styles in modern formal furniture design; cabriole legs and pad feet are still very functional and popular. Traditional furniture will not go out of style, and you will likely see Queen Anne influence for many years.
Georgian: A more decorative version of the Queen Anne style with heavier proportions, elaborately carved cabriole legs terminating in a pad or ball-and-claw foot, ornate carvings, pierced back splats, and the use of gilding. Named after George I and George II who reigned over England from 1714-1760.
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