The French Colonial style clearly illustrates the evolution of architectural development in the colonization of America. It shows the sensitive response of the French settlers to the peculiarities of the environment in the coastal South.

Distinctive Characteristics

• Use of Classical details, with a preference for the simpler orders of columns. Thinner columns were used on the upper porch with extremely heavy, masonry columns on the ground level.
• Roofs that are hipped or hipped with a lower slope gallery roof. Acadian or Cajun cottage roofs with eave front gables.
• Galleries that encircle the house. This was especially common in rural locations.
• The inclusion of a steep stairway to a sleeping area in the attic. It was frequently located on exterior porches rather than within the main body of the house.
• Wrought iron and arched openings of the French Quarter, which is an example of the Spanish influence.
• Pitched roofs, small dormers, and parapet walls (for the French urban structures).

The Mediterranean Revival style is an eclectic style comprising architectural elements with Spanish, Italian and Southern French models, along with the Byzantine, Moorish and Moroccan themes associated with these countries. The style developed in the first three decades of the 20th century, and thrived in the southern and coastal communities of the United States, where the climate and light was similar to the Mediterranean region.

The American designs were also closely linked to the architectural triumphs of the Spanish Baroque and Colonial heritage, which could be found throughout the southern states.

Distinctive Characteristics

• Asymmetrical massing and stucco wall surfaces.
• Arched doorways and windows. Doors are usually constructed of wood with the opening further accentuated by inset ceramic tiles, carved limestone, columns or pilasters on their surrounds.
• Wrought iron railings and grille work, flat or low-pitched terracotta tile roofs, and scrolled parapet walls and surrounds.
• Ornamentation in stone, brick, stucco, iron and wood that continues throughout the articulation and finishing of the patios, courtyards, and balconies.
• A focal window, sometimes in a tripartite arrangement, that’s highlighted with stained glass.

Greek Revival was a popular style for American homes through much of the nineteenth century. In fact, it was the dominant style in the South from the 1820s until the 1860s. Classical building styles had become increasingly popular in Europe and the United States during the previous century. They were first derived from Roman precedents, but archeological discoveries in the 1700s and early 1800s brought attention to earlier Greek models.

As the Greek Revival style evolved, it was modified to respond to local climate and culture. Perhaps the best-known regional variant of the style is the Southern Greek Revival mansion, with its full width front porch and colonnades. The most common examples in the South have either this fully colonnaded façade or a full-height entry porch.

Distinctive Characteristics

• Columns, pediments and other details that are derived from the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian Orders of Greek architecture. Columns could be square, octagonal, or round.
• Window and door openings that are based on the post and lintel construction of ancient Greece.
• Construction using a variety of materials; wood, masonry and occasionally stone.
• Use of white paint throughout the building to simulate the marble of ancient Greek temples.
• The detailing of wood or brick to imitate elements of stone construction.

The Classical Vernacular building is not so much a style or even a group of styles as it is a current that runs through much of the history of building in America. While the term “Classical Vernacular” may seem to be a contradiction, it is simply the less formal or refined constituent in the wide spectrum of classically-inspired American architecture.

Since the early nineteenth century, builders have constructed relatively simple houses with classical sensibilities. In the small towns and cities of the South, classical styles – notably the Greek Revival – have often inspired rather modest structures.

Before 1860, when the Greek Revival was the dominant force in the production of the grand residences throughout the South, the Classical Vernacular building was one of the more straightforward alternatives. Simpler in form and detail, it was the standard for any house with even minimal stylistic pretensions.

Distinctive Characteristics

• Usually feature a straightforward, rectangular plan.
• The façade is almost always symmetrical, or at least it bears a prominent front-facing gable that gives the impression of symmetry.
• Roofs may be hipped or furnished with front- or side- facing gables.
• Frequently, the porch is placed under a front-facing gable, this particular form modeled after the classical pediment.
• Often viewed as a Colonial type or vernacular farmhouse with a classically-inspired facade.

Specific components of classical detail are usually minimal. For example, entablatures may consist of a plain trim band or multiple bands representing an architrave, and cornice detail comprising simple banded trim. Columns are occasionally drawn from the more restrained Doric or Tuscan classical orders, but frequently are square with chamfered corners and carpenter-built bases and capitals.