The Sales Directory of Antique and Historic Properties
Historic Style Guide

Queen Anne

1880 - 1910

Inspiration for the Queen Anne derived from the English buildings erected at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 which were based on 16th century sources. As the style matured in America, English Gothic/Renaissance designs were replaced by Colonial Revival elements. The style is found almost everywhere.

Popular at the end of the 19th century, the Queen Anne style retains the picturesque massing and asymmetry of the Victorian styles that preceded it, but in decorative detail it anticipates the Colonial Revival which would become important in the opening years of the 20th century. It is the only major style that intentionally mixes the Classical and Gothic architectural elements.

This urban design has a classic Queen Anne turret.
This urban example of Queen Anne styling has a classic Queen Anne turret.

Queen Anne houses employ a variety of materials; it is not unusual to see stone, brick, clapboard and shingles on a single building. Color schemes are even more varied. Examples built before circa 1900 will often have a round off-center tower with a wrap-around porch at the first floor, as well as gables and dormers on each facade. After circa 1900, the tower is generally omitted, the roof line is lower and the facade shows more formal balance. Colonial Revival detailing is much more in evidence, especially on porches, entrances and cornices. But on all Queen Anne houses, roof shapes are complex. Cross gables with several dormers and chimneys are not uncommon.

Queen Anne style is fully displayed in this house.
The complexity of design and quantity of detail in the Queen Anne style is fully displayed in this house.
Queen Anne home with fine detail in the brickwork including the massive turret.
This Queen Anne style home is constructed from brick with fine detail in the brickwork including the massive turret.
The Queen Anne has a very strong massing and impressive stature, all angles and seeming to spread on and out without any sense of symmetry whatsoever.
The Moose Lodge in Newport, New Hampshire, shows Queen Anne massing and a prominent tower, but the presence of swag panels and pediments show an interest in Colonial Revival designs, here seen only in details, but within a generation it would overtake the Queen Anne as the nation’s favorite domestic design.

Inspiration for the Queen Anne derived from the English buildings erected at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 which were based on 16th century sources. As the style matured in America, English Gothic/Renaissance designs were replaced by Colonial Revival elements. The style is found almost everywhere.

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