Federal style
Post-revolutionary American architecture
Federal style refers to the neoclassical architecture and decorative arts that flourished in the United States from roughly 1780 to 1830, particularly after independence.
The style drew on ancient Greek and Roman forms—columns, symmetry, eagle motifs—reflecting the new republic's democratic ideals.
Federal buildings feature brick facades, fanlights over doorways, and restrained ornamentation: a Federal-style townhouse in Georgetown.
The term also applies to furniture of the period, characterized by delicate proportions and inlaid wood.
- fanlightSemicircular window over doorway
- pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
- founding fathersMale originators of institutions
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
- Thomas JeffersonThird American president
Enlightenment ideals · brickwork · red brick · row houses · cornice · portico · sash windows · pilaster · brass hardware · mantel clock · Monticello · sidelights · neoclassical · gable roof · classical columns · chandeliers · craftsmanship · balustrade
- American Architecturecolonial, Craftsman, bungalow, ranch house, Cape Cod
- historic architectureVersailles, Blenheim Palace, Hampton Court, Monticello, Mount Vernon
- historic homesmansion, manor house, manor houses, plantation house, colonial house
- American furnitureShaker, colonial, Chippendale, Queen Anne, Windsor chair
- architectural stylesArt Nouveau, Baroque, Bauhaus, brutalist, Byzantine
- Colonial architectureMount Vernon, Monticello, dormer windows, red brick, shutters
Federal styleRococo
Lavishly ornamented decorative style
Baroque · Victorian style · Queen Anne style · International Style · Beaux-Arts