The Victorian architectural period dating from 1825 to about 1900 generally corresponds to the reign of Queen Victoria in England (1837-1901 . This era was the boom of industrialization and brought about many innovations in architecture . These designs which are often characterized as fancy and lofty and at times romantic ironically emerged during the age of machines . Earlier during this period styles were relatively simple but soon after the Civil War house designs became more complicated (Victorian Station , 2006 . Buildings during the Victorian times were a mix of several styles thus creating unique and

br sometimes quirky buildings with stunning visual effect . The several main styles that made up Victorian architecture are Italianate , Second Empire , Queen Anne and Stick architecture (Craven

The Stick Style is an important style but relatively rare in Victorian architecture . Though short-lived , its prominent features flourished and were often mixed with a more popular and feminine ' style , the Queen Anne . The elements of the stick style had begun appearing in 1850s until 1890 . But it was particularly popular during the 1870s , after the national economy recovered from the financial panic of 1873 (Carney Library , 2006 . Among the known architects of that period who made use this design were H .H . Richardson and Richard Morris Hunt

Vincent Scully was the first to coin the term stick ' style in his architectural writings in 1950s . At first homes with this style were called modern ' with Gothic , Swiss or English cottage (Carney Library 2006 . Among the prominent features of this style are seen on the exterior wall surfaces which place emphasis on patterns and lines . The use of sticks ' or flat board banding and other applied ornamentation in geometric patterns adorn clapboard wall surfaces . Houses built in this style have assymetrical floor plans with steeply pitched slate roofs topped by iron cresting (Carney Library , 2006 . Square porch posts , brackets and support beams are finished with chamfered edges The horizontal , vertical , or diagonal boards or stickwork design in the wall surfaces are intended to imply a sense of the structure of the building . However , in reality , it may have nothing to do with the actual structural system of the house but are decorations intended to imitate architecture from the medieval past

Plain yet neat , modern and comfortable is how the stick style was described by the many plan books published by the Pallister Company during the Victorian era . Its popularity however was short-lived as it cannot nearly compete with the fancy Queen Anne

The Queen Anne was an architectural fashion in the 1880s and 1890s when North America was caught up in the excitement of new technologies that made it possible to shuttle across the county factory-made , precut architectural parts through the expanding train networks (Craven . A distinct feature of the Queen Anne house is its lavish decorations and embellishments . `Gingerbread ' houses with patterned shingles spindlework , extensive porches and bay windows made a grand visual impact for houses built with the Queen Anne style . Rows of these types of houses were testimony to...