104 Lexington - Colonial Revival home

The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.

The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the architectural traditions of their colonial past.^[1] Fairly small numbers of Colonial Revival homes were built c. 1880–1910, a period when Queen Anne-style architecture was dominant in the United States.^[2] From 1910–1930, the Colonial Revival movement was ascendant, with about 40% of U.S. homes built during this period in the Colonial Revival style.^[3] In the immediate post-war period (c. 1950s–early 1960s), Colonial Revival homes continued to be constructed, but in simplified form. In the present-day, many New Traditional homes draw from Colonial Revival styles.^[4]

While the dominant influences in Colonial Revival style are Georgian and Federal architecture, Colonial Revival homes also draw, to a lesser extent, from the Dutch Colonial style and post-medieval English styles. Colonial Revival homes are often eclectic in style, freely combining aspects from several of these prototypes.^[5]

Although associated with the architectural movement, "Colonial Revival" also refers to historic preservation, landscape architecture and garden design, and decorative arts movements that emulate or draw inspiration from colonial forms.^[6]

Cyril M. Harris's American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia noted that "Colonial Revival houses are usually the result of a rather free interpretation of their prototypes; they tend to be larger, may differ significantly from the houses they seek to emulate, and often exaggerate architectural details."^[7]

This Colonial Revival home was built in 1906 for H.C. Hopkins who was President of the Thresher Varnish Works.

The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 is credited with awakening America's interest in its Colonial heritage and Colonial Revival architecture. However, early examples were seldom historically correct copies of Colonial prototypes. Instead these homes are an eclectic mixture of details from two or more historic styles.

The Hopkins House is an excellent example of the trend toward increasing formal design in residential architecture during the first decade of the 20th century. Remnants of the exuberant Queen Anne style are evident in this home, including the tall chimneys and bay windows. However, an air of Colonial Revival orderliness has taken over the symmetrical facade with its fluted Ionic columns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Revival_architecture