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Federal-style architecture is the name for theclassical architecture built in the United States following theAmerican Revolution betweenc. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works ofAndrea Palladio with several innovations onPalladian architecture byThomas Jefferson and his contemporaries. Jefferson'sMonticello estate and severalfederal government buildings, including theWhite House, are among the most prominent examples of buildings constructed in Federal style.
Federal style is also used in association withfurniture design in the United States of the same time period. The style broadly corresponds to the classicism ofBiedermeier style in theGerman-speaking lands,Regency architecture in Britain, and the FrenchEmpire style. It may also be termedAdamesque architecture. The White House and Monticello were setting stones for what Federal architecture has become.
In the early United States, the founding generation consciously chose to associate the nation with the ancient democracies ofGreece and the republican values ofRome. Grecian aspirations informed theGreek Revival, lasting into the 1850s. Using Roman architectural vocabulary,[2] the Federal style applied to the balanced and symmetrical version ofGeorgian architecture that had been practiced in theAmerican colonies' new motifs ofneoclassical architecture as it was epitomized in Britain byRobert Adam, who published his designs in 1792.
American Federal architecture typically uses plain surfaces with attenuated detail, usually isolated in panels, tablets, andfriezes. It also had a flatter, smoother façade and rarely usedpilasters. It was most influenced by the interpretation of ancientRoman architecture, fashionable after the unearthing ofPompeii andHerculaneum. Thebald eagle was a common symbol used in this style, with theellipse a frequent architectural motif.
The classicizing manner of constructions andtown planning undertaken by the federal government was expressed in early federal projects of lighthouses, harbor buildings, universities, and hospitals. It can be seen in the rationalizing, urbanistic layout ofL'Enfant Plan of Washington and in theCommissioners' Plan of 1811 in New York.[3] The historic eastern part ofBleecker Street in New York, between Broadway andthe Bowery, is home to Federal-style row houses at 7 to 13 and 21 to 25Bleecker Street. The classicizing style of Federal architecture can especially be seen in the quintessential New England meeting house, with their lofty and complex towers by architects such as Lavius Fillmore andAsher Benjamin.[4]
This American neoclassical high style was the idiom of America's first professional architects, such asCharles Bulfinch andMinard Lafever.Robert Adam andJames Adam were leading influences through their books.[5]
InSalem, Massachusetts, there are numerous examples ofAmerican colonial architecture and Federal architecture in two historic districts:Chestnut Street District, which is part of theSamuel McIntire Historic District containing 407 buildings, and theSalem Maritime National Historic Site, consisting of 12 historic structures and about 9 acres (4 ha) of land along the waterfront.
Modern reassessment of the American architecture of the Federal period began withFiske Kimball.[6]
