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Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes calledCarpenter's Gothic orRural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application ofGothic Revival architectural detailing andpicturesquemassing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters. The abundance of North American timber and the carpenter-builtvernacular architectures based upon it made a picturesque improvisation upon Gothic a natural evolution. Carpenter Gothic improvises upon features that were carved in stone in authenticGothic architecture, whether original or in more scholarly revival styles; however, in the absence of the restraining influence of genuine Gothic structures,[1] the style was freed to improvise and emphasize charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication byAlexander Jackson Davis ofRural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations in publications byAndrew Jackson Downing.
Carpenter Gothic houses and small churches became common in North America in the late nineteenth century.[2] Additionally during this time, Protestant followers were building many Carpenter Gothic churches throughout the midwest, northeast, and some areas in the south of the US.[3] This style is a part of the Gothic Revival movement.[4] For example, these structures adapted Gothic elements, such as pointed arches, steep gables, and towers, to traditional Americanlight-frame construction. The invention of thescroll saw and mass-produced wood moldings allowed a few of these structures to mimic the floridfenestration of the High Gothic. But in most cases, Carpenter Gothic buildings were relatively unadorned, retaining only the basic elements of pointed-arch windows and steep gables. Probably the best known example of Carpenter Gothic is the house inEldon, Iowa, thatGrant Wood used for the background of his famous paintingAmerican Gothic.[5]
Carpenter Gothic is largely confined to small domestic buildings and outbuildings and small churches. It is characterized by its profusion of jig-sawn details, whose elaborate forms the craftsmen-designers were freed to experiment with by the invention of the steam-poweredscroll saw. A common but not necessary feature is board andbatten siding. Other common features include decorativebargeboards,gingerbread trim, pointed-arched windows,wheel window, one-storyveranda, and steep centralgable.[6] A less common feature isbuttressing, especially on churches and larger houses. Exterior elements like pointed arches made their way inside the homes as well. This can be seen in pointed arch openings and doorways.[7]
Being a part of the Gothic Revival, the ornamentation in Carpenter Gothic is much more eclectic; it uses more superficial and obvious motifs.[4] Specifically, Carpenter Gothic ornamentation, referred to asgingerbread, is not limited to use on wooden structures but has been used on other structures, especially Gothic Revivalbrick houses such as the Warren House in ahistoric district in Newburgh, New York, which is said to epitomize the work of Andrew Jackson Downing, but was actually done by his one-time partner,Calvert Vaux. Ornamentation can be seen in the interior as well. Many elements in the interiors were highly crafted such as staircases, walls, ceilings, and fireplaces.[7] Examples of this ornament use include wainscoting, ceiling beams or coffered ceilings, and ornate wallpapers.[7] Gothic style furniture was also used.[7]
Carpenter Gothic structures are typically found in most states of the United States, exceptArizona andNew Mexico. There is one Carpenter Gothic in the Huning Highlands Historical District in downtown Albuquerque circa 1882 built by the Seth family who lived there until 2002. Many Carpenter Gothic houses were built in Nevada in the 1860–1870s (Virginia City, Reno, Carson City, and Carson Valley areas) and still exist (2010). Although this style was most common in northern America, nowhere else had built as many churches as in Florida between 1870 and 1900.[3] In Canada, carpenter Gothic places of worship are found in all provinces and theNorthwest Territories, while Carpenter Gothic houses seem to be limited toOntario,Quebec and theMaritime Provinces.[8]
Many American Carpenter Gothic structures are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, which may help to ensure their preservation. Many, though, are not listed and those in urban areas are endangered by the increased value of the land they occupy.
A current example of this is St. Saviour's Episcopal Church,Maspeth, New York, built in 1847 byRichard Upjohn.[9] It was sold to a developer in 2006. Its rectory had already been demolished and a deal with theCity of New York to preserve the church in exchange for higher density on the remaining vacant land fell through and the parcel went on the market for $10 million.[10]
After a number of postponements, in March 2008, just hours before the final deadline to demolish the church, a deal was struck with a local community group, whereby they were allowed time to raise money to move the structure. At a cost of some $2 million, the building was reduced to its original appearance and dismantled into pieces, so it could be transported through the narrow, winding streets of the neighborhood. It was reconstructed on the grounds of a cemetery in the nearby neighborhood ofMiddle Village, where it is now used for community activities.[11]
"American Gothic" is apainting byGrant Wood from 1930. It depicts American rural life with its subject being a "stern" looking father and his daughter in front of a small Carpenter Gothic style house.[3] Wood's inspiration came froma cottage designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window[12] and a decision by the artist to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that house."[13]
Steamboat Gothic architecture, a term popularized byFrances Parkinson Keyes's novel of that name,[14] is sometimes confused with Carpenter Gothic architecture,[15][16] but Steamboat Gothic usually refers to large houses in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys that were designed to resemble thesteamboats on those rivers.[17]
St. Luke's Church inBlue Ridge, Georgia, was built in 1995.[18] Houses and churches are sometimes built in the Carpenter Gothic style into the 21st Century.
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Many nineteenth-century timberGothic Revival structures were built inAustralia,[19] and inNew Zealand – such asFrederick Thatcher'sOld St. Paul's, Wellington, andBenjamin Mountfort'sSt Mary's, but the term "Carpenter's Gothic" is not often used, and many of their architects also built in stone.
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