National Register of Historic Places architectural style categories

In the United States, the National Register of Historic Places classifies its listings by various types of architecture. Listed properties often are given one or more of 40 standard architectural style classifications that appear in the National Register Information System (NRIS) database. Other properties are given a custom architectural description with "vernacular" or other qualifiers, and others have no style classification. Many National Register-listed properties do not fit into the several categories listed here, or they fit into more specialized subcategories.^[1]

Complete list of architectural style codes

The complete list of the 40 architectural style codes in the National Register Information System—NRIS follows:^[1]
Obs — ARSTYLCD — ARSTYL

• 1 — 01 NO STYLE LISTED
• 2 — 10 COLONIAL
• 3 — 11 GEORGIAN
• 4 — 20 EARLY REPUBLIC
• 5 — 21 FEDERAL
• 6 — 30 MID 19TH CENTURY REVIVAL
• 7 — 31 GREEK REVIVAL
• 8 — 32 GOTHIC REVIVAL
• 9 — 33 ITALIAN VILLA
• 10 — 34 EXOTIC REVIVAL
• 11 — 40 LATE VICTORIAN
• 12 — 41 GOTHIC
• 13 — 42 ITALIANATE
• 14 — 43 SECOND EMPIRE
• 15 — 44 STICK/EASTLAKE
• 16 — 45 QUEEN ANNE
• 17 — 46 SHINGLE STYLE
• 18 — 47 ROMANESQUE
• 19 — 48 RENAISSANCE
• 20 — 49 OCTAGON MODE
• 21 — 50 LATE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS
• 22 — 51 COLONIAL REVIVAL
• 23 — 52 CLASSICAL REVIVAL
• 24 — 53 TUDOR REVIVAL
• 25 — 54 LATE GOTHIC REVIVAL
• 26 — 55 MISSION/SPANISH REVIVAL
• 27 — 56 BEAUX ARTS
• 28 — 57 PUEBLO
• 29 — 60 LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN MOVEMENTS
• 30 — 61 PRAIRIE SCHOOL
• 31 — 62 EARLY COMMERCIAL
• 32 — 63 CHICAGO
• 33 — 64 SKYSCRAPER
• 34 — 65 BUNGALOW/CRAFTSMAN
• 35 — 70 MODERN MOVEMENT
• 36 — 71 MODERNE
• 37 — 72 INTERNATIONAL STYLE
• 38 — 73 ART DECO
• 39 — 80 OTHER
• 40 — 90 MIXED (MORE THAN 2 STYLES FROM DIFFERENT PERIODS)

Selected NRIS styles

Some selected National Register Information System (NRIS) styles, with examples, include:

Federal architecture

Examples include the Old Town Hall in Massachusetts, and Plumb House in Virginia.

Greek Revival

Gable-front, Greek Revival Simsbury Townhouse built 1839 in Simsbury, Connecticut

Greek Revival architecture is a movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Europe. It emerged in the U.S. following the War of 1812 and while a revolutionary war in Greece attracted America's interest. Greek Revival architecture was popularized by Minard Lafever's pattern books: The Young Builders' General Instructor in 1829, the Modern Builders' Guide in 1833, The Beauties of Modern Architecture in 1835, and The Architectural Instructor in 1850.

Greek Revival includes vernacular versions such as the 1839 Simsbury Townhouse built by an unknown craftsman ^[2] and the Dicksonia Plantation, and high-style versions such as the Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia and Millford Plantation.

Palladian Revival architecture

Examples include The Rotunda by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia, and the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, Maryland.

Late Victorian

Late Victorian architecture is widely distributed on the register's listings, in every state.

Queen Anne

The Queen Anne style architecture period of Victorian architecture is well represented on the register listings.

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals

Naval Lodge Elks Building, showing Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture redirects to here

It is a grouping of architectural styles that has been applied as a term by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in hundreds of listings. There are many buildings designed in an amalgam of revival and USD styles that defy simpler classification (e.g. simply as Egyptian Revival architecture) because they are a mix of styles.

Mission/Spanish Revival

Mission/Spanish Revival is an amalgam of two distinct styles popular in different eras: Mission Revival Style architecture and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. The combined term, as well as the individual terms, is often used in classification of buildings listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Pueblo Revival

An example is the Painted Desert Inn in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park.

Exotic Revival architecture

Exotic Revival architecture is another style that may reflect a mix of Moorish Revival architecture, Egyptian Revival architecture, and other influences. Just a few of many National Register-listed places identified with this style are El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium, Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery, Fort Smith Masonic Temple, and Algeria Shrine Temple.^[1]

Examples in California include Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

Mayan Revival

This revivalist style frequently blends Maya architectural and artistic motifs with those of other Mesoamerican cultures, particularly of Aztec architecture.

Examples include the Mayan Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, the Hollyhock House by Frank Lloyd Wright in east Hollywood, and the Aztec Hotel on U.S. Route 66, in California.

Postmedieval English

"Postmedieval English" architecture is a style term used for a number of NRHP listings, including William Ward Jr. House in Middlefield, Connecticut.

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements architecture redirects to here

"American Movements" is a phrase used also in visual arts of the United States to refer to U.S.-centered or -originated movements such as Pop Art, and such as in the art of Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell. (Note: Hopper and Rockwell themselves portrayed various architectural styles in their paintings of small-town and urban America.)

Bungalow/Craftsman

Bungalow/Craftsman is a term commonly appearing in National Register listings, which reflects American Craftsman styling and Bungalow building type. Craftsman style, depending on one's definition, may apply only to decorative arts of furniture and other objects while not to building architecture. Nonetheless, many thousands of craftsman-styled California bungalow houses nationwide have been built. When listed on the National Register, they usually receive the "Bungalow/Craftsman" classification.

Early Commercial

There are hundreds of National Register-listed buildings of the Early Commercial architecture type.^[1] The style may be a subtype/predecessor of the full Chicago School style architecture.

Plains Commercial

Plains Commercial architecture and Plains Commercial Style is another variant of the Chicago School.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places property types
• Index: American architectural styles

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Jan Cunningham (July 15, 1992). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Simsbury Townhouse / Boy Scout Hall" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior and interior, from 1992 (see captions page 7 of text document)