Colonial Revival vs Federal Architecture
Colonial Revival evolved from Federal Architecture — also draws on Federal delicate detailing, fanlights, and sidelit doorways.
Colonial Revival
An American revival of Georgian and Federal colonial-era building — symmetrical brick or clapboard façades, a centered classically framed entrance, and balanced rows of multi-paned, shuttered windows.
- Strictly symmetrical façade organized about a central axis
- Accentuated central entrance with pediment, fanlight, or portico
- Balanced rows of double-hung, multi-paned windows with shutters
- Side-gabled or hipped roof with classical cornice detailing (dentils)
- Brick or clapboard walls with white-painted classical trim
Federal Architecture
The classical style of the early American republic — refining colonial Georgian with lighter Adam-derived ornament, delicate detail, and emblems of the new nation.
- Refined, low-relief Adam-style ornament (swags, urns, garlands)
- Elliptical or semicircular fanlights over the entrance
- Slender proportions and flat, restrained brick façades
- Domes, porticoes, and oval/circular rooms in major works
- Palladian windows and delicate classical detailing
At a glance
| Colonial Revival | Federal Architecture | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1876–1955 | 1780–1830 |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | United States, Canada | United States, Eastern Seaboard |
| Family | Revival | Classical |
| Formal traits | symmetrical, central-entry, shuttered, dentil-cornice | symmetrical, slender, fanlight, brick |
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