Richardsonian Romanesque vs Shingle Style
Shingle Style was influenced by Richardsonian Romanesque — credited to Richardson's bold, simplified massing, here translated from stone into wood.
Richardsonian Romanesque
A muscular American revival of Romanesque forms — heavy rusticated stone, broad round arches, and powerful massing — named for architect H. H. Richardson.
- Rough-faced, rusticated ashlar stonework conveying massive weight
- Wide semicircular Romanesque arches over doors, windows, and arcades
- Squat, polished colonettes with cushion or foliated capitals
- Heavy clustered massing anchored by a round, conical-roofed tower
- Deep window reveals and contrasting bands of colored stone
Shingle Style
A sophisticated New England resort style wrapping irregular, flowing building masses in an unbroken skin of wood shingles — prizing horizontal continuity over applied ornament.
- Continuous unbroken wood-shingle skin over all surfaces
- Asymmetrical, freely flowing massing
- Broad gambrel or gabled roofs with sweeping planes
- Deep wraparound and recessed porches
- Rounded towers, eyebrow dormers, and minimal applied ornament
At a glance
| Richardsonian Romanesque | Shingle Style | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1870–1900 | 1874–1910 |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | United States, Canada | New England, Atlantic seaboard resorts, United States |
| Family | Victorian, Revival | Victorian |
| Formal traits | rusticated, round-arch, massive, towered | shingle-skin, flowing, sweeping-roof, wraparound-porch |
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