The Romanesque Revival Style

When studying the history of architecture we often encounter styles whose names include the word "revival". A revival style does not to copy or duplicate buildings of a previous era. Rather, revival styles borrow the proportions and the decorative details from an earlier style and puts them together in new and different ways. The style originally called "Romanesque" was popular in Europe around 1100. Most buildings in this style were fortresses or churches of squat proportions, built of massive stone blocks and featuring simple rounded arches. Fortresses often had towers with steep roofs. Ornamentation on buildings was restricted to specific areas, most notably the tops of columns called "capitals" and the stones that made up the arches. The general feeling of ancient Romanesque is heavy and massive.

Romanesque Revival borrowed several elements from the earlier style. The most notable is the round arch. In Romanesque Revival, arches are used decoratively to highlight important parts of the building such as entrances. Arches are also used to unite one or more stories or to pull a large area of a building together visually.

The Huntington City building (ABOVE) of 1904 demonstrates the use of an arch to focus attention on the main entrance. It also shows the use of large stone blocks or "ashlar" with rough or "rusticated" faces that were very popular in Romanesque Revival buildings.

We can also see three prominent towers and the steeply pitched roof which is common to this style.

Here is a detail of the City building's main arch showing the detailed carving of the stones comprising the arch. The keystone of the arch is carved in the form of a hideous face called a "grotesque". Romanesque Revival structures often feature many grotesques.

Here we see a detail of the second story of the Odd Fellows building. The projecting brickwork called "corbeling", imitates details from ancient Romanesque fortresses. Looking closely you can see the ornate terra cotta trim work. Because Romanesque Revival borrowed the massiveness of the earlier style, it is essential that "heavy" materials like brick, stone and tile are used. You will never find a frame Romanesque Revival building.

Steeply pitched roofs, a tall fortress-like bell tower and many rounded arches all characterize the Central Christian Church from 1905. The interior space of the Church is well over two stories. Notice how the architect unified the multi-story space using "triplets" of tall windows with rounded arches formed of rough stone. The brick, main body of the Church is set on a basement foundation of heavy stone.

This is another example in brick and stone. The slate roof is steeply pitched. The building boasts a prominent hexagonal bell tower. The main entrance is highlighted by a large round archway of rusticated limestone. Stone lintels and a foundation of heavy limestone complete the effect of massiveness. William Street School (Horace Mann School) was built in 1896.

SUMMARY

In the last two decades of the 19th century the Romanesque Revival style, with its heavy stone arches, pointed towers and massive proportions gave Huntington County some of its most impressive buildings.

Proceed to the Queen Anne Exhibit.