Kilbourntown House
Greek revival was a style was a style that became popular country wide in the mid to late 1800’s. (Walker 108) The Kilbourntown house,built in 1844 by Benjamin Church, is a great example of the Greek revival style. Walking up to house, one of the first and most obvious things that you notice is the four doric columns that line the front porch. The columns along with the extended pediment are some key ingredients that make this type of architecture Greek Revival. While looking at this house I was a little puzzled by the roof. While it looks mainly like a southern plantation style house, it also has element of a New England greek revival town house. Seeing as how the house was built from a parts kit from New York, it only makes sense that there would be some east coat influence within the architecture.
While in the house there were several things that caught my attention. The first thing I noticed when I went through the door was the ceiling height. In today’s world we have become accustomed to 8ft ceiling heights. It was a little weird to walk into a room and have the ceiling be 11ft. It seemed to give the house more a more open feel without increasing the square footage of the floor plan. Another detail that caught my attention was the trim work around the door frames. The jog that was created seemed to highlight the skill of the craftsmen that created it. In turn, it also reflected the wealth that Benjamin Church had. It also reminded me of art deco or arts and crafts but little more refined and cleaner. 
On the out side of the house there were small windows in the frieze that were similar to scroll work that would be seen in same place on a New England Greek revival townhouse. Normally Im not a huge fan of any type of revival architecture, but I enjoyed this house. There was not an exuberant amount of ornamentation. I did not find the details of the frieze, cornice, and pediment too distracting. They may not have essential for the structure of the house but they highlighted the skill of the craftsmen and also allowed the owner, Benjamin Church, a chance to showcase his financial status.
Greek revival was a style was a style that became popular country wide in the mid to late 1800’s. (Walker 108) The Kilbourntown house,built in 1844 by Benjamin Church, is a great example of the Greek revival style. Walking up to house, one of the first and most obvious things that you notice is the four doric columns that line the front porch. The columns along with the extended pediment are some key ingredients that make this type of architecture Greek Revival. While looking at this house I was a little puzzled by the roof. While it looks mainly like a southern plantation style house, it also has element of a New England greek revival town house. Seeing as how the house was built from a parts kit from New York, it only makes sense that there would be some east coat influence within the architecture.
While in the house there were several things that caught my attention. The first thing I noticed when I went through the door was the ceiling height. In today’s world we have become accustomed to 8ft ceiling heights. It was a little weird to walk into a room and have the ceiling be 11ft. It seemed to give the house more a more open feel without increasing the square footage of the floor plan. Another detail that caught my attention was the trim work around the door frames. The jog that was created seemed to highlight the skill of the craftsmen that created it. In turn, it also reflected the wealth that Benjamin Church had. It also reminded me of art deco or arts and crafts but little more refined and cleaner. 
On the out side of the house there were small windows in the frieze that were similar to scroll work that would be seen in same place on a New England Greek revival townhouse. Normally Im not a huge fan of any type of revival architecture, but I enjoyed this house. There was not an exuberant amount of ornamentation. I did not find the details of the frieze, cornice, and pediment too distracting. They may not have essential for the structure of the house but they highlighted the skill of the craftsmen and also allowed the owner, Benjamin Church, a chance to showcase his financial status.
In considering the Greek Revival from a historical context, it is important to realize how prevalent this style became in the 1840s. It was one of the first, if not the first, National Style. It was not limited to one type of building, but found in residences, churches/synagogues, commercial structures, and institutional buildings. It was not limited geographically either, which is really interesting when you begin to consider its prevalence across the country.
ReplyDeleteWhy does this style become so popular in the United States? What is it about the physical and aesthetic characteristics of Greek Revival that make it visually appealing, convenient, practical, and associated with status. Obviously Benjamin Church, with his kit from NY, constructed a Greek Revival style house on what was at the time the Northwest Frontier.
This is the rural part of the country. Why would you need something as refined as this? What is he trying to say through his house? What does the architecture tell you about the person who resides inside? These are all significant questions that connect the built environment with its historical context.
I believe that Church built this style of house to show case his financial status. This particular style of architecture requires and great deal of custom mill work. The more mill work there is, the more money it cost to build. I feel that Church used this to his advantage. He was able to showcase his financial status through the architectural details of his house. Did he need four Doric columns? Probably not. However, they were a status symbol at that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen Greece went to war Turkey in 1821, the Greek temple front became the symbol for republicanism. (Handlin p64) I wonder if Church considered himself more of a patriot by building this style of house. After all this style reflected the ideas of democracy, which Americans fought so hard to achieve. This style was also prevalent in several government buildings. It was becoming more apparent that Greek Revival had become the National Style.