Explores the factors and influences that have enriched American architecture throughout its development from colonial times to the present, covering houses, apartments, factories, and office buildings and the architects who designed them.

Why did the colonial Americans give over a significant part of their homes to a grand staircase? Why did the Victorians drape their buildings ornate decoration? And why did American buildings grow so tall in the last decades of the 19th century. This book explores the history of American architecture from prehistoric times to the present, explaining why characteristic architectural forms arose at particular times and in particular places.

This book presents a collection of recent writings on architecture and urbanism in the United States, with topics ranging from colonial to contemporary times.

Have you ever been intrigued by a beautiful building and wondered when it was built? Identifying American Architecture provides the answer to such questions in a concise handbook perfect for preservationists, architects, students, and tourists alike. With 214 photographs, it allows readers to associate real buildings with architectural styles, elements, and orders. Identifying American Architecture was designed to be used--carried about and kept handy for frequent reference. Every photograph is keyed to an explanatory legend pointing out characteristic features of each building's style. Trade bookstores order from W.W. Norton, NY

Defines and illustrates architectural terms relating to building style, structural components, and architectural ornaments.

Since the Renaissance, books and drawings have been a primary means of communication among architects and their colleagues and clients. In this volume, 12 historians explore the use of books by architects in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period when the profession of architecture was first emerging in the United States.

Visual presentation of the many types of houses built in America from the earliest Indian dwellings to designs for futuristic homes.