French Second Empire Style Architecture in the Lily of the Valley Historic District (1860-1880)

 

The Elk County Courthouse

Main Street

The French Second Empire style was the first true style of the Victorian era in the U.S. The style was most popular in the Northeast, Midwest; rare in the South. Also known as the "General Grant style", used during the Grant administration for public buildings. Historical context: Style named for the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870), who undertook a major building campaign to transform Paris into a city of grand boulevards and monumental buildings - copied throughout Europe and North America. Napoleon's famous project: enlargement of the Louvre (1852-1857), reintroduced the Mansard roof, developed in 1600s Renaissance by Francois Mansart. Style diffused from France to England to U.S.

Basically Italianate style/forms with Mansard roof!! Dormer windows, sometimes a square (not round) tower, decorative brackets, molded cornice, similar to Italianate detail on windows, doors; Floor plan often includes pavilions: outward projection of a building's center or side.