National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

The Gilded Age and Country Places
GILDED-AGE ESTATES BY STYLE AND TYPE:
THE HOUSE FORMS OF GILDED-AGE RESIDENCES
Gilded-age mansions were built in a variety of styles that reflected the individual tastes of
their patrons. The architectural styles drew on many of the historical revivals of the nineteenth
century. French and English prototypes were most significant, although much of the
architectural vocabulary was taken from the Italian Renaissance. Beaux-Arts principles, derived
from the teaching of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, were especially influential on American
architects, many of whom either studied there or apprenticed in the studios of architects who
had. The Ecole des Beaux-Arts gave architects direct experience with formal planning and
classical detail, as well as first-hand knowledge of European models. 98
Between 1890 and World War I, the most opulent models for American country houses came
from France. . . . Paris of the belle époque was a center of decorative and fine arts, fashion
and high culture, the city in which elite standards of taste were established. It was a must on
the grand tour and a haven for collectors. Inevitably, wealthy Americans endeavored to
create French settings for their paintings, furnishings, and other treasures. During the late
1880s both patrons and architects were attracted to French classicism as a new approach for
estates and gardens with formal, aristocratic pretensions. 99
In particular the Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI styles were widely emulated in American
country houses of the Gilded Age. These styles provided the opulence, flamboyance, and formal
grandeur that clearly demonstrated the wealth of the builders. 100
England provided the other important model for building estates in America. In many
ways, it was the lifestyle of the English gentleman that captivated American millionaires. The
vogue of American heiresses marrying titled English gentry in need of cash infusions to sustain
their way of life and family seats was another aspect of this Anglomania. 101
Style was not the dominant consideration in these so-called English houses. Much more
important was the flavor of the place - how it felt, the kind of life that it seemed meant to serve.
This life was, for many English owners, bound up with a host of recreational activities that were
still relatively unfamiliar in the United States. 102
There were several aspects of gilded-age estates that were distinctly American. These
included a porch around the main residence and sanitary and technological comforts that far
exceeded European standards. The general level of convenience was of greater importance to
Americans and easier to accommodate in newly built architecture.
98 This trend was the subject of many articles in the growing number of architectural periodicals. For
example, Robert D. Andrews, "The Changing Styles of Country Houses," Architectural Review 11 (1904):
1-4.
99
Hewitt, 72.
100
Hewitt, 73.
101
Gail Maccoll and Carol Wallace, To Marry an English Lord (New York: Workman Publishing, 1989),
documents the multitude of American-English marriages.
102
Aslet, The American Country House, 67.
18