GreekRevival

The Greatest in Greek Revival Architecture

Filed under: Books

In March Rizzoli will publish an updated version of Roger G. Kennedy's stunning volume Greek Revival America, originally issued 20 years ago and still the landmark lavishly illustrated work on the subject. Kennedy provides an enriching look into the past to explain the reasons for the much-admired architecture movement in America and describes the political landscape of the period before, during, and after the Greek Revival era in a compelling narrative. With hundreds of full-color photographs specially commissioned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation along with illuminating illustrations, the book demonstrates the lasting importance of the Greek style and its impact in America evidenced in iconic buildings including churches, banks, government offices and private estates. Also included is a new preface and an updated appendix of every important surviving Greek Revival structure in the United States today. Kennedy is an Honorary Member of the American Association of Architects, a former Director of the National Park Service, and the Director Emeritus of the National Museum of American History.

Tags: architecture, books, coffee table books, CoffeeTableBooks, Greek Revival, GreekRevival, luxury books, LuxuryBooks, Rizzoli

New England's Great Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books

Three centuries worth of New England's magnificent houses and mansions are collected in an equally grand new book from Rizzoli: Great Houses of New England, by Roderic H. Blackburn (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Spanning a wide range of styles, these stately houses are the originals from which many of today's McMansions have been copied. They're more than just artifacts, however; as Blackburn writes, "Through the architecture and decorative arts we see the development of a people and their region."

Among the more splendid examples in the book is the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead, Mass., dating from 1767 (pictured here), the impressiveness of which is "conveyed by its subdued monumentality," Blackburn notes. Lee, a shipping merchant, built it to emulate aristocratic estates in England, so you might say not all that much has changed. Also of note are the beautiful brick Georgian Macpheadris-Warner House in Portsmouth, N.H., dating from 1716; Rosecliff, a palatial McKim, Mead & White mansion which was the setting for the movie version of The Great Gasby; and Brookside, a gracious Greek Revival in Orwell, VT. See the gallery for more.

Gallery: Great Houses of New England