Classic B&BHistoric inns of the National Register

Read the building: a field guide to styles

Most historic inns announce their age through their architecture. These 18 styles cover nearly every building on this site. Each drawing is a composite we drew to show the features that identify a style; real buildings mix and adapt them.

Style finder

Standing in front of an old building? Pick what you see; the styles that fit stay lit.

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Walls
Entrance

Georgian: symmetrical five-bay front, center door with pediment, end chimneys Georgian and Colonialc. 1700–1790 · 6 on this site The formal, symmetrical house of the British colonies: a two-storey box, five windows across, a centered door and a strict sense of order. Federal: low hip roof with balustrade, fanlight and sidelights around the door Federal (Adam)c. 1780–1830 · 16 on this site The Georgian box made lighter and more delicate after independence: a fanlight over the door, slender detail and a low roof. Greek Revival: temple front with a pediment, wide frieze and full-height columns Greek Revivalc. 1825–1860 · 11 on this site The temple front: a gable turned to the street, a wide band of trim and, in grander buildings, a row of full-height columns. Gothic Revival: steep cross gable, carved bargeboard, pointed-arch windows Gothic Revivalc. 1835–1880 · 3 on this site A picturesque, vertical style: steep gables, carved bargeboards along the eaves and windows with pointed arches. Italianate: low roof, deep eaves on paired brackets, round-headed windows, cupola Italianatec. 1840–1885 · 8 on this site Tall and boxy, with a low roof that projects on decorative brackets, round-headed windows and often a cupola on top. Second Empire: mansard roof with dormers and a central tower Second Empirec. 1855–1885 · 4 on this site The mansard roof: a steep, double-pitched roof that holds a full top floor, punctuated by dormers and often a central tower. Queen Anne: corner turret, patterned shingles in the gable, spindled wraparound porch Queen Annec. 1880–1910 · 11 on this site The most exuberant Victorian style: irregular shapes, a corner turret, wraparound porches and walls of mixed textures. Shingle style: one continuous shingled skin, sweeping low roof, eyebrow dormer Shingle Stylec. 1880–1905 · 3 on this site A seaside style in which one continuous skin of wood shingles wraps walls, towers and porches under broad, low-sweeping roofs. Romanesque Revival: heavy rough stone, deep round arches, squat tower Romanesque Revivalc. 1870–1900 · 3 on this site Weighty masonry, deep round arches and squat towers, usually in rough-faced stone; the Richardsonian version is the best known. Colonial Revival: symmetrical front, columned entry portico, dormers Colonial Revivalc. 1880–1950 · 16 on this site A return to Georgian and Federal forms, but larger and more regular, with an emphasized entrance portico and dormers. Neoclassical: monumental full-height portico, balustraded roofline Neoclassical and Beaux-Artsc. 1895–1940 · 12 on this site Monumental classical buildings with full-height porticoes and colossal columns; the style of grand resort hotels and spas. Tudor Revival: steep front gables, decorative half-timbering, massive chimney Tudor Revivalc. 1890–1940 · 6 on this site Steep front gables, decorative half-timbering, tall chimneys and windows in groups of small casements. Mission and Spanish Revival: stucco walls, shaped parapet, tile roof, arcade, bell tower Mission and Spanish Revivalc. 1890–1940 · 9 on this site Smooth stucco walls, red tile roofs, arcades and shaped parapets that recall the Spanish missions of California and Mexico. Pueblo Revival: rounded adobe-like walls, stepped flat roofs, projecting vigas Pueblo Revivalc. 1905–1940 (continuing) · 2 on this site Rounded, earth-colored walls, stepped flat roofs and projecting roof beams, after the pueblos and Spanish missions of New Mexico. Craftsman: low gable, exposed rafter tails, knee braces, tapered posts on stone piers Craftsman and Arts and Craftsc. 1900–1930 · 6 on this site Low-pitched gables, wide eaves with exposed rafter tails, triangular braces and big porches on tapered columns. Prairie School: low hipped roofs, deep eaves, bands of windows, strong horizontals Prairie Schoolc. 1900–1920 · 1 on this site A Midwestern style of strong horizontals: low hipped roofs with very deep eaves, bands of windows and a ground-hugging profile. Rustic: massive stone chimney and base, log walls, heavy exposed timber Rustic (Parkitecture)c. 1880–1940 · 22 on this site Log and boulder buildings made to look as if they grew from the site: the Adirondack camp and the national-park lodge. Vernacular: plain frame building with a two-storey gallery, the stagecoach-era tavern type Vernacular and Frontier1700s–1900s · 23 on this site Buildings with no academic style: plain stagecoach taverns, frontier hotels and farmhouses shaped by local materials and needs.