Carpenter Gothic

{{About|the architectural style|the William Gaddis novel|Carpenter's Gothic}}

File:Aaron Ferrey House.jpg, Kent, Ohio, an example of Downing's Form III]]

File:GraceChurchGeorgetownColorado.jpg]]

File:Springside gatehouse.jpg in Poughkeepsie, New York]]

File:Christ church.jpg, Fort Meade, Florida]]

File:Oak Hill Cottage and Museum.jpg, Mansfield, Ohio: Carpenter Gothic trim on a brick house in the manner of A.J. Davis's Rural Residences]]

File:20160318172037599851000000-o(1).jpg

Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters. The abundance of North American timber and the carpenter-built vernacular architectures based upon it made a picturesque improvisation upon Gothic a natural evolution. Carpenter Gothic improvises upon features that were carved in stone in authentic Gothic architecture, whether original or in more scholarly revival styles; however, in the absence of the restraining influence of genuine Gothic structures,The British denigration of Sir George Gilbert Scott's restorations at Ely Cathedral as "Carpenter's Gothic" are discussed in Phillip Lindley, {{"'}}Carpenter's Gothic' and Gothic Carpentry: Contrasting Attitudes to the Restoration of the Octagon and Removals of the Choir at Ely Cathedral". Architectural History 30 (1987:83–112). the style was freed to improvise and emphasize charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication by Alexander Jackson Davis of Rural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations in publications by Andrew Jackson Downing.

History

Carpenter Gothic houses and small churches became common in North America in the late nineteenth century.What Style Is It?, Poppeliers, et al., National Trust for Historic Preservation Additionally during this time, Protestant followers were building many Carpenter Gothic churches throughout the midwest, northeast, and some areas in the south of the US.{{Cite journal |last=Lane |first=Jack C. |title=Florida's Carpenter Gothic Churches: Artistic Gems from a Victorian Past. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43487497 |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |year=2012 |volume=91 |issue=2 |pages=248–270 |jstor=43487497}} This style is a part of the Gothic Revival movement.{{Cite web |last=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Carpenter Gothic |url=https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Carpenter-Gothic/20461 |website=Britannica Academic}} For example. these structures adapted Gothic elements, such as pointed arches, steep gables, and towers, to traditional American light-frame construction. The invention of the scroll saw and mass-produced wood moldings allowed a few of these structures to mimic the florid fenestration of the High Gothic. But in most cases, Carpenter Gothic buildings were relatively unadorned, retaining only the basic elements of pointed-arch windows and steep gables. Probably the best known example of Carpenter Gothic is the house in Eldon, Iowa, that Grant Wood used for the background of his famous painting American Gothic.{{Cite web |title=Departments and Officials of Wapello County, Iowa |url=https://www.wapellocounty.org/departments/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.wapellocounty.org |language=en}}

Characteristics

Carpenter Gothic is largely confined to small domestic buildings and outbuildings and small churches. It is characterized by its profusion of jig-sawn details, whose elaborate forms the craftsmen-designers were freed to experiment with by the invention of the steam-powered scroll saw. A common but not necessary feature is board and batten siding. Other common features include decorative bargeboards, gingerbread trim, pointed-arched windows, wheel window, one-story veranda, and steep central gable.{{cite web |title=Carpenter Gothic |url=https://www.historycolorado.org/carpenter-gothic |publisher=History Colorado |access-date=1 March 2021}} A less common feature is buttressing, especially on churches and larger houses. Exterior elements like pointed arches made their way inside the homes as well. This can be seen in pointed arch openings and doorways.{{Cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Gladys |year=2011 |title=Storybook Cottages: America's Carpenter Gothic Style |publisher=Rizzoli |isbn=9780847836192 |at=Chapter 6}}

Ornamental use

Being a part of the Gothic Revival, the ornamentation in Carpenter Gothic is much more eclectic; it uses more superficial and obvious motifs. Specifically, Carpenter Gothic ornamentation, referred to as gingerbread, is not limited to use on wooden structures but has been used on other structures, especially Gothic Revival brick houses such as the Warren House in a historic district in Newburgh, New York, which is said to epitomize the work of Andrew Jackson Downing, but was actually done by his one-time partner, Calvert Vaux. Ornamentation can be seen in the interior as well. Many elements in the interiors were highly crafted such as staircases, walls, ceilings, and fireplaces. Examples of this ornament use include wainscoting, ceiling beams or coffered ceilings, and ornate wallpapers. Gothic style furniture was also used.

Geographic extent

Carpenter Gothic structures are typically found in most states of the United States, except Arizona and New Mexico. There is one Carpenter Gothic in the Huning Highlands Historical District in downtown Albuquerque circa 1882 built by the Seth family who lived there until 2002. Many Carpenter Gothic houses were built in Nevada in the 1860–1870s (Virginia City, Reno, Carson City, and Carson Valley areas) and still exist (2010). Although this style was most common in northern America, nowhere else had built as many churches as in Florida between 1870 and 1900. In Canada, carpenter Gothic places of worship are found in all provinces and the Northwest Territories, while Carpenter Gothic houses seem to be limited to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces.{{cite web|url=http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/carpenter.htm|title=carpenter|first=Shannon|last=Kyles|website=www.ontarioarchitecture.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821113509/http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/carpenter.htm|archive-date=21 August 2016}}

Endangered Carpenter Gothic buildings

Many American Carpenter Gothic structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which may help to ensure their preservation. Many, though, are not listed and those in urban areas are endangered by the increased value of the land they occupy.

A current example of this is St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, Maspeth, New York, built in 1847 by Richard Upjohn.{{cite web|url=http://www.junipercivic.com/HistoryArticle.asp?nid=8|title=The Serious Side of Carpenter Gothic: Why Richard Upjohn Wanted to Build a Country Church in Maspeth |website=www.junipercivic.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308143053/http://junipercivic.com/historyArticle.asp?nid=8|archive-date=8 March 2017}} It was sold to a developer in 2006. Its rectory had already been demolished and a deal with the City of New York to preserve the church in exchange for higher density on the remaining vacant land fell through and the parcel went on the market for $10 million.{{cite web |author=Lauinger |first=John |date=12 December 2007 |title=St. Saviour Church for sale at $10M - NY Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2007/12/13/2007-12-13_st_saviour_church_for_sale_at_10m-1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629174311/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2007/12/13/2007-12-13_st_saviour_church_for_sale_at_10m-1.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |access-date=9 May 2018 |website=New York Daily News}}

After a number of postponements, in March 2008, just hours before the final deadline to demolish the church, a deal was struck with a local community group, whereby they were allowed time to raise money to move the structure. At a cost of some $2 million, the building was reduced to its original appearance and dismantled into pieces, so it could be transported through the narrow, winding streets of the neighborhood. It was reconstructed on the grounds of a cemetery in the nearby neighborhood of Middle Village, where it is now used for community activities.{{cite journal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/nyregion/thecity/06savi.html|journal=The New York Times|first=James|last=Angelos|date=April 6, 2008|title=For a Church Bathed in History, a Last-Minute Miracle|access-date=12 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926130419/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/nyregion/thecity/06savi.html|archive-date=26 September 2015}}

"American Gothic"

"American Gothic" is a painting by Grant Wood from 1930. It depicts American rural life with its subject being a "stern" looking father and his daughter in front of a small Carpenter Gothic style house. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window[http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/pages/MOD_5.shtml "Grant Wood"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031043330/http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/pages/MOD_5.shtml |date=2011-10-31 }}, Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved December 14, 2008. and a decision by the artist to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that house."{{Cite news |last=Fineman |first=Mia |date=2005-06-08 |title=The Most Famous Farm Couple in the World |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/culture/2005/06/the-most-famous-farm-couple-in-the-world.html |access-date=2023-04-30 |issn=1091-2339}}

<span class="anchor" id="Steamboat Gothic architecture"></span> Steamboat Gothic

File:LangdonHouse.jpg, Cincinnati, Ohio, an example of Steamboat Gothic]]

Steamboat Gothic architecture, a term popularized by Frances Parkinson Keyes's novel of that name,{{Cite web |title=Steamboat Gothic by Frances Parkinson Keyes |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/frances-parkinson-keyes/steamboat-gothic.htm |access-date=2023-04-30 |publisher=Fantastic Fiction}} is sometimes confused with Carpenter Gothic architecture,{{cite web|url=http://www.pplans.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=346|title=Steamboat Gothic|website=pplans.com|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002095822/http://www.pplans.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=346|archive-date=2 October 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mississippivalleyrealty.com/all.htm |title=Mississippi River, acreage, homes, farms, fishing, hunting, cabins, woods |access-date=2007-11-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408023627/http://www.mississippivalleyrealty.com/all.htm |archive-date=2008-04-08 }} See listing number 235, accessed 11-5-2007 but Steamboat Gothic usually refers to large houses in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys that were designed to resemble the steamboats on those rivers.{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/steamboatgothic|title=Definition of Steamboat Gothic |website=www.m-w.com|access-date=9 May 2018}}

Recent examples

St. Luke's Church in Blue Ridge, Georgia, was built in 1995.{{cite web|url=http://www.stlukesblueridge.org/|title=St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Blue Ridge, Georgia - Episcopal Missionary Church|website=www.stlukesblueridge.org|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314074656/http://stlukesblueridge.org/|archive-date=14 March 2018}} Houses and churches are sometimes built in the Carpenter Gothic style into the 21st Century.

Outside North America

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Groepsportret met missionaris pastoor J. van der Loo voor de Rooms-Katholieke kerk te Konga TMnr 10016687.jpg|Local Catholic church of Konga, Larantuka, Indonesia. (circa 1915)

File:St Mary's Church, Parnell.jpg|St Mary's Cathedral of Auckland, completed in 1898.

File:FAL-2016-Stanley, Falkland Islands–St. Mary's Catholic Church.jpg|St. Mary's Catholic Church of Stanley, Falkland Islands, constructed in 1899.

File:20191121 Guyana 0048 Georgetown sRGB (49295795336).jpg|St. George's Cathedral, Georgetown, Guyana

Many nineteenth-century timber Gothic Revival structures were built in Australia,{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Carpenter_Gothic_churches_in_Australia|title=Category:Carpenter Gothic churches in Australia |publisher=Wikimedia Commons |access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520124835/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Carpenter_Gothic_churches_in_Australia|archive-date=20 May 2015}} and in New Zealand – such as Frederick Thatcher's Old St. Paul's, Wellington, and Benjamin Mountfort's St Mary's, but the term "Carpenter's Gothic" is not often used, and many of their architects also built in stone.

Gallery

=Churches, synagogues, etc.=

File:Eastsound WA - Emmanuel Episcopal Church 02.jpg|Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Eastsound, Orcas Island Washington

File:Milton St Marys Church01.jpg|St Mary's Episcopal Church and Rectory, Milton, Florida

File:Dwight IL Pioneer Gothic Church7.JPG|Pioneer Gothic Church, Dwight, Illinois, originally a Presbyterian church

File:UU San Mateo.jpg|Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo, California, California, originally a Methodist church

File:All Saint's Episcopal Church in Enterprise1.jpg|All Saints Episcopal Church, Enterprise, Florida

File:The Old Church (ex-Calvary Presbyterian) - Portland, Oregon.jpg|The Old Church, Portland, Oregon originally Calvary Presbyterian Church

File:St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in 2011.JPG|St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Prairieville, Alabama Note the buttresses.

File:Lagrangechurch.jpg|La Grange Church, Titusville, Florida, originally non-denominational Protestant

File:Palatka Saint Marks01.jpg|St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Palatka, Florida. Note the buttresses at the base of the belfry.

File:Oldstlukes.jpg|St. Luke's Episcopal Church and Cemetery, Courtenay, Florida

File:Port Orange Grace Episc Church01.jpg|Grace Episcopal Church and Guild Hall. Port Orange, Florida)

File:Dunedin Andr Mem Chapel01.jpg|Andrews Memorial Chapel, Dunedin, Florida), originally a Presbyterian church

File:Bethany-2-kendrick-id-us.png|Bethany Memorial Chapel, Kendrick, Idaho, originally a Norwegian Lutheran church

File:Holytrinfruitlandpark6.jpg|Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Fruitland Park, Florida

File:Old Scotch Church autumn - Hillsboro Oregon.jpg|Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church, Hillsboro, Oregon

File:Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Melbourne, Florida) Oblique View.jpg|Chapel of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Melbourne, Florida

File:Lowdnesborostpauls.jpg|St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Lowndesboro, Alabama

File:St Johns in the Prairie 01.jpg|St. John's-In-The-Prairie Episcopal Church, Forkland, Alabama

File:St. Luke's Church at Cahaba 03.JPG|St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Cahaba, Alabama

File:St_Margarets_Hibernia_chapel.jpg|St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Hibernia, Florida

File:AllSaintsEpisJensenBeachFL.jpg|All Saints Episcopal Church, Waveland (Jensen Beach), Florida

File:Zion Memorial Chapel, New Hamburg, NY.jpg|St. Nicholas Chapel, New Hamburg, New York

File:Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church Detroit MI.jpg|Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church, Detroit, Michigan

File:Moose Factory.jpg|St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Moose Factory, Ontario

File:StPaulsChapel.jpg|The original St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Walnut Creek, California

File:DeFuniak Springs Hist Dist CD0144a St Agathas.jpg|St. Agatha's Episcopal Church, DeFuniak Springs, Florida. Note the unusual tower.

File:First Baptist Church Methuen MA.jpg|First Baptist Church, Methuen, Massachusetts

File:Calvary Lutheran Church - Silverton Oregon.jpg|Calvary Lutheran Church, Silverton, Oregon

File:St Pauls Chapel Jul 09.JPG|St. Paul's Chapel, Crownsville, Maryland

File:St. Paul's by the Sea Protestant Episcopal Church.jpg|St. Paul's by-the-sea Protestant Episcopal Church, Ocean City, Maryland

File:St Johns Ruxton MD 01.jpg|St. John's Church, Ruxton, Maryland

File:Mendocino Church Cropped.jpg|Mendocino Presbyterian Church, Mendocino, California

File:TempleIsraelLeadville.jpg|Temple Israel, Leadville, Colorado, 1884 Reform synagogue.

File:GCS FL HD St. Mary's Church01.jpg|St. Mary's Church, Green Cove Springs, Florida

File:United Methodist Church and Parsonage.jpg|United Methodist Church and Parsonage, Mount Kisco, New York

=Houses=

==Plain==

File:2007-06-04-Gothic House.jpg|American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, used by Grant Wood in his famous painting.

File:OakBluffs1.jpg|Cottages in a former Methodist camp town in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard.

File:AVPeters.JPG|Peters-Liston-Wintermeier House in Eugene, Oregon

File:Wilson-Durbin1.JPG|Wilson-Durbin House in Salem, Oregon

File:Blydenburgh Farm Cottage.jpg|Blydenburgh Farmhouse Cottage, built 1860 in Smithtown, New York

File:James and Jennie Cooper House.JPG|James S. and Jennie M. Cooper House, Independence, Oregon

==Ornate==

File:Kingscote 02.jpg|Kingscote in Newport, Rhode Island, built in 1839.

File:AFTON VILLA GARDENS.jpg|Afton Villa, a former plantation house in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Built from 1848 to 1856, the masonry structure burned in 1963.

File:J.M. Bonney House.JPG|J. M. Bonney House in Buena Vista, Colorado, built in 1883

File:2009-0805-MN-StPeter-CoxHouse.jpg|Eugene Saint Julien Cox House in St. Peter, Minnesota, built in 1871

File:Indian Ridge Jul 09.JPG|Indian Range, in Davidsonville, Maryland, built in 1852

File:Roseland Cottage (Bowen Cottage) - entryway.jpg|Roseland Cottage, Woodstock, Connecticut

File:Ashe Cottage.jpg|Ashe Cottage, Demopolis, Alabama

File:JSMorrill-House.jpg|Justin Smith Morrill Homestead Strafford, Vermont

File:Athenwood1.JPG|Athenwood, Montpelier, Vermont, built 1850

File:Waldwic 1.jpg|Waldwic, Gallion, Alabama

File:Moss mansion.jpg|J. Mora Moss House in Mosswood Park, Oakland, California

=Ornamental use=

File:Warren House, Newburgh NY.jpg|Warren House, Gothic Revival brick house with Carpenter Gothic trim and features, Newburgh, New York, Historic District

File:Wedding Cake House - 48312754546.jpg|Wedding Cake House, Kennebunk, Maine. Example of a house built in an older style modified in the Carpenter Gothic style in the mid-1800s.

References

External links

[http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ss/gothicrevival_7.htm Carpenter Gothic houses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114133428/http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ss/gothicrevival_7.htm |date=2007-11-14 }}
[http://architecture.about.com/library/blgloss-bargeboard.htm Bargeboards or vergeboards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116065032/http://architecture.about.com/library/blgloss-bargeboard.htm |date=2008-01-16 }}
[http://www4.bfn.org/bah/a/archsty/gothic/index.html Gothic Revival and Carpenter Gothic in Buffalo]
[http://www.junipercivic.com/HistoryArticle.asp?nid=8 The serious side of Carpenter Gothic: Richard Upjohn and St. Saviour's Church, Maspeth, Queens, New York] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308143053/http://junipercivic.com/historyArticle.asp?nid=8 |date=2017-03-08 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090618032007/http://www.wapellocounty.org/americangothic/index.htm Website of the C.G. House used by Grant Wood]
[http://www.roundlakevillage.org/ Village of Round Lake, New York]
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070218095001/http://www.essential-architecture.com/STYLE/STY-Carpenter.htm Essential Architecture: Carpenter Gothic]}}