Erie's Historic Buildings

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Second Empire

STYLE INFORMATION
Name	Second Empire
General Range	1865-1885

HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF THIS STYLE
Like its contemporaries the Gothic Revival and Italianate, the Second Empire was a modern interpretation of earlier architectural forms. The Second Empire style was re-introduced by Napoleon III of France, who constructed several monumental buildings in the mid-19th century that incorporated the mansard roof, a Medieval French feature. Second Empire residential architecture appeared in the United States almost immediately after the Civil War and was particularly common throughout the 1870s. The key feature of the style is the mansard roof, a "requirement" for a building to be considered part of the style. However, other features are also common, such as decorative iron cresting along the ridge lines; a heavy cornice that incorporated an interior gutter system supported by heavy brackets and/or consoles; tall windows that often featured arched heads; multiple dormers on the third floor; and use of thick molding on doors and window surrounds. A major advantage of the mansard roof is that it made the upper level far more useable in an affordable manner (than a typical attic). The house at 306 West 9th Street in Erie (above) illustrates many of these features. A grouping of Second Empire houses along West 6th Street in the City of Erie represents a subset cluster. These houses feature large hexagonal bays on the main elevation flanking a recessed entrance atop a flight of stairs. Examples were found at 328, 332-334, and 462 West 6th Street, all within the West Sixth Street Historic District. The survey identified several other Second Empire houses of exceptional quality, such as the house at 527 West 6th Street, also in Erie. A block of Second Empire style rowhouses was identified at 201-205 West 8th Street in Erie, and a rather unusual 2-story Second Empire house was identified at 329 West 9th Street in the city.

UPDATE
If you have additional information or corrections to the existing information, send an email to info@preservationerie.org. Submitted information is reviewed by Preservation Erie prior to updating the database.

EXAMPLE

HISTORIC RESOURCES OF THIS STYLE
Municipality	Historic Name	Address
Edinboro Borough	Wade-Evans Hse	139 MEADVILLE ST
Edinboro Borough	Masonic Hall	105 ERIE ST
City of Erie		329 W 9 ST
City of Erie		201 05W 8 ST
City of Erie		306 W 9 ST
City of Erie		437 W 6 ST
City of Erie	Judah Colt Spencer House	527 W 6 ST
City of Erie	Spencer Double House	529 W 6 ST
City of Erie	Addison Leech House	462 W 6 ST
City of Erie		332 W 6 ST
City of Erie		345 W 6 ST
City of Erie		334 W 6 ST
City of Erie		328 W 6 ST
City of Erie		330 W 6 ST
City of Erie	Olds Houses	349 W 6 ST
Fairview Township	Jerome Gaillard House	7800 MAPLE St
North East Borough		25 TOWN ST
Springfield Township		12811 SANFORD RD
Springfield Township		13982 CHESTNUT ST