Stone Houses: Colonial to Contemporary

The history of stone houses in America is remarkably rich and diverse. In two hundred stunning color photographs by Paul Rocheleau and an informative text by historian Lee Goff, this book traces the evolution of domestic stone architecture in the United States from the colonial era to the dawn of the twenty-first century, showcasing a vast repertoire of houses and their interiors.

The early settlers adapted their European building traditions to the materials and conditions they found in the colonies. Their legacy can be seen in the Dutch Colonial and French Huguenot houses in the Hudson River valley, and the homesteads of Pennsylvania's German immigrants. The more formal Georgian and Federal houses asserted the identity of the new republic.

In the nineteenth century, stone architecture in America followed the westward expansion of the population, appearing in parts of the South, Midwest, and West where the material was abundant. Regional vernacular traditions were established that took into account geography, climate, and indigenous materials, as well as economic and social factors. At the same time, the growing transportation network allowed stone to be shipped wherever necessary to meet the demands of wealthy architectural clients. A material that connoted status, stone was used to articulate an array of architectural modes, beginning with the Greek Revival and followed by the Victorian era's cavalcade of picturesque revival styles, including Gothic, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Romanesque.

Renowned practitioners such as Richard Morris Hunt,

H. H. Richardson, McKim, Mead & White, and Bruce Price were associated with major commissions for stone mansions from the country's social elite.

In the early twentieth century, handsome residences in the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles appealed to the growing suburban population, and stone gave these historical designs a patina of age and tradition. But stone was also suited to the progressive spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement, the Prairie School, and the modernist current of the century. Frank Lloyd Wright and others used the expressive quality of stone to help build a uniquely American architectural vocabulary. In the postwar era, architects such as Marcel Breuer and Fay Jones found natural stone to be the perfect foil for the hard-edged modern aesthetic.

Today's architects continue to find inspiration in the traditional building methods, regional styles, and use of local materials that connect stone structures to their settings. The color, texture, and organic forms of stone satisfy a fundamental desire for natural beauty, permanence, and authenticity in architecture.

200 photographs in full color