History of Art & Architecture, University of Pittsburgh

HAA1530 CRN36791 (grad level HAA2532/CRN 36792) Fall Term 2010 (2111)

Frick Fine Arts room 203, Tuesdays 2:30-4:55 pm

Syllabus for

EARLY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

Professor Franklin Toker

COURSE MEETINGS

#1. Tuesday August 31: Working with the Land: Prehistoric and Pre-European American architecture

#2. Tues Sept 7:Spanish architecture for the Native Americans and the colonists

#3. Tues Sept. 14 African, French, Dutch, Swedish, and German colonial building traditions

#4. Tues Sept. 21 British colonial architecture in Virginia: seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries

#5. Tues Sept. 28: British colonial cities, north and south; Williamsburg and its public buildings

#6. Tues Oct. 5: Georgian houses in the south

[No class Tuesday October 12: University observes Fall Break on Monday, and Monday classes take over the time-slot for classes normally given on Tuesday]

#7. Tues Oct. 19: British colonial architecture in seventeenth-century New England

#8. Tues Oct 26 Late-Georgian architecture in the North

#9. Tues Nov.2: midterm test; Washington D.C. and its main buildings

#10 Tues Nov 9: Neoclassical America: Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Henry Latrobe

#11 Tues Nov 16: The Federal style

#12 Tues Nov 23: The Greek Revival

#13 Tues Nov 30: From the Greek to the Gothic Revival

#14 Tues Dec 7: Gothic Revival, industrialization, and special advocacy positions in architecture

#15 FINAL EXAMINATION Thursday December 16, 12 noon to 1:50 p.m., regular room. Term grades will be posted on the University grades site by 23 December; corrected exams will be available in instructor's office January 3 through 7 of 2011.

DETAILED CLASS CONTENTS

#1. Working with the Land: Prehistoric and Pre-European American architecture

Reading: see "Making Sense of Early American Architecture," in this syllabus. Recommended reading: Peter Nabokov, Native American Architecture, which describes some of the mounds cited in this class in detail, and gives an excellent summary of Pre-European architecture. Highly eccentric reading: your instructor's personal account of biking 328 miles of trails through Early America. See Franklin Toker, "A Question of Grit: Five Days on the Pittsburgh-to-Washington Bike Trail," http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08181/893250-109.stm. (The full 15,000-word account at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08181/893429-109.stm.).

Key works:

--Earthwork enclosures, Newark OH, ca. 1000-1500 CE

--Indian mound, Marietta OH, ca. 1000-1500

1) Great Serpent Mound, Peebles OH, nr. Dayton, ca. 500-1500 CE

2) Cahokia IL, a town of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants until 1250 CE

3) Anasazi tradition: Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: the great kiva ca. 1000 KS18

4) "Cliff Palace," Mesa Verde, Colorado, ca. 1300 KS23

5) Taos Pueblo, Taos, NM; 1000?; already standing by 16th century KS25

--Acoma Pueblo, about same date as Taos

6) Longhouses at Roanoke Island NC, portrayed by John White ca. 1587

--Homes of the Woodlands, Plains, and Coastal Native Americans

NOTE: this introduces you to the first key works in the course--the buildings, cities, books, and projects we will be studying in detail this term. The bolded or bolded/underlined works are the ones on which you will be specifically tested; the others provide context, and may be useful for you in answering essay questions. There will inevitably be substitutions among the key works, however: the instructor will cite these in class. Students will be expected to have a detailed visual recall of these buildings for the midterm and final: the great majority are illustrated in G. E. Kidder Smith's Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present (indicated here as KS, with page number), and in Hugh Morrison's Early American Architecture (indicated here as M), and on the class website. The abbreviation ca. means "around"; ff means "and following"; cap. means chapter.

#2. Spanish architecture for the Native Americans and the colonists

Readings: Morrison cap. 1 on colonial styles in general, and 6 and 7 on Spanish building; recommended: Pierson vol. 1, caps. I and V.

Key works:

1) Church of San Estevan, Acoma NM, 1629-42 KS34; M189ff

2) San José Church, Laguna Pueblo NM, 1699-1706 KS53; M193

--San Augustin, Isleta Pueblo NM, 18th c.

--San Francisco de Assisi Church, Ranchos de Taos NM, 1770-80 (for Spanish settlers but akin to those built for Native Americans)

3) Palace of the Governors, Santa Fé NM, 1610-14 (reconstructed) KS32; M185

4) St. Augustine, Florida: town surveyed and laid out by 1565, settled at least by 1598.

5) Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine FL, 1672-95 (military engineer: Ignacio Daza) KS42; M181ff;

--Private houses of 18th-century St. Augustine.

6) San Xavier del Bac church, Native American reservation south of Tucson AZ, 1775-97 KS117; M210 (a "late" mission church, closer in layout and aesthetics to those made for Spanish-origin congregations)

7) San Carlos Borromeo mission church, Carmel CA, 1790s; KS127

--Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA, 1815

--Thomas Larkin adobe house, Monterey CA, 1834-35 KS186

#3. African, French, Dutch, Swedish, and German colonial building traditions

Readings: Morrison, cap. 8 on French building tradition; cap. 4 on Dutch; cap. 16 on Swedish and German

Key works:

--Harmony PA: 1804 log house with 1810 German-style addition

--African tradition: plantation houses, Melrose, Louisiana

1) Plan of New Orleans LA; 1721 M255

2) Parlange Plantation, Pointe Coupée Parish LA, 1750 M263; KS87

3) Courthouse (Saucier house), Cahokia IL, ca. 1737, M257

4) Bolduc house, Ste.-Genevieve MO, ca. 1787 KS122

--Plan and views of Québec, Canada (founded 1608) in 1759

--Plan of Montréal, Canada (founded 1642) in 1759

--Montréal: Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice, 1672

--Montréal: Third church of Notre-Dame, 1672 [compare with Fourth

church of Notre-Dame, 1823-29, by James O'Donnell]

--Montréal: Calvet house, ca. 1680

5) Plan and expansion of New Amsterdam, 1640s

6) New Amsterdam Town-House, 1650s; M107.

--Gloria Dei ("Old Swedes") Church, Philadelphia PA 1698--1700; M508-509

7) The Cloister, Ephrata PA, ca. 1740 KS78; M547

#4. British colonial architecture in Virginia: seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries

Reading: Morrison cap. 5 and coverage of relevant buildings in cap. 9. Recommended: Whiffen caps. 3-4, Pierson caps. III and IV.

Key works:

--Ancestral Washington House, Sulgrave, Great Barrington, England, 1540s & ff; John Washington left for America 1657

--Brick house remains, Jamestown VA, 1607-1660

1) English and Flemish bond methods of brick-laying (Morrison, p. 103).

2) Adam Thoroughgood house, Princess Anne Co. VA, ca. 1680 (earlier dated 1636-40) KS46; M143

3) Arthur Allen house ("Bacon's Castle"), Surry Co. VA, ca. 1655 or 1665; KS41; M146

4) St. Luke's, Smithfield ("Old Brick Chuch"), Isle of Wight Co., VA, 1682 KS36; M154

--Archaeological finds at "Martins Hundred" (now Carter's Grove), near Jamestown, 1619-1622.

#5. British colonial cities, north and south; Williamsburg and its public buildings

Reading: Morrison caps 10 and 11.

Key works:

--Plans for the rebuilding of London, 1666: Christopher Wren and Richard Newcourt

1) Plan of Philadelphia by Thomas Holme with William Penn, 1682 M511

2) Francis Nicholson: Plan of Annapolis MD, 1694 M382

3) Francis Nicholson: Plan of Williamsburg VA, 1699 (surveyor: Theodorick Bland) M320

4) James Oglethorp: Plan of Savannah GA, 1732 KS72; M420

5) College of William & Mary, Williamsburg: main bldg. 1695, rebuilt ca. 1709 (design attribution to Sir Christopher Wren); as seen on the "Bodleian Plate" of 1737; K54; M323

6) Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, 1695-1711, final plan attr. to Gov. Alexander Spottswood, 1711-15 KS54; M331

7) Capitol, Williamsburg, 1699-1705; Francis Nicholson, probable designer; Henry Cary, Sr., overseer) K54

8) Governor's Palace, Williamsburg, 1706-20 (possible design attribution to Sir Christopher Wren; ballroom designed and built by Richard Taliaferro, 1749--51); K54; M328ff

#6. Georgian houses in the south

Readings: Morrison, chapters 9 through 12.

Key works:

1) Tuckahoe, the Thomas Randolph house, on the James River in Goochland Co. VA, started 1712?; mainly dates 1723-34 (Pre-Georgian, sometimes described as Baroque).

2) Stratford, the Thomas Lee house, attributed to Acting Governor Thomas Lee, on the Potomac River in Westmoreland Co. VA; possibly conceived 1717, built 1725-30 or as late as 1738KS68; M335ff. (Also pre-Georgian, as above.)

3) Coleshill, England, attributed to Sir Roger Pratt in the traditions of Inigo Jones and John Webb; 1660

4) The Brafferton, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, ca. 1723

5) Westover, designed by William Byrd II (perhaps with Richard Taliaferro), on the James River in Charles City Co. VA, 1730-34 KS68; M339. Also see M347-348 on Taliaferro.

6) Richard Taliaferro (1705--79): house for himself, later left to his son-in-law George Wythe, Williamsburg, 1755

7) Andrea Palladio, Four Books on Architecture, printed in Venice 1570.

8) Drayton Hall, attributed to John Drayton; near Charleston SC, 1738; KS74; M401

--Middleton Place gardens, near Charleston SC, 1755ff; M405

9) "Shirley," the Elizabeth and John Carter house; ca. 1738 with possible addition or modification of the porticoes by Charles Carter in 1769 and rebuilding 1830; Charles City Co. VA; M368, KS67

--Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg VA. Ancestral house 17th c. left by Peyton Randolph to his brother John, who rebuilt it 1758-62; later named for John Tazewell

--Whitehall, MD, 1764

--Brandon VA, 1765

10) "Mt. Vernon," Fairfax Co VA, 1757-87; main house remodeling 1757-58 and 1773-79 attributed to John Ariss; east portico added 1784-87 probably to the design of George Washington; KS94, M355ff

11) "Mt. Airy," the John Tayloe house, attr. to John Ariss; Mt. Airy (Richmond Co.) VA; 1758 M353ff

12) The Charleston single house, second half of 18th c., KS134

--Heyward-Washington House, Charleston SC, 1758

13) James Gibbs, A Book of Architecture, printed in London 1728

--Gibbs, St. Martin's in the Fields, London, 1721-26

14) St. Michael's, Charleston SC; Samuel Cardy, probable builder, 1752-61; KS89.

--The Exchange, Charleston SC: William Rigby Naylor, architect: 1766

#7. British colonial architecture in seventeenth-century New England Readings: Morrison caps. 2 and 3; recommended: Whiffen cap. 1, pp. 3-30 and Pierson cap. II.

Key works:

1) Salem MA: "English Wigwam" reconstruction as though 1630

2) Reconstructed wattle-and-daub colonists' huts, Salem MA, 1630's

3) Plan of Boston, 1630ff M427; and New England settlements, M50

4) Plan of New Haven CT, 1638

--Plans of Farmington and Wethersfield CT, ca. 1640

5) Fairbanks house, Dedham MA, 1637; M53

6) Ironmaster's house (later the Scotch-Boardman house and Appleton-Taylor-Mansfield house), Saugus MA, 1643? or 1651; KS38, M55ff

--Jonathan Corwin ("Witch") house, Salem MA 1675; M56

--John Turner ("Seven Gables") house, Salem MA ca. 1670, 1678; M64ff

7) The Parsonage (Parson Capen House), Topsfield MA 1683 KS49; M56

8) Paul Revere House (erected by John Jeffs), Boston, MA, ca. 1676

9) Stanley-Whitman house, Farmington CT, ca. 1720 in manner of 1660s KS61; M56

--Vincent House, Martha's Vinyard MA, 1672

11) Jethro Coffin House, Nantucket MA, 1686 M67

12) "Old Ship" Meeting House, Hingham MA, 1681 KS48; M80

13) Peter Tufts house (possibly erected by Matthew Cradock); Medford, MA, ca. 1675 M72; rare New England house in brick

14) Parsonage (Henry Whitfield house), Guilford CT, ca. 1639-40; KS37, M69ff.; rare New England house in stone

#8. Late-Georgian architecture in the North

Readings: Whiffen cap. 5; Morrison cap. 14, 15, 17; highly recommended: Pierson caps. VI and VII.

Key works:

--Colen Campbell, Vitruvius Britannicus; 3 vols (London 1715-25)

--Second Massachusetts statehouse, Boston MA; William Payne, builder, 1712-13, rebuilt 1748

1) Rhode Island Old Colony statehouse, Newport RI, 1739-41, designed by Richard Munday KS75

2) Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 1732-56, probably designed by Andrew Hamilton, built by Edmund Woolley; KS71; M532

3) Old North Church (Christ Church), Boston; William Price, builder, 1723; KS63.

4) Peter Harrison (1716-75): Redwood Library, Newport, 1749 KS85; M447

5) Harrison: King's Chapel, Boston, 1749-54 KS86; M447

6) Harrison: Touro Synagogue, Newport RI, 1759-63 KS96; M455

7) Harrison: Brick Market, Newport RI, 1761

8) John Vassall House (later Henry Wadsworth Longfellow); possible attribution to Peter Harrison), Cambridge MA, 1759; M493

--Houses in the partly reconstructed mid-eighteenth century Georgian village, Deerfield MA

-"Mt. Pleasant," Philadelphia, ca. 1762

9) "Cliveden," the Benjamin Chew House, Philadelphia, 1763--67 and 1776; attributed to Chew and William Peters, KS102

#9. Washington D.C. and its main buildings

Readings: Whiffen cap. 6; Pierson caps. VIII through X [for later lectures also]

Key works:

--Pierre-Charles L'Enfant: redesign of Federal Hall, New York, 1789

1) Pierre-Charles L'Enfant: plan of Washington, 1791-92 (with the assistance of, and completion by, Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker), KS124; influenced city plans of Buffalo, Detroit, and Perryopolis

2) James Hoban: President's House (Executive Mansion/White House), Washington DC, 1792

3) Thomas Jefferson: Virginia State House, 1785-89, Richmond VA; KS120

--Etienne Boulée: ideal buildings, 1780s

--Claude-Nicholas Ledoux: real and ideal buildings, 1780s and 90s

4) The Capitol, Washington DC, 1793 KS128: William Thornton concept

5) The Capitol, Washington DC: Étienne Hallet concept

#10. The neoclassical architecture of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Henry Latrobe

Readings: Whiffen, parts of caps. 5 and 6; Pierson on Monticello: vol I, cap. VIII; on Latrobe, cap IX.

Key works:

1) Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826): Proposed White House, 1792

2) Jefferson: Proposed U.S. Capitol, 1792

3) Jefferson, Monticello, Virginia, 1768-84; 1793-1809 KS110

4) Jefferson: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1817-26; KS163

5) attributed to James Hoban: First Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, 1792

6) Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820; arrives in US 1796): Pump House, Philadelphia, 1800

7) Latrobe: Bank of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1799-1801.

8) Latrobe: work on White House, Washington DC 1807, 1817

9) Latrobe: work on Capitol, particularly Supreme Court, Washington DC, 1807-17; KS128

10) Latrobe: Roman Catholic Cathedral, Baltimore MD, 1804-ca. 1818; KS149

--Latrobe: Markoe House, Philadelphia

--Latrobe: competition for Tayloe House, Washington

--Latrobe: Decatur House, D.C., 1814ff

--Latrobe, St. Paul's, Alexandria, Virginia 1818

11) Maximilien Godefroy: Chapel of St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, 1807; KS162 carries information on Godefroy for another work

--Godefroy: Unitarian Church, Baltimore, 1817-18

#11. The Federal style

Reading: Pierson, vol. I, caps. VI and VII.

Key works:

--Pierre-Charles L'Enfant: Federal Hall, New York, 1789

1) "The Woodlands," the William Hamilton house, Philadelphia, remodeling 1788-89 of 1750s house, probably by Hamilton

2) William Thornton: "The Octagon," for John Tayloe III, Washington DC, 1798-1801; KS139

--Thornton: Tudor Place, Georgetown DC, for Thomas and Martha Custis Peter, 1794-1816

3) Samuel McIntire: Gardner-Pingree house, Salem MA, 1804 KS143

4) Asher Benjamin: American Builder's Assistant, 1797;

5) Asher Benjamin: American Builders Companion, 1806 reprinted to 1827

6) Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844): three houses for Harrison Gray Otis, Boston: first 1795, second 1802, third 1808; KS132

7) Bulfinch: Third Massachusetts State House, Boston, 1795-98; KS133

--Bulfinch: First Church of Christ, Lancaster MA 1816 KS160

8) Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia; east wing in Georgian style 1755 by Samuel Rhoads; central block 1806 in Federal style by David Evans Jr.

9) Adam Wilson: Isaac Meason house, near Uniontown PA, 1802

--Joseph François Mangin and John McComb, Jr., New York City Hall, 1803-12; KS142

#12. The Greek Revival

Readings: Whiffen cap. 7; Pierson vol. I, cap. X.

The Greek Revival era, effectively 1815-1845, marked new professionalism in the architectural profession in America. The first architectural firm with specialized duties, for example, was that of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. The partners joined together around 1820, then split up around 1835. The height of the style corresponds to the era of Andrew Jackson as president: 1824 runs but defeated; elected 1829-33 and 1833-37.

Key works:

1) Thomas Cole, The Architect's Dream, painted 1840 for Ithiel Town; Toledo Ohio Museum of Art

--George Hadfield: First U.S. Treasury Building, Washington DC 1796-7 (Federal Style)

2) Hadfield: "Arlington" the Lee House (for George Washington Parke Custis; later owned by Robert E. Lee), Arlington, VA; wings 1802--07; middle section and portico added 1818-20

--Hadfield: Washington DC City Hall, 1820

3) Thomas U. Walter (1804-1887): portico added ca. 1818 to "Andalusia," the Biddle House of ca. 1805, Philadelphia

4) Alexander Parris: David Sears House, Boston, 1816

5) William Strickland (1788-1854): Second Bank of the U.S., Philadelphia, 1819-24; KS166; compare with Benjamin Henry Latrobe's losing entry in 1818 competition

--Strickland: Philadelphia Exchange, 1832.

#13: From the Greek to the Gothic Revival

Key works:

1) Robert Mills (1781-1855): Fireproof Building, Charleston SC, 1822; KS168

2) Mills: Treasury, Washington DC, 1836-42,

3) Mills: Patent Office, Washington, 1836ff.

4) Mills: Washington Monument, Washington DC, 1836; 1847; 1885; KS216

5) Ithiel Town (1784-1844) and Alexander J. Davis (1803-1892): Samuel Wadsworth Russell House, Middleton CT (today Wesleyan U.), 1829; designed by Town, drawn by Davis, built by Hoadley & Curtis.

6) Minard Lafever: Modern Builder's Guide, 1833

--"Homewood", the Judge William Wilkins House, claimed to have been designed by Wilkins but probably lifted from the Modern Builder's Guide; Pittsburgh, 1835

--Town & Davis: Connecticut Statehouse, Hartford CT, ca. 1830

7) Town & Davis: Customs House (Subtreasury), New York, 1833-42; KS187

8) Alexander J. Davis: Colonnade Row (= Lafayette Terrace = Grange Terrace), New York City, 1838

9) Wm. Strickland: Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville TN, 1845; KS210

10) Ohio Statehouse, Columbus OH, 1839-61 by Henry Walter, Alexander J. Davis and others

11) Thomas U. Walter: Girard College, Philadelphia PA, 1833-48 KS184ff

12) Walter: extension of United States Capitol; cast-iron dome, with Montgomery Meiggs, engineer; 1855ff, 1860-65

--Horace Walpole: Strawberry Hill, England, 1749

--Latrobe: Gothic scheme for Baltimore Cathedral, 1805

--Ithiel Town: Trinity Church, New Haven CT, 1813-16 (KS152ff reference)

--John Henry Hopkins: Essay on Gothic Architecture, 1836 (based on work done 1824 in Pittsburgh)

--Alexander J. Davis: Glen Ellen, Baltimore, 1832

--Davis: "Lyndhurst", Tarrytown NY, 1838 and 1865

13) Richard Upjohn: "Kingscote," (built for George Jones; reworked for David King); Newport RI, 1839 (expanded 1880--81)

14) Upjohn: Trinity church, New York City, 1839-46; KS202

--Upjohn: First Parish Congregational Church, Brunswick ME, 1845-6

15) Upjohn: St. John Chrysostum Episcopal Church, Delafield WI, 1852 (possibly just taken from Upjohn's Rural Architecture); KS221

--John Notman, St. James the Less, Philadelphia 1846-49, an exact replica of English 13th-century Gothic

--Notman, St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia, 1847

16) James Renwick, Jr.: Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 1847--55; KS214

--Renwick: St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, 1853ff

--James Dakin: Louisiana Statehouse, Baton Rouge LA, 1850

#14 Gothic Revival, industrialization, organic vision, and special advocacy positions in architecture

Readings recommended: Whiffen cap. 8; Pierson vol. 2, caps. I and III through VIII

The decades before the Civil War saw the popularization of architecture through pattern books; the influence of the Romantic Movement and industrialization; women's impact on the design of the American home; an appeal to functionalism by Horatio Greenough; and the popularization by Davis, Downing, and Olmsted of a new view of living on the land.

Key works:

1) Asher B. Durand, Kindred Spirits, 1849 (depicts Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant)

2) Influential publications:

--Andrew Jackson Downing: Rural Residences, 1837/38

--Downing: Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, 1841

--Downing: Cottage Residences, 1842

--Horatio Greenough, American Architecture, 1843

--Downing: The Architecture of Country Houses, 1850

--Richard Upjohn, Rural Architecture, 1852

--Orson Squire Fowler, A Home for All. . . Octagon Mode of Building, 1853

--James Bogardus and John Thompson, Cast-Iron Buildings, 1858

--Catharine Beecher & Harriet Beecher Stowe: American Woman's Home, 1869

3) Alexander J. Davis: Plan and gatehouse, Llewellyn Park, West Orange NJ, 1852

--Joseph Kerr: Evergreen Hamlet, Pittsburgh PA, 1852

4) Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux: Central Park, New York City, 1857ff; KS232

MAKING SENSE OF EARLY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

All the buildings and cities we will look at in this course are on American soil, or very close by. Still, it is no simple task to analyze works, whether only 100 or 1000 years old, that are so far removed from our culture and time frame. Hence I offer a personal method that I have developed over the years in thinking about buildings. I will use it, modified where appropriate, for every building I discuss in this course. I will expect you to use it too, not to give the "right" answers about architecture (there are no "right" answers in this field, anyway, only intelligent arguments), but to develop the strongest possible arguments for positions that you take in class, in your written assignment, and on your tests.

The method is called the "five factors" analysis of buildings. As you look at buildings--whether on the street, in slides, or in books--you will find yourself making hundreds of observations, from the shape of its doorways to the shadows cast by its towers to the acoustical properties of its hallways to the changing nature of its internal light. To discuss buildings in class or on paper, you need to organize these observations into one coherent system. One of the most efficient ways to do that--I have learned from experience--is to present your building as the product of five factors, or agents of change. I use the acronym FACIT (Latin for "he/she/it makes") for this sequence. The five factors are:

function

aesthetics

context (physical and social/historical)

ideology (the idea or theory behind the design)

technology and structure

Typically one can see these factors, or agents of change, at work. Anyone walking through the Capitol while Congress is in session will understand what the main function of the building is. An observer could figure out the materials and building technology of the Capitol fairly well by simply looking at it as a response to physical context (climate etc.) One could also make out the aesthetic of the various parts of the Capitol: the sobriety of color and plainness of texture of the oldest parts, and the gaudy decoration of the post-Civil-War rooms. One would not need to know the historical timeframe for the construction of the different parts of the Capitol--but you could guess at it--nor the social context of those years to make those observations.

What you cannot see is the historical context and the prevailing ideology of America during the years in which the Capitol was first designed and later added to. To know that, you would have to do extensive reading, not only on the history of the Capitol but on the history of the United States. This data you could not know from just looking at the Capitol: you need to consult history books to find that out.

To summarize the five factors:

Function tells you what the building was designed to do. How is this revealed?

Aesthetics: what presuppositions or decisions of taste were made when the building was designed: rough rather than smooth; rounded forms rather than straight; irregular rather than regular?

Context. Ultimately, almost everything fits under the title of "context." The first context is geographical (land and climate) and specific to the setting of the building: urban, suburban, or rural; type of city or neighborhood etc.

The second type of context is the temporal, social, and cultural context of the building, as far as you can make it out. You can tell the cultural context of a neighborhood by such signs as ethnic traits or lifestyle: is the neighborhood clothes store a Brooks Brothers or a K-Mart? The cultural context and even the physical context of a neighborhood may have radically shifted with time, but architecture is like a portrait: what you see on the exterior conveys something about the interior too.

Ideology: what mental image is propagated from the building just looking at it on the outside? Or feeling it inside? Does the building convey the personality of its patron? of its architect?

Technology, insofar as you can see it: lighting, heating, cooling, ventilating, plumbing, glass: what appears to make the building inhabitable or visitable? This includes structure, insofar as you can judge: what holds the building up, and how is this exploited for visual or even emotional effect? Can you guess about the expense of the materials or labor conditions in erecting the building?

The five factors listed above, put together, will almost always explain why a building turned out as it did. Some buildings, such as the Gothic-style Cathedral of Learning on our campus, or Colonial-style supermarkets, are not so much indicative of change but of resistance to change: an architectural fashion that clung to Gothic or Colonial long after the original context for those styles had died off. In those cases, we have a triumph of aesthetics over technology: people can (and, perhaps, should) build in the contemporary style, but they are not obliged to.

COURSE INFORMATION

Theme of the course Both scholars and the general public increasingly look to architecture as a prime document and social indicator of America's past and future. When one regards the 400-year recorded history of American architecture and the unrecorded millenium before that, one must be impressed by its drive for cohesion in the face of extraordinary cultural and territorial diversity. The theme of this course will be the search for identity in American architecture in the 300 years from the colonial settlements to the aftermath of the Civil War.

Readings The two texts that most closely approximate the scope of this course are Hugh Morrison's Early American Architecture and G.E. Kidder Smith's Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present. You need to read straight through Morrison for general concepts. We won't be studying every single Spanish mission or Swedish house that Morrison cites, but that's the point: his narrative is far more detailed than mine could be in class. You will not be tested on details such as how the Spanish shaped their floorboards, but you'll be expected to know everything Morrison says about the "key works." For Smith, you need to study all the buildings listed as key works. Both are on sale at the Book Center and available on the reserve shelf in Frick Library.

Below you will find a list of reserve books in Frick Fine Arts Library, downstairs. They have been selected for their important background material; the difference between a B and an A on your tests will be what you know from these additional readings. Two books are especially valuable adjuncts to the course texts. One is Marcus Whiffen's American Architecture, vol. I, which also covers many of the same buildings in narrative form. The other are two volumes by William H. Pierson, Jr., American Buildings and their Architects (on reserve): both are very perceptive and rich in bibliography. Pierson's two volumes are great as "case studies": he zeros in on particular buildings and shows the great richness behind them. You should at least acquaint yourself with his method.

Key works and the class website You will need to know the key works thoroughly as the "vocabulary" of this course; almost all are illustrated either in Kidder Smith or Morrison or on the website for this course at www.franktoker.pitt.edu. The instructor reserves the right to add more or fewer key works; such buildings will always be illustrated in classroom lectures, but not necessarily in the backup texts.

Meeting me I would enjoy talking with you in my office (balcony of Frick Library reading room) any Tuesday morning from 10:00 to 12 noon. That is also a good time to telephone me (412.648.2419) without needing to come to the office, or e-mail me at ftoker@pitt.edu. In past years I have also arranged post-class dinners at Ali Baba, which have proved enjoyable.

Students with disabilities If you have a disability for which you are requesting accommodation, please contact me and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union 412.624.7890.

Cheating and plagiarism This course follows this Department's statement on academic integrity: "Plagiarizing is an act that violates the Student Conduct Code, and will not be tolerated in this class. Plagiarized assignments will result in a failing grade for that assignment." Plagiarism is here defined as the use of six words in a row without a quotation mark and/or clear indication of their origin. Note that in the world of the Internet, plagiarizing has gotten ever more easy: it is mandatory that the full URL address be given for every website you draw upon for your research. Cheating in any manner is not tolerated, and will result in an automatic F for the term.

Grading is based 30% on the midterm test, 30% on the final examination, 10% on participation in class; and 30% on your class presentation (see below). By participation is meant not merely regular attendance but asking at least two questions or making two observations in class during the term. Both the midterm and the final will involve analytical skills as well as evidence of thought about the lectures. A strong performance on the final examination and the term paper can improve a weak grade on the mid-term.

This course follows this Department's statement on academic integrity: "Plagiarizing is an act that violates the Student Conduct Code, and will not be tolerated in this class. Plagiarized assignments will result in a failing grade for that assignment." Note that in the world of the Internet, plagiarizing has gotten ever more easy: it is mandatory that the full URL address be given for every website you draw upon for your research.

The class presentation. You will note about thirty of the key works are not merely bolded but bolded. Those are the works available for your class presentation, on the date stipulated in the first part of this syllabus. Other topics would also be acceptable, if research resources exist for them. You will need to work with a partner (in some cases the group could consist of three students, in which case one might work on the architect, one on the construction history, and one on the interaction of the building with its surrounding city).

A full third of your term grade is riding on this presentation, so do not let it go too long (I will impose no "deadlines": it's up to you). I will accept the first bid I get for any topic, and when all the topics are gone, they are gone--and with it 1/3 of your term grade if you are left out in the cold. Time limit: 10 minutes, 15 maximum. Format: PowerPoint: email me your PowerPoint, whose receipt I will acknowledge almost immediately. Or bring your flash drive to my office about an hour before class. Bringing a flash drive to class, last minute, is unacceptable. Hardcopy: No text need be written out, but you will need to bring to class one page for every student (about 33) that will summarize main points about the building (or treatise) and give main bibliography you used. More details as we get into this.

Main questions to address in your presentation (for simplicity, this assumes you are writing on a single building, but you can extrapolate for a city, architect, theme etc.)

1) description of the building (architect, city plan, theme, etc.);

2) history of how it came about;

3) analysis of how it works, what decisions the architect took, where it fits in its context, etc.;

4) critique of how successful or unsuccessful the building (city, architect etc.) is.

What is the "problem" of this building? i.e. what was it about the function, structure, placement, political importance etc. of this building that makes it noteworthy? Then recapitulate its construction history (were there numerous changes in design before or during construction?), and add a short note of any changes post-construction. Finally, the last third of the presentation should be an assessment of the accomplishment of this particular building: where does the building stand in the career of its architect? Or in the history of that particular building type? Or in the history of whatever city or state it stands in (or was meant to stand in)? How did it change the course of early American architecture, or how might it have changed it? You need to assess success or failure in the building, and specify your criteria.

Guidelines for a successful presentation: give it a title that presents a specific point of view, and make sure the whole presentation embodies a point of view--as any original piece of scholarship would. Start with a "problem," and keep referencing the problem throughout. What was it about the function, structure, placement, political importance etc. of your building (or architect, or city, or patron, or building type etc.) that makes it noteworthy?

Hardcopy resources: To find out about your building, start with the list of books on reserve for this course, and the bibliography on Early American Architecture right in this syllabus. This gives you more leads, nearly all available in Frick library. Then turn to your texts. Morrison's Early American Architecture puts "reading suggestions" at the end of each chapter, and he discusses hundreds of buildings himself. Kidder Smith's Source Book of American Architecture not only covers the 500 buildings he has chosen, but also at the back Kazys Varnelis assembled an excellent seven-page (pp. 637-43) listing of major books, like mine on Pittsburgh.

Look through the rest of my bibliography with care: I selected it with an eye to your particular interests, for example in early technology, landscape, ethnic origins of buildings, interiors etc. Excellent papers can come from "the history of taste," that is, go to the nineteenth-century publications such as Godey's Magazine, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, or taste-making books like Woodward's country homes, The Architecture of Country Houses, American Builders Companion, Modern Builder's Guide, etc., and report on what trends in taste you see there. You will also find numerous books on a specific architect, or projects left unbuilt.

Now come three more valuable volumes, all in the Frick Reference Room (the smaller room behind the Reading Room, with the computers and photocopy machine in it): these are the two-volume International dictionary of architects and International dictionary of architecture; the four-volume Macmillan encyclopedia of architects, and the thirty-four volume Dictionary of Art (the latter on-line under "Grove Dictionary of Art" on www.library.pitt.edu). Ask someone on duty in the library to guide you to them. Nearly all your architects will be listed there, and a fair number of your buildings. Beware, however, of helping yourself too liberally to their contents: I also use these resouces, and can spot plagiarism fast.

If your investigation turns up articles, go to www.jstor.org, from which you may be able to get the whole article fast, on-line (for sure if it's from Art Bulletin or Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians). If it's not on-line, check PITTCAT to see if Frick or Hillman carries that journal, and order the relevant volume.

PITTCAT in any case is crucial to your search, since it gives you all books in the university library system. Look up your particular architect or building, but always broaden your search by typing under Subject Heading "architecture, United States," and literally hundreds of books will come up.

Lastly, some more far-reaching databases: PITTCAT is the most important, for all the electronic resources you find there. Go to "databases A to Z" to find a specific database, OR "Databases by subject" and go to "art and architectural history." The five databases most useful to you are: Grove Dictionary of Art (already cited above): Bibliography of the History of Art; Avery Index to Architectural Publications (journals only); Art full text for recent journal entries; art index retrospective, for older entries; and Art bibliographies modern, for both books and journals on topics since about 1850 but also earlier. Many of the databases give summaries of all articles covered, which helps get over hurdle of foreign languages. The website for Frick Library is: www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/frick/fine_arts.html. Go to it, and click at the bottom of the page, on Art History and Architectural History Subject Guide. This will bring you to a full listing of the databases available.

If your investigation turns up articles, go to www.jstor.org, from which you may be able to get the whole article fast, on-line (for sure if it's from Art Bulletin or Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians). If it's not on-line, check PITTCAT to see if Frick or Hillman carries that journal, and order the relevant volume.

PITTCAT in any case is crucial to your search, since it gives you all books in the university library system. Look up your particular architect or building, but always broaden your search by typing in "Subject Heading = architecture, United States." This will bring up numerous books that will help you refine your search.

Lastly, some more far-reaching databases: PITTCAT is the most important, for all the electronic resources you find there. Go to "databases A to Z" to find a specific database, OR "Databases by subject" and go to "art and architectural history." The five databases most useful to you are: Grove Dictionary of Art (already cited above): Bibliography of the History of Art; Art full text for recent journal entries; art index retrospective, for older entries; and Art bibliographies modern, for both books and journals on topics since about 1850 but also earlier. Many of the databases give summaries of all articles covered, which helps get over hurdle of foreign languages. The website for Frick Library is: www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/frick/fine_arts.html. Go to it, and click at the bottom of the page, on Art History and Architectural History Subject Guide. This will bring you to a full listing of the databases available.

Some miscellaneous sources: Looking for books that you know exist but are not in the University of Pittsburgh system? Then go to www.library.pitt.edu, and click on 'other libraries'. This will bring you to www.worldcat.com, which tells you which libraries DO have that book. You might get it delivered by inter-library-loan in time. This ALSO works with scholarly journals that UPittsburgh might not have. Inter-library-load can get a computer-based PDF of an article very quickly.

Value of this assignment: this is your chance to leave your own mark on the history of architecture. Giving this oral presentation will help with your own intellectual formation for years to come.

Good luck with what should be a fascinating search!

--Frank Toker

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON EARLY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

Note: In an age of the Net and on-line catalogues accessible not only at this University but around the globe, it becomes increasingly irrelevant to list research sources, because these can only represent a fraction of what is available. Hence this rigorously short but pertinent bibliography as a guide to your future development. The majority of these books are in Frick; others are in Hillman, Carnegie, or Hunt Library at CMU only.

Reserve books for HAA1530 in Frick Libary

Gifford, D.The Literature of Architecture...in America

Hamlin, T.Greek Revival Architecture in America

James Kornwolf,Architecture and Town Planing in Colonial North America (3 vols; Baltimore 2002)

Morrison, H.Early American Architecture

Mumford, L.Sticks and Stones

Nabokov, PeterNative American Architecture

Poppeliers, JohnWhat Style is it?

Pierson, W.American Buildings and their architects (2 vols)

Reps, J.The Making of Urban America

Roth, L.Concise History of American Architecture

Scully, V.American Architecture and Urbanism

Smith, G.E.Kidder Sourcebook of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present

Tunnard and ReedAmerican Skyline

Whiffen, M.American Architecture since 1780: A Guide to the Styles

Whiffen, M. and F. KoeperAmerican Architecture (both 1-vol or 2-vol eds)

Early Documents and Firsthand Sources

Roth, L.America Builds: Source Documents in American Architecture

Hitchcock, H-RAmerican architectural books...before 1895

Koyl, G.American architectural drawings...catalogue 5 v.

Benjamin, A.American builder's companion, ca. 1810

Woodward, G.E.Woodward's country homes, 1865 (design catalogue)

Downing, A.J.The Architecture of Country Houses, 1850.

Urban History

Murtaugh, W. J.Moravian Architecture and Town Planning

Meyer and WadeChicago: Growth of a Metropolis

Toker, F.Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait

Whitehill,W.Boston -- A Topographical History

Ciucci, Dal Co, et al.American City from the Civil War to the New Deal

Coolidge, J.Mill and Mansion

Hayden, D.Seven American Utopias

Kirker, H and J.Bulfinch's Boston, 1787-1815

Bridenbaugh, C.Cities in the Wilderness (1625-1742)

Bridenbaugh,C.Cities in Revolt (1743-1776)

See also under specific cities: Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, etc.

General studies on Early American Architecture

Eberlein, H.American Georgian Architecture

Kimball,S.F.Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early Republic

Gowans,A.Images of American Living

Kostof, S.America by Design

Hitchcock, H-RArchitecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Smith,G.K.A Pictorial History of Architecture in America

Stern, R.Pride of Place: Building the American dream

See also: reserve shelf holdings: Scully, etc.

Technical studies of Early American Building

Condit,C.American Building Art: The Nineteenth Century

Condit,C.American Building

Fitch,J.American Building: The Historical Forces that Shaped It

Fitch,J.American Building: The Environmental Forces that Shape It

Gloag,J.Victorian Comfort

Gloag,J.History of Cast Iron in Architecture

Peterson,C.Building Early America

Early American Architects

(Alse look up architects by name in PITTCAT, google etc., and in index to the JSAH via JSTOR)

Gebhard, D. and D. Nevins.Two Hundred Years of American Architectural Drawings

Kostof, S. The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession (some on America)

MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects

Millar, JohnThe Architects of the American Colonies

Wodehouse, L. American architects from the Civil War to the First World War.

Specialized Topics

Creese, W.The crowning of the American landscape: eight great spaces...

Cummings, A.L.The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, 1625-1725

Gowans, A.Image of American living: four centuries architecture and furniture

Handlin, D.The American House: Architecture and Society, 1815-1915

Hitchcock, H-R.Temples of democracy: the state capitols of the U.S.A.

Kauffman, H.J.The American Farmhouse

Kennedy, RogerGreek revival America

Morgan, WilliamPrehistoric architecture in the Eastern United States

Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture (series, much on American material)

Stilgoe, J.Common Landscape of America, 1580-1845

Upton, D.America's architectural roots: ethnic groups that built America

Upton, D.Common places; readings in American vernacular architecture

Upton,D.Holy Things and Profane (Virginia colonial churches)

The early architecture of Western Pennsylvania

Solon Buck, The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, 1938)

Guidebook to historic places in Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, 1938; Darlington and Foster Hall libraries)

Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State (New York, 1940) for historical background.

Charles Stotz, The Early Architecture of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, 1936) with plans, views

G. Swetnam, H. Smith, A Guidebook to Historic Western Pennsylvania (repr. Pittsburgh, 1991)

Franklin Toker, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait (repr. Pittsburgh 1996)

General Histories of Early America

Boorstin, D.The Americans: The Colonial Experience

_____,The Americans: The National Experience

Nevins and CommagerA Short History of the United States