Since I don't know a lot about this architectural style, I reached out to the experts at Portland Landmarks, to ask their advice on good local examples. They sent me a long list of houses and my husband and I did a Sunday morning tour to learn more.
It seems there are a LOT of mansard/second empire homes in Portland - that we had never noticed before!
What did we learn? Well, most have beautiful architectural trim on the windows and frieze boards (that's the wide wood trim, right under the roofline).
Many have gable dormers, which give the home a distinctive style.
There are a lot of two story plus a turret or bay window homes, but also a few one story with a mansard roof the are similar to our project.
I can't wait to start tearing the vinyl and aluminum siding off of ours, to see what's underneath!
And did you know this style of home is called Second Empire? These houses were wildly popular after the Civil War (they were often called General/President Grant style), when everything French was in vogue. That was especially true here in the northeast, where there are many of these houses. There are far fewer in the southern United States.
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| Don't you love the little porch on the front of the house, shaded by the giant rhododendron? |
The actual mansard roof design is named after the 17th century French architect named Francois Mansard. It became very popular during the reign of Napoleon the III and eventually made its way to England and then the US.
Our Mansard is a 'straight with flare' style, but many other styles (concave, convex, etc.) are also popular. Part of the popularity came from the living space they provided in what was typically an attic.
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I love all the different colors of the houses. I don't usually like an orange on a house, but the house in South Portland did it right and leaned peach. I especially like the three rows of scalloped roof singles. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading somewhere that the original mansard roof was due to taxes. Homeowners were taxed according to the number of floors their house had. With a mansard roof, the homeowner could claim a two story house was a one story, due to the extended roof. We don't have many here on Maryland's Eastern Shore, but there are a few.
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