Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles [Hardcover]

Virginia McAlester (Author), Lee McAlester (Author), A. Lee McAlester (Author), Alex McLean (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

Here is a sumptuously illustrated, authoritative introduction to the principal architectural and decorative styles of the American house from colonial times to the mid-20th century. In this beautifully produced volume, the authors identify the landmark houses that best exemplify America's major architectural and decorative styles since Colonial times. Each of the 25 houses included is illustrated with specially commissioned colour photographs of interior and exterior views, drawings and floor plans, and historical paintings and photographs. The text emphasizes the personalities and lifestyle of the period, architect-client backgrounds and relationships, technological innovations and sources of design elements. Because the featured houses were built by the country's leading architects - from Alexander Jackson Davis and Richard Morris Hunt to McKim, Mead and White, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene Brothers and Walter Gropius - and owned by some of its most celebrated citizens including Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Jay Gould, the Guggenheims, the Phipps, and the Vanderbilts, the book is a cultural history as well as an architecutural study. Located all over the United State, most of the houses are open to the public, and the book provides a listing of their addresses and visiting information.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Architecture buffs and decorators will enjoy visiting these 25 noteworthy American houses, selected partly because they are open to the public. What at first glance appears to be a coffee-table title turns out to be a useful guide to the various architectural styles of the American home, replete with floor plans for each dwelling and schematic diagrams that point out representative architectural characteristics of the style in question. Each chapter also includes a tour of the interior of its house, with significant illustrations of interior detail highlighted. About half the homes are located in the Northeast, and most of the rest can be found east of the Mississippi; Monticello is the most famous house represented. Rounding out the book is a section explaining how to arrange a visit to any of these splendid residences. The McAlesters (A Field Guide to American Houses, LJ 8/84) are columnists for Country Home magazine; McLean is a freelance photographer. Recommended for architecture collections and large public libraries.
Edward B. Cone, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558597506
• ISBN-13: 978-1558597501
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Virginia McAlester is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe College and attended Harvard Graduate School of Design. She is a founding member and past president of Preservation Dallas (formerly called the Historic Preservation League, Inc.) and of Friends of Fair Park, a support group for the Fair Park National Historic Landmark in Dallas, site of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. She serves on the Dallas Landmark Commission and is an Adviser Emeritus of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.Lee McAlester, a geologist by profession, is Chairman of the Geology Department at Southern Methodist University and was formerly Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences there. He is the author of several geology textbooks as well as numerous scientific monographs and papers. He has an active interest in architectural history and has been involved in many Dallas preservation projects.Together the McAlesters are the authors of A Field Guide to American Houses (available in Knopf paperback), Discover Dallas/Fort Worth, and Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles. The National Trust awarded them a Preservation Honor Award for creating A Field Guide to American Houses, and they have recently received the Texas Society of Architects' Flowers Award for excellence in interpreting architecture through the media.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos and excellent information, January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles (Hardcover)

My wife and I love this book. It explains architectural styles by profiling oustanding examples found throughout the United States. The McAlesters not only explain the architectural elements that make a house extraordinary, they also give the fascinating history of the homes and their owners, which include Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and Thomas Edison. In each profile, they also include simple line drawings that clearly identify the features of the style. Since buying this book, we have visited eight of the 25 houses and plan on seeing them all. This book will not gather dust on your coffee table.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done all around., September 18, 2000

By 

bruce horner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles (Hardcover)

You could think of this as a coffee-table version of the McAlester's Field Guide to American Houses (which I also recommend.) In this case each house is an historical landmark as well as an exemplar of an architectural style, and the photos are suitably sumptuous. I like coffee-table books that also give you solid information as well as pretty pictures, and this one succeeds admirably on both counts. It may not have every artist's or magnate's house you can think of, but it has a lot of them. A modern classic.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful Architectual and Interior Design Book, June 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles (Hardcover)

The book has beautiful pictures of historical homes through out the United States. It also includes details about the architecture designs and a listing about how you can visit these house museums.