Beginning with a description of Gothic, Classical, and Baroque architecture, Pierson explores how American architects used these traditions to develop a uniquely American style. He examines the works of the early masters, including Bulfinch's Massachusetts State House, Latrobe's Capitol Building in Washington, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Mills's buildings in South Carolina, as well as Thomas Jefferson's house in Monticello, which represents the clearest expression of the new American architectural vision.

Why did the colonial Americans give over a significant part of their homes to a grand staircase? Why did the Victorians drape their buildings ornate decoration? And why did American buildings grow so tall in the last decades of the 19th century. This book explores the history of American architecture from prehistoric times to the present, explaining why characteristic architectural forms arose at particular times and in particular places.

Since the Renaissance, books and drawings have been a primary means of communication among architects and their colleagues and clients. In this volume, 12 historians explore the use of books by architects in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period when the profession of architecture was first emerging in the United States.

Beginning with a description of Gothic, Classical, and Baroque architecture, Pierson explores how American architects used these traditions to develop a uniquely American style. He examines the works of the early masters, including Bulfinch's Massachusetts State House, Latrobe's Capitol Building in Washington, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Mills's buildings in South Carolina, as well as Thomas Jefferson's house in Monticello, which represents the clearest expression of the new American architectural vision.

This survey provides a unique overview of 1,000-years of architectural development.