Federal architectural style was a development and refinement of the preceding Georgian building style. 

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It was first adopted by well-to-do merchants along the New England coast, who were inspired by the latest developments in Europe, especially by the work of the Adam Brothers -- the largest architectural practice in Britain at the time. Their aesthetic sparked fresh curiosity in ancient Greek and Roman structures in and of themselves, rather than as portrayed by Renaissance architecture in Italy. Due to the scope of their impact, some American architectural historians refer to the Federal style as the Adam style.  

 

Characteristics: 

• A fanlight, either semicircular or elliptical in shape, placed over the entrance door.

• The door may have a crown or a porch for further decoration

• The cornice is usually decorated with moldings, often with tooth-like dentils

• The windows have double-hung sashes (often six panes per sash) and separated by thin wooden supports (muntins) 

• The windows are placed in symmetrical rows either horizontally or vertically and never in pairs (three-part Palladian-style windows are prevalent).

 

Subtypes:

Side-gabled roof— The most typical style of Federal roof seen in all colonies

 

Hipped roof, two-story—In New England, where this style is especially common, it even slightly outnumbers side-gabled houses. It includes a hipped roof with a moderate to extremely low pitch (the latter may seem to be practically flat). 

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Hipped roof, three-story— Found mostly in New England, with an exceptionally significant concentration in the Massachusetts town of Salem. It is often a large structure with landmark qualities.

 

Centered gable— A roof with gables (pediments) that are in the middle of the front facade. The part of the wall under the gable can stay in the same plane, or it can be extended slightly forward to make it stand out. This is the least common type, with less than 10% of surviving Federal houses having this type of roof. 

 

Townhouse—There are still a lot of Federal-style townhouses around today. These include both row houses and narrow detached urban houses.

 

 

This style developed slightly different features in different areas of the country:

Northern colonies: Frame houses with clapboard siding and central or interior chimneys have remained popular in the northern colonies, much as they had in the Georgian and Postmedieval English styles.

 

Southern colonies: Bricks were often used in the southern colonies during building and end chimneys were the norm.