Cape Cod Style Research Paper

Research Essay Draft For centuries, architecture has been changing and developing into new designs year after year. When someone drives down the street, every house might seem the same. But there is more to it than just a design. Every style of architecture is different and has its own history behind it. There are many styles of architecture, such as Victorian, Cape Cod, and Art Deco.
During the Victorian Era of the 1800’s, the Victorian Style was born. “The Victorian Era is a time period, marking the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901” (Craven 1). The Victorian Style took inspiration from multiple styles of architecture. To create the Victorian Style, architects would take different features and characteristics from other styles of architecture to develop something that nobody has seen before (Craven). As the style was progressing, more Victorian inspired structures were created. Some of the well-known styles were Gothic Revival, Folk Victorian, and Queen
Anne. As more styles were developed, architects were inspired by medieval times. Due to this reason, many victorian structures can relate to medieval architecture. To this day, you will find many victorian homes all around the country.
Now we’re going back in time to the 17th century.
The century when the Cape Cod Style was born. However, the very beginning of when the style of architecture was made was around the year of 1690. The Cape Cod style was created in the northern part of the east coast. To be more precise, it started in the area that is now known as the state of Massachusetts. Some of the inspiration for the Cape Cod Style was from Europe as well. Some characteristics of the Cape Cod structures were gabled roofing, dormers(sometimes), and that they usually contained two bedrooms. As the Cape was a pretty common style on the east coast, it wasn’t common in the rest of the country. As the 1930s approached, the Cape was spreading throughout, year after year. “Although Victorian styles eclipsed the plain Cape, these houses came back, in greater numbers than ever, during the Colonial Revival of the 1930s…” (Poore 1). Nowadays, the Cape Cod Style is one of the most recognizable styles in the United States of America
(Poore).
When the Great Depression of the 1930s started, Art Deco was born. “It endured throughout the Depression due to the practicality and simplicity of its design, and its suggestion of better times ahead” (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART 1). Architects were inspired by many different geometrical shapes and colors to create the Art Deco Style. The majority of the Art Deco design was used in train stations and then moved its way into movie cinemas. Art Deco isn’t as common in today’s time, but is still used as a style of interior design and acts as inspiration to theatres and cinemas.
Every style of architecture, such as Victorian, Cape Cod, and Art Deco, were all created using different elements of design and materials. There are many other styles of architecture throughout the world and they all have different purposes and history. As the future approaches, architecture will proceed to change and develop into new designs, one house at a time.