IDENTIFYING FEATURES: Round arches over windows and/or entryways; thick, cavernous entryways and window openings; thick masonry walls, rounded towers with conical roof; facades are asymmetrical; variable stone and brick façade. On elaborate examples, polychromatic facades with contrasting building materials.

BACKGROUND AND INSPIRATION: Two phases of this style: (1) Americans experimented with early versions: 1840s-1850s. Early Romanesque structures resembled Gothic predecessors with Roman forms. Mainly for public buildings. Best example: Smithsonian Institution building (1847-1855). Most accurate interpretation of Roman. (2) Style of Henry Hobson Richardson: attended Harvard, then to France to study architecture. Experimented with variety of sources for his own unique style: polychromed walls, Syrian arches, sculpted shapes, Romanesque forms. Became a truly American style. Still, mostly used for grand, public buildings. Not practical for houses. Inspirations (all by Henry Hobson Richardson): (1) Trinity Church, Boston, 1877 (2) Allegheny County courthouse and jail, Pittsburgh, 1888 (3) Marshall Field Wholesale store, Chicago (1887). Became an almost universal style for public buildings: churches, libraries, train stations, courthouses, schools. Rare for houses due to massive construction requirements, mainly for society's elite class.

PHOTO LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS (based on info available)

1. Boston, MA. Back Bay town house in Romanesque Revival style, including heavy stone (or veneer) facade, round-arched entryway, parapetted dormers, and Victorian-era oriel window (projecting window opening above entryway.
2. Jerseyville, IL. County courthouse. Identifying features include thick masonry construction, with multiple materials; heavy, round-arched windows, asymmetrical massing, and deeply recessed or "cavernous" porches and door/window openings.
3. Madison, IN. Syracuse Lodge #104, Knights of Pythias. c.1890. Identifying features include massive, round tower; heavy, round-arched windows, asymmetrical facade.
4. Toronto, ONT. City Hall, c. 1889-1899. Features include asymmetrical massing and facade, very heavy masonry construction, polychromatic facade with multiple types of stone, and round-arched windows and round tower.
5. Jerseyville, IL. County courthouse, different view from photo 2 above.
6. Bardstown, KY. This is basically Romanesque Revival, though all the detail (some apparently Gothic) may easily confuse the viewer. However, the structure is dominanted by Romanesque traits, including a huge arched entry, very thick stone and brick walls, including its base, and Romanesque towers and parapeted dormers.
7. Toronto, ONT. Closeup of old City Hall in photo 4 above.
8. Toronto, ONT. Side of Old City Hall, juxtaposed with a postmodern glass office tower, a full century younger in age.
9. Washington, D.C. "The Castle," of the Smithsonian Institution. Built in the 1840s, this building represented actually the first American interpretation of the Romanesque Revival style, predating the "second" revival brought on by H.H. Richardson in the 1870s.
10. Plymouth, MA. Meeting House of the Church of Scrooby Leyden and the Mayflower, c.1897. Excellent example of Richardsonian Romanesque style. This is the fifth meeting house erected on this spot, the original having been built here in 1620.
11. Hartford, CT. Union Station (c.1870s, I think).
12. Las Vegas, NM.
13. Leavenworth, KS. Train Depot, c.1887.
14, 15. Troy, KS. County Courthouse.
16. Savannah, GA.
17, 18. Savannah, GA. c.1892. The Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory. Now a main building for the Savannah College of Art and Design.
19. Chicago, IL. c.1930. Chicago Club Building. Replaced earlier Romanesque building from 1887
20. Chicago, IL. c.1889. Auditorium Building, Adler & Sullivan's first major commission. Louis Sullivan is considered the "father of modernism" but at this point he was still looking to H.H. Richardson for inspiration. This structure is entirely load-bearing granite and limestone, with no steel reinforcement.
21-23. St. Louis Union Station, c.1894.
24-25. Durango, CO.
26. Silverton, CO.
27-30. Boston, MA. Trinity Church, c. 1872-1877. H. H. Richardson, architect. The prototype for the new romanesque revival style, or "Richardsonian Romanesque". This church is considered to be Richardson's masterpiece.