Gingerbread folk architecture

Gingerbread folk architecture

Gingerbread folk architecture A style of folk architecture widely applied to homes in America from about 1870 to 1910; especially characterized by the heavy use of gingerbread, spindlework, and ornate bargeboards. Often, these elaborate embellishments were added to an older house to update it or included in a new house to make it appear to be au courant. Heavily ornamented porches were common; in larger houses, many were two stories high, with decorative balustrades with spindlework balusters and lacelike spandrels. Also see Carpenter Gothic, Queen Anne style, Steamboat Gothic, Victorian architecture.