The architecture of the United States signifies a wide variety of architectural styles and building forms that have evolved over centuries. When looking at the present, the architecture in the United States represents a noble, eclectic tradition and innovation, both integrated into each other. Even though urbanization and the way of life in metropolitan cities dominate the architectural values nowadays, tradition and interaction between cultures have shaped architecture over time.
Tradition and interaction are the two keywords to briefly explain the extract of the development in architecture in the United States. As this article is about the oldest times in the country, it is possible to say that a significant interaction of cultures and traditions of using the local materials and daily life habits formed architecture. The evolution of American architecture is adapted by the traditions, cultural aspects, and lifestyle of the local people, as well as the diffusion of the other styles that came with the European immigrants in the 17th century.
A Timeline for the Early Stages of Architecture in the United States
Even though many people commonly know the discovery of the United States by the Voyage of Columbus in 1492, history goes far from that. The very first settlements were built by the ancestral Puebloans before the Europeans discovered the continent. These early stages of architecture are known as a pre-Columbian style constructed and influenced by the Puebloans in the United States territory. Examples of this style are observed in the southwest regions of the country, such as New Mexico and Colorado. Each part of the country reflected its own characteristics and ethnicity in its own style. Therefore, it is possible to observe various examples translated into architecture.
As Europeans settled in the United States, they brought their architectural traditions and techniques with them, resulting in a new variety of architectural styles. In these cases, it can be seen that acculturative, overseas reflection took place, and the architectural design and building materials changed to reflect the impairer nation. As the colonizers accepted their new land, American colonial architecture emerged in the period from about 1600 to the 19th century. This movement encompasses the English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish colonial styles, which were synthesized with Native American styles, most evident in houses, religious buildings, and government buildings.
The oldest buildings/settlements are categorized under those architectural styles, pre-Columbian Colonial Architecture. Now it’s time to discover them together.
Cliff Palace Ancestral Puebloan Dwellings | Oldest Buildings In United States
Location: Mesa Verde, Colorado
Construction Year: Around the 1190s
Original Purpose: Social and Administrative Centre
Today’s Condition: Archaeological Site
Cliff Palace in the Ancestral Puebloan Dwellings is the first and a direct example of the pre-Columbian style in the United States. The Mesa Verde Dwellings are wedged into the cliffs, protected by the rocky overhangs above them and the deep ravines below them. The cliff palace was built mainly of sandstone, mortar, and wooden beams, and many of the walls were decorated with colorful clay plasters. However, both eroded due to the changing and very harsh weather conditions in the region, especially the extreme heat and cold, which do not mix well with mortar and wood. The region’s diverse fauna also played its part in destroying the once magnificent structures. The region’s topographical features and the climate conditions prove how impressive it is to build that kind of building within only 20 years and remain standing today.
Acoma Pueblo
Location: Casa Blanca, New Mexico
Construction Year: Around the 1100s
Original Purpose: Native American Dwellings
Today’s Condition: Archaeological Site, a National Historic Landmark, and Residence
Within the vast desert of northern New Mexico, Acoma Pueblo, a massive, 357-foot tall sandstone bluff, has been the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. Known as Acoma Rock, the craggy, flat-topped mountain is home to Acoma, a National Historic Landmark enriched by its unique art and rich culture. The pueblo’s lofty, isolated location made it virtually impenetrable throughout the precontact period, which allowed the village and its people to flourish and develop distinct cultural traditions. A three-story building with buttresses and a relic of the old 11th-century brick architecture still exists in small numbers in Pueblo. Acoma Pueblo was named the 28th Historic Site by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) in 2007 and is the only Native American site to be designated. The preserved historic site serves as a model showing the world how architecture and society are integrated and cannot be thought apart.
Taos Pueblo | Oldest Buildings In United States
Location: Casa Blanca, New Mexico
Construction Year: Around the 1000 AD to 1450 AD
Original Purpose: Native American Dwellings
Today’s Condition: Archaeological Site, a National Historic Site, and Residence
Taos Pueblo, also known as the place of the red willows, sits at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The village, one of North America’s oldest continuously inhabited communities, was designated a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Site in 1992. The Pueblo is made entirely of adobe—earth mixed with water and straw, then either poured into forms or made into sun-dried bricks. The Pueblo is many individual homes, built side-by-side and in layers, with common walls but no connecting doorways. Approximately 150 people live within Pueblo full-time.
San Miguel Mission
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Construction Year: originally built around 1610
Original Purpose: Church
Today’s Condition: National Historic Site, the oldest church in use
San Miguel Mission, also known as San Miguel Chapel, is the oldest Catholic Church built in the United States between 1610 and 1626. The mission was initially constructed from adobe, with a rectangular nave and a trapezoidal apse. Even though it has gotten damaged from time to time, the mission was rebuilt, restored, and continued to be used for its purposes. The architectural and historical features of the building create a unique experience for the architects, and it is worth visiting the site.
Palace of the Governors | Oldest Buildings In United States
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Construction Year: 1610
Original Purpose: Administration
Today’s Condition: National History Museum, National Historic Landmark
The Palace of the Governors is one of the oldest buildings in the United States, located within the historic district of Santa Fe. The original purpose of the building was to serve the government’s administrational issues. Since it has been hosting different cultures by European settlers with diverse objectives, The Palace of the Governors has undergone many architectural and stylistic evolutions. It is an architectural amalgamation of many eras. The 400-year-old Palace of the Governors is a large, one-story building, primarily Spanish-Pueblo style with some Territorial-style elements.
The Fairbanks House
Location: Dedham, Massachusetts
Construction Year: 1637
Original Purpose: Housing
Today’s Condition: House Museum, National Historic Landmark
The Fairbanks House is the oldest known wooden structure in the United States. Jonathan Fairbanks, the architect, built this house for his family, and it is spectacular that the family still runs the place over generations. Today the house is an excellent example of vernacular architecture. A Yale University Professor, Abbot Lowell Cummings, describes the house with these words: “It may be said quite simply that no other house of the mid-17th century in New England has survived in such unbelievably unspoiled condition. It is also extraordinary that a structure should preserve such a high percentage of original features so early. It is a veritable storehouse of information concerning the small handful of houses which survive from this early period.”
Jamestown Church
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Construction Year: 1607 – 1608 – 1617 – 1639 – 1750 (Restoration in 1907)
Original Purpose: Church
Today’s Condition: Church, still in use
The Jamestown Church in Virginia is a significant example of Colonial Architecture. After the English settlers brought their religion to Virginia, they built the Jamestown Church in 1607. The exciting fact about Jamestown Church was destroyed five times, mostly in warfare, and rebuilt four times on the same site from the first day it was built. The oldest surviving structure is the church’s tower, dated sometime in the mid-17th century, and the brick structure was added during the construction of the fourth church in 1639. The archaeologists revealed the remains of the first and second churches; today, the excavation analysis continues.
Lower Swedish Cabin | Oldest Buildings In United States
Location: Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Construction Year: 1640
Original Purpose: Log Cabin
Today’s Condition: restored, not in use
Lower Swedish Cabin is a historic Swedish-style log cabin in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The cabin is one of the oldest log cabins in the United States and one of the last remaining ones built by Swedish settlers, still standing today. The Cabin has a modest two-storey wooden timber structure. Lower Swedish Cabin’s distinctive features are a magnificent example that combines Scandinavian roots and American vernacular architecture.
Castillo de San Marcos
Location: St. Augustine, Florida
Construction Year: 1672 – 1695
Original Purpose: Castle
Today’s Condition: Castle/National Monument
Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the United States, built by the Spanish settlers in 1672. This 350-years old castle demonstrates the cultural intersections between different nations over time. The Castillo is a masonry star fort made of a stone called coquina (Spanish for “small shells”), which consists of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a sedimentary rock similar to limestone. Today, Castillo de San Marcos is accepted as a National Monument that every architect must visit.
Wren Building | Oldest Buildings In United States
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Construction Year: 1695
Original Purpose: Educational
Today’s Condition: National Historic Landmark, College (still in use)
Wren Building is the oldest college building in the United States, designed by the famous British architect Sir Christopher Wren. The building was constructed in 1695 when the territory was the capital of the colonial immigrants. For that reason, it can be seen that the architectural features of the building reflect the British and Flemish styles, such as where the building was constructed out of red brick. Besides being the first college building, Wren Building survived fire thrice in the 19th century, and each time, it was rebuilt, preserving the original exterior walls. Furthermore, the last restoration was contributed by John D. Rockefeller in the 1920s to its 18th-century appearance.
The ten oldest buildings in the United States demonstrate that the architecture of the United States represents a broad range of historically developed architectural styles and building types, accumulating tradition, culture, and interaction. The historical timeline of architecture and understanding its features are excellent sources of inspiration for architects willing to make a mark in this world. People first learn about their past to understand and shape the future.
References:
http://npshistory.com/brochures/meve/cliff-palace-2012.pdf
https://www.puebloofacoma.org/about-us/archaeology-and-legend/
www.acomaskycity.org
https://taospueblo.com/about/
https://www.historicsantafe.org/san-miguel-chapel
www.nps.gov
www.nmhistorymuseum.org
https://fairbankshouse.org/about-history/the-house/
https://www.greatamericantreasures.org/destinations/jamestown-memorial-church/
https://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/map-of-discoveries/jamestown-churches/
Video Filmed & Edited: Joe Paciotti www.JPacProductions.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qzkg328DxA&ab_channel=JoePaciotti
https://www.dcva.org/page-18187
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos
https://smarthistory.org/mesa-verde-cliff-dwellings-2/
https://youtu.be/ifY8gBIonAc
