Residential Architecture Snapshot: Federal

Federal-style architecture dates from the late 1700s and coincided with a reawakening of interest in classical Greek and Roman culture. Builders began to add swags, garlands, elliptical windows, and other decorative details to rectangular Georgian houses. The style that emerged resembles Georgian, but is more delicate and more formal. Many Federal-style homes have an arched Palladian window on the second story above the front door. The front door usually has sidelights and a semicircular fanlight. Federal-style homes are often called "Adam" after the English brothers who popularized the style.

The main floor windows are usually up off of the street level so the well-to-do homeowners weren't forced to look at and be on the same level as the common street-dwellers. This style of home can be found in parts of Capitol Hill and Queen Anne but also scattered through the city of Seattle.