Hmmm, that rings a Winchester bell.Ĭentral Courtyard of the Winchester Mystery House Owner Sarah Pardee Winchester would have been familiar with the long-lean rowhouses of San Francisco, an Italianate signature, which can also be marked by “the rambling, asymmetrical character of Italian farmhouses,” writes Architectural Styles. The Winchester Mystery House identifies most with Queen Anne. Early on, all the rage was Gothic Revival, then there was Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Eastlake, and Romanesque Revival. In its six decades, it cycled through several styles. Homes built during the Victorian era-all 64 years of it-are Victorians. The train was to Victorian-era America what the Internet was to Americans 100 years later. Factories expedited craftsmanship such as the carving of wood into ornamental pieces and railroads delivered these pieces to cities across the nation. When Queen Victoria’s ascended to the British throne in 1837, the factory system was just emerging, and railroads were making inroads. In an era known mostly for its restraint-synonyms for Victorian are “prudish” “straitlaced” “puritanical”-the exteriors of the houses seemed particularly risqué, if we may hijack that term to describe architecture that flaunted it. Tiers of belvederes, turrets, and balconies exude an eccentricity and lightheartedness. The scalloped shingles favor fancy frosting. Spindlework and stickwork-horizontal and diagonal wood-decorate like pretty piping. Finials top the Winchester cake like slender birthday candles.

Winchester mystery house floor plans