Second Empire homes usually have these features:
- Mansard roof
- Dormer windows project like eyebrows from roof
- Rounded cornices at top and base of roof
- Brackets beneath the eaves, balconies, and bay windows
Many Second Empire homes also have these features:
- Cupola
- Patterned slate on roof
- Wrought iron cresting above upper cornice
- Classical pediments
- Paired columns
- Tall windows on first story
- Small entry porch
Second Empire buildings with tall mansard roofs were modeled after the the opulent architecture of Paris during the reign of Napoleon III. French architects used the term horror vacui - the fear of unadorned surfaces - to describe the highly ornamented Second Empire style. Second Empire buildings were also practical: their height allowed for additional living space on narrow city lots.
In the United States, government buildings in the Second Empire style resemble the elaborate French designs. Private homes, however, often have an Italianate flavor. Both Italianate and Second Empire houses tend to be square in shape, and both can have U-shaped window crowns, decorative brackets, and single story porches. But, Italianate houses have much wider eaves... and they do not have the distinctive mansard roof characteristic of the Second Empire style.
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