# What Is The Most American Form Of Architecture? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318 "2022-07-02T22:15:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/1 "2022-07-02T22:15:21Z")
What is the most iconic form of architecture in the US **or in your country?** One might think skyscrapers but my vote would be for the simple houses built which expanded suburbs after cars became commonplace and highways became omnipresent. In Canada, possibly Indigenous housing. Instantly recognizable (though seldom currently seen) structures like igloos, teepees or longhouses. **But what says you?** ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/2 "2022-07-02T22:29:57Z")
Queen Anne style architecture is very distinctive in the US; [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/EurekaHistoricDistrict-CarsonMansion2.jpg/196px-EurekaHistoricDistrict-CarsonMansion2.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/EurekaHistoricDistrict-CarsonMansion2.jpg/196px-EurekaHistoricDistrict-CarsonMansion2.jpg) Totally different to the Queen Anne style in the UK [![](https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/eaglehouse1.jpg) ](https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/eaglehouse1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/3 "2022-07-02T22:32:53Z")
I’d agree with the simple houses in suburbs being the most American but I would narrow it down specifically to houses that are some combination of craftsman and ranch. Not only do they epitomize suburbia, Frank Lloyd Wright also influenced the development of a similar style in a deliberate desire to create something American. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/4 "2022-07-02T22:33:19Z")
Id like to say the American craftsman bungalow, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the British arts and crafts movement. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/5 "2022-07-02T23:04:44Z")
Aren’t log houses fairly American in style? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/6 "2022-07-02T23:14:22Z")
IIRC, we got them from the Swedes who settled Delaware. I guess the tipi fits the OP. Tents are worldwide, but do any other feature the inner wall skirt that hold in the warmth while funneling the air up out the top? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/7 "2022-07-02T23:29:38Z")
Mobile Home, Baby! Jack it up, take the axles off and toss them in the corner of the lot to rust and be overgrown with Kudzu, fill up the plastic pool and grab a beer. As they settle, twist and warp and small gaps open up around windows and doors that allow insects in (especially moths, drawn by the light of the TV that is always on), you and your spouse can fight and argue about unrelated stuff that annoys you. Circle of Life. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/8 "2022-07-02T23:52:23Z")
On this side of the puddle, for family homes the candidates would be the Federation style [![](https://i.ibb.co/X3S3Bt5/Federation.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/X3S3Bt5/Federation.jpg) … or the Queenslander [![](https://i.ibb.co/Ycg1cxt/Queenslander.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/Ycg1cxt/Queenslander.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/9 "2022-07-02T23:54:14Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > or in your country? I think in the UK, it’s going to be _the Semi-Detached House_ - a short terrace of two houses (saves on land area, as well as roof and wall construction, still permits residents outside access from the street to the back garden - and most importantly, makes people hate the noise that the next door neighbours make). [![](https://d2td6mzj4f4e1e.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/semi-detached-house.jpg) ](https://d2td6mzj4f4e1e.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/semi-detached-house.jpg) (that is, taking ‘iconic’ to mean ‘strongly representative of’) ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/10 "2022-07-03T00:00:07Z")
First thing that came to my mind for the USA is farmhouses. > [@Mangetout](#): > > I think in the UK, it’s going to be _the Semi-Detached House_ In the States, those are called duplexes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/11 "2022-07-03T00:02:09Z")
The most American form of architecture on display around the world is probably the Quonset hut. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/12 "2022-07-03T00:02:23Z")
When the OP said distinctly American architecture, I was thinking more of something like these; [![](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/AFPRLOK6WFHQLAFEJ5CJLEAQOM.jpeg) ](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/AFPRLOK6WFHQLAFEJ5CJLEAQOM.jpeg) [![](https://images1.loopnet.com/i2/l_rz1kkolPhC_ON-9XtiY1iwlc1PZJzZK2B9eAsAQi4/116/10744-Jefferson-Ave-Newport-News-VA-Primary-Photo-1-LargeHighDefinition.jpg) ](https://images1.loopnet.com/i2/l_rz1kkolPhC_ON-9XtiY1iwlc1PZJzZK2B9eAsAQi4/116/10744-Jefferson-Ave-Newport-News-VA-Primary-Photo-1-LargeHighDefinition.jpg) [![](https://www.laconservancy.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_full/public/images/heroes/BobsBigBoyBroiler_JohnEng.jpg?itok=WOCgTMpB) ](https://www.laconservancy.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_full/public/images/heroes/BobsBigBoyBroiler_JohnEng.jpg?itok=WOCgTMpB) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/13 "2022-07-03T00:03:06Z")
I don’t want to define terms and am happy with what you post. Whatever it means to you. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/14 "2022-07-03T02:04:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > When the OP said distinctly American architecture, I was thinking more of something like these; So was I. Also this. [https://mallwalkers.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sears-1967-TriCounty.jpg](https://mallwalkers.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sears-1967-TriCounty.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/15 "2022-07-03T02:31:34Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > In the States, those are called duplexes. In western Canada, those are duplexes. In eastern Canada, they are semi-detached. In eastern Canada, a duplex is one apartment sitting atop another, in one house. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/16 "2022-07-03T03:49:37Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > First thing that came to my mind for the USA is farmhouses. I agree. As someone who has looked at a million photos of rural houses I cannot even hazard a guess as to how many there are. Here is what I consider the typical traditional farm house composed of two rectangles at right angles to each other: Cities, of course, are a different story. > **[404页面 | Old farm houses, Farmhouse architecture, American farmhouse](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/680747299901008150/)** > > Sep 9, 2018 - The dream house can be a variety of styles. Can be a home style that people like or become a trend instead of being what you dreamed of. If you are currently looking for a style of home architecture that makes you fall in love, this... ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/17 "2022-07-03T04:19:27Z")
Do other countries have churches like this? [![](https://wallpaperaccess.com/full/4126958.jpg) ](https://wallpaperaccess.com/full/4126958.jpg) [![](https://images.discerningassets.com/image/upload/c_fit,h_1000,w_1000/c_fit,fl_relative,h_1.0,o_100,w_1.0/v1539566398/Country_Church_akkvlu.jpg) ](https://images.discerningassets.com/image/upload/c_fit,h_1000,w_1000/c_fit,fl_relative,h_1.0,o_100,w_1.0/v1539566398/Country_Church_akkvlu.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/18 "2022-07-03T04:50:37Z")
American, here. Yeah…yeah I was going to go with “McDonalds,” too. Kind of Winnemacean, I guess. It’s like the T-34 of architecture: it’s not the greatest, and maybe it’s not the best thing that they were built in in the first place, or under the best circumstances…but, by god, we mastered the hell out of making the damned things! ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/19 "2022-07-03T05:30:27Z")
[![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/OfF0FZsdFSFsQZmRRWtumo2hQj4=/1500x798/media/img/photo/2016/11/human-landscapes-of-the-american-so/h15_046/original.jpg) ](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/OfF0FZsdFSFsQZmRRWtumo2hQj4=/1500x798/media/img/photo/2016/11/human-landscapes-of-the-american-so/h15_046/original.jpg) This style of suburban development is distinctly American, as embodied in countless TV shows and movies. It appears in other places in the world but only as a distinct aspirational homage towards the American original. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318/20 "2022-07-03T08:24:23Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What is the most iconic form of architecture in the US **or in your country?** Cape Dutch, no question. > **[Cape Dutch architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Dutch_architecture)** > > Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style found mostly in the Western Cape of South Africa, but modern examples of the style have also been exported as far afield as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The style was prominent in the early days (17th century) of the Cape Colony, and the name derives from the initial settlers of the Cape being primarily Dutch. The style has roots in medieval Netherlands, Germany, France and Indonesia. > Houses in this style have ... For the US? Skyscrapers _were_ my first thought, but they’re not actually one unified architectural style, you could have Art Deco or Brutalist or Bauhaus skyscrapers. Then it hit me: Googie is the most _American_ of architectures. Note how two of Smapti’s 3 fast food restaurants partake of it. > **[Googie architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googie_architecture)** > > Googie architecture (/ˈɡuːɡi/ GOO-ghee) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the United States from roughly 1945 to the early 1970s. > Googie-themed architecture was popular among roadside businesses, including motels, coffee houses and gas stations. The style later became widely known as part of the mid-century modern sty... > [@Shalmanese](#): > > This style of suburban development is distinctly American, But that development style can have different architecture styles for the houses in it, from one development to another. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-american-form-of-architecture/967318.md?page=2)