Editing Italianate Architecture (section)

== Residential Architecture ==

Italianate rowhouses transformed Philadelphia's developing neighborhoods during the mid-nineteenth century. West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and portions of South Philadelphia filled with Italianate houses as the city expanded along streetcar lines. The style adapted well to rowhouse form: bracketed cornices created continuous streetwall rhythm, while window hoods and door surrounds individualized units within attached blocks. Italianate rowhouses typically rose three stories, with the characteristic cornice adding visual height and presence to relatively modest structures.<ref name="tatum"/>

Larger Italianate houses, both attached and detached, served Philadelphia's expanding upper middle class. These dwellings featured more elaborate versions of style elements: deeper bracketed cornices, more sculptural window hoods, bay windows that broke facade planes, and entrance porticos with paired columns. Interior plans became more complex, with specialized rooms for different functions reflecting Victorian domestic ideals. Many of these houses survive, though alterations have often stripped original detail, particularly the wooden cornices that required maintenance and eventually replacement.<ref name="moss"/>