QUEEN ANNE (1874-1893)
The term “Queen Anne” was coined in England to describe structures inspired by a transitional period of pre-Georgian buildings in which classical ornament was grafted onto medieval forms. “Queen Anne” is really a misnomer. “Queen Elizabeth” would probably be more accurate. English architect Richard Norman Shaw developed the style using English Vernacular architecture, which was solidly built and of simple wood construction. The style came to the United States during the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and spread throughout the country via pattern books and the first American architectural magazine, The American Architect and Building News. The Watts-Sherman House (1874) in Newport, Rhode Island, by H.H. Richardson is considered the first example of Queen Anne architecture in the United States. Leyswood (1868) in Sussex, England, by Richard Norman Shaw, is the first example outside of the United States.
Queen Anne architecture represented a rejection of High Victorian “reality” and a renewed interest in the picturesque after the 1873 financial panic. Americans saw Queen Anne as a return to a rosier past. After the silver crash of 1893, however, the exuberance of Queen Anne architecture was considered a representation of frivolous expenditures; some Denverites even believed it actually represented the attitude of foolishness and exorbitance that gave rise to the 1893 panic. Many Denver houses built during the 1880s and early 1890s are Queen Anne.
Defining characteristics: 
• Asymmetrical
• Textured surfaces
• Classical ornament
• Towers/turrets
• Wraparound porches
• Balconies
• Art glass
• High brick chimneys
