Gingerbread folk architecture
A style of
folk architecture widely applied to homes in America from about 1870 to 1910; especially characterized by the heavy use of
gingerbread,
spindlework, and ornate
bargeboards. Often, these elaborate embellishments were added to an older house to update it or included in a new house to make it appear to be
au courant. Heavily ornamented porches were common; in larger houses, many were two stories high, with decorative balustrades with spindlework balusters and lacelike
spandrels. Also see
Carpenter Gothic, Queen Anne style, Steamboat Gothic, Victorian architecture.