American renaissance; a review of domestic architecture — Reading Notes

A Personal and Critical Stance

Dow does not pretend to neutrality. He openly admires certain buildings and dismisses others, often with a sharp phrase. For instance, he calls the London Terrace houses “sham in comparison” to the Lafayette Place Colonnade, which he considers “the real stuff.” His judgments extend to historical figures: he notes that Washington Irving “spoke and wrote the English language correctly, an uncommon accomplishment in his time,” but adds that Irving was a “dilettante” who “without having anything in particular to say, said it very gracefully.” Such remarks reveal Dow’s criteria—authenticity, craftsmanship, and a certain moral seriousness in design.

Transitional Architecture and Its Defenders

A recurring subject is the Transitional period, which Dow illustrates with houses like the Bennett, Roberts, and de Zeng residences. He admits he would not build a house in that style himself, but if he already owned one, “I should rest content that its architecture could not be improved by any material alteration I could suggest.” This qualified praise reflects his broader view: the best architecture of the Transitional period was admirable but not a model for new work. He also laments the demolition of the Waterbury house, whose “entrancing attic windows screened by the crosses of St. Andrew” he mourns as a loss to the neighborhood.

Commercialism Versus Artistic Integrity

Dow frequently contrasts commercial pressures with genuine artistry. In a chapter titled “Art and Commercialism,” he critiques houses that are “victims of commercialism,” such as the Belmont Houses in New York. He argues that money alone cannot buy architectural quality, as seen in his remark about the Cotton Smith House: “Money will not buy” it. The book’s preface states its aim to trace “the salutary influence upon it of whatever has been good in past building epochs,” suggesting that Dow sees the past as a corrective to the present. His tone is that of a connoisseur addressing fellow architects and informed readers.

Readers should approach American Renaissance as a period document rather than a definitive history. Dow’s strong opinions and specific references—to houses, architects, and even literary figures like Poe—offer a window into early twentieth-century architectural discourse. The book rewards those interested in how architects of the time understood their own tradition, and in the buildings Dow champions or condemns. The illustrations, though not reproduced here, are integral to his argument.

I kept thinking about how that architectural review measures lost authenticity, the way commercial polish hollows out a home’s honest lines. It lingered like a quiet ache. Something in The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance Third Edition — Text and Context feels similar—a reverence for what craft once meant, before fame diluted the light. Strange how two old books can share that same tender sadness.