Egyptian Revival architecture - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

during 1798. Napoleon took a scientific expedition with him to Egypt. Publication of the expedition's work, the Description de l'Égypte
Description de l'Egypte
Description de l'Égypte is the title of several books.* Description de l'Égypte - Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française Pub; First Edition , L'Imprimerie Imperiale, 1809-1813; l'Imprimerie...

, began during 1809 and was published as a series through 1826. However, works of art and architecture (such as funerary monuments) with Egyptian style had been made or built occasionally in Europe and the British Islands since the time of the Renaissance.

Egyptian Revival architecture before Napoleon

The most important example is probably Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...

's obelisk in the Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...

in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. Bernini's obelisk influenced the obelisk constructed as a family funeral memorial by Sir Edward Lovatt Pierce for the Allen family at Stillorgan

Stillorgan

Stillorgan , formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, and contains many housing estates, shops and other facilities, with the old village centre still present...

in Ireland during 1717, one of several Egyptian obelisks erected in Ireland during the early 18th century. Others may be found at Belan, County Kildare and Dangan, County Meath. The Casteltown Folly in County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

is probably the best known, albeit the least Egyptian styled, of these obelisks.

Egyptian buildings had also been built as garden follies. The most elaborate was probably the one built by Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg

Frederick I of Württemberg

Frederick I William Charles of Württemberg was the first King of Württemberg. He was known for his size: at and about , he was in contrast to Napoleon, who recognized him as King of Württemberg.-Biography:...

in the gardens of the Château de Montbéliard

Château de Montbéliard

The Château de Montbéliard , also known as the Château des ducs de Württemberg is a fortress located on an outcropping rock that surveys the town of Montbéliard in the Doubs département of France...

. It included an Egyptian bridge across which guests walked to reach an island with an Egyptian swing and an elaborate Egyptian "bath house". The building featured a billiards room and a "bagnio". It was designed by the duke's court architect, Jean Baptiste Kleber.

Egyptian revival in the wake of Napoleon

Hosking was chosen later by the initiators of Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...

to design a pair of similar Temple Lodges for its front entrance.
What was new after the Napoleonic invasion was the sudden increase of the number of works of art and the fact that, for the first time, European buildings began to be built to resemble those of ancient Egypt.

The first of the Egyptian style buildings was a newspaper office. The Courier, a London newspaper, built a new office on the Strand

Strand, London

Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

in London during 1804. It featured a cavetto (coved) cornice

Cornice

Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...

and a pair of Egyptian-looking columns with palmiform capitals.

The most important building of the Egyptian revival in France was the Egyptian Temple in the Place des Victoires, built as a memorial to generals Desaix and Kleber. The cornerstone was laid on 19 Fructidor

Fructidor

Fructidor is the twelfth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word fructus, which means "fruit".Fructidor is the third month of the summer quarter . By the Gregorian calendar, Fructidor starts on either August 18 or August 19 and ends exactly thirty days...

Year VIII (September 6, 1800.)

An Egyptian Revival building that can still be seen in Paris is the 1812 Fountain of the Fellah, Rue de Sèvres, by François-Jean Bralle.

The Egyptian Hall

Egyptian Hall

For the Glasgow building see The Egyptian Halls.The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an Exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson.-History:...

in London, completed during 1812, and the Egyptian Gallery, a private room in the home of connoisseur Thomas Hope (1769-1831) to display his Egyptian antiquities, and illustrated in engravings from his meticulous line drawings in his book Household Furniture (1807), were a prime source for the Regency style of British furnishings.

The Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....

, with its Egyptian Avenue, is an example of the popularity Egyptian style continued to enjoy as funerary architecture.

In Russia, this fashion — associated primarily with the discoveries of Champollion — produced similar monuments:

Egyptian Bridge
Egyptian Bridge
Egyptian Bridge in St. Petersburg, Russia, carries Lermontov Avenue over the Fontanka River.The one-span suspension bridge that it replaced was of historical interest as a monument to early 19th-century Egyptomania. It was constructed in 1825-1826 based on designs by two civil engineers, Von...

in St. Petersburg, 1825–26
Quay (1832–1834) designed by Konstantin Thon
Konstantin Thon
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon, also spelled Ton was an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. His major works include the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow....

in front of the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...

building.
Egyptian Gate.
The Regional Studies Museum in Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...

.

In the United States and British colonies

The Egyptian revival enjoyed greater popularity as an architectural form in the United States and the British colonies than in Europe. A number of Egyptian-style buildings were built, of which some survive.

1820 pyramid, memorial to Elizabeth, Lady Rufane on Donkin Hill at Old Portuguese Algoa Bay in what is now South Africa.
The 1824 building of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, by architect William Strickland
William Strickland (architect)
William Strickland , was a noted architect in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee.-Life and career:...

(who later designed the 1851 Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

).
Bunker Hill Monument
Bunker Hill Monument
-External links:****: cultural context**...

1827.
Groton Monument
Groton Monument
The Groton Monument, sometimes called the Fort Griswold Monument is a granite monument in Groton, Connecticut.It is dedicated to the defenders who fell during the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. Built between 1826 and 1830, the Monument stands 135 feet tall with 166 steps...

,1826, 1881.
The 1833 First Presbyterian Church (Sag Harbor)
First Presbyterian Church (Sag Harbor)
First Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor, New York, also known as Old Whaler's Church, is a historic and architecturally notable Presbyterian church built in 1844 in the Egyptian Revival style...

by Minard Lafever
Minard Lafever
Minard Lafever was an influential American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century.-Life and career:...

, a rare example of an Egyptian revival church.
The 1835 Philadelphia County Prison (demolished during 1968), design by architect Thomas U Walter.

The Tombs
The Tombs
"The Tombs" is the colloquial name for the Manhattan Detention Complex, a jail in Lower Manhattan at 125 White Street, as well as the popular name of a series of preceding downtown jails, the first of which was built in 1838 in the Egyptian Revival style of architecture.The nickname has been used...

, an 1838 court and jail complex in New York City.
the 1845 Hobart Synagogue
Hobart Synagogue
The Hobart Synagogue, in Hobart, Tasmania, is remarkable both for being the oldest synagogue building in Australia and for being a rare example of the Egyptian Revival style of synagogue architecture. The Egyptian Revival building was constructed in 1845...

, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, Australia.
The 1840 railroad station in New Bedford, Massachusetts was done in Egyptian Revival style.
1840 gates of the Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground
Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five...

in Boston by Isaiah Rogers
Isaiah Rogers
Isaiah Rogers was a US architect who practiced in Mobile, Alabama, Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, and Cincinnati, Ohio.-Background:...

.
College of Cape Town, South Africa, now the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...

.
The 1843 gates and gatehouses of Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...

by Jacob Bigelow
Jacob Bigelow
Jacob Bigelow was an American medical doctor, botanist, and architect of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Biography:...

.
The 1843 Union Suspension Bridge linking Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

with Hull in Quebec, Canada.
The 1845 massive brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...

entry gates of the Grove Street Cemetery at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...

by architect Henry Austin
Henry Austin (architect)
Henry Austin was a prominent and prolific American architect based in New Haven, Connecticut. He practiced for more than fifty years and designed many public buildings and homes primarily in the New Haven area...

.
1845, the Egyptian Building
Egyptian Building
The Egyptian Building is a National Historic Landmark in Richmond, Virginia, built in 1845. It is the first permanent home of the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College and now is a part of Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. It is located on Shockoe Hill at the 1200 block of E...

of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

the 1846 First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut
First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut
The First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut, built in 1846, is notable for being one of only three Egyptian revival churches known to have ever been built in the United States. The architect was Minard Lafever....

.
the 1846-8 Old Synagogue at Canterbury
Old Synagogue at Canterbury
The Old Synagogue in Canterbury is considered to be the best example of an Egyptian Revival synagogue. The earliest record of a Jewish community in Canterbury dates from 1160. The community is known to have been prosperous and to have traded in corn and wool as well as banking...

, England.
the 1848 Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...

is an obelisk. It originally featured doors with cavetto cornices and winged sun disks, later removed.
1848 United States Custom House (New Orleans)
United States Custom House (New Orleans)
The U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana, also known as the Old Post Office and Custom House, is a National Historic Landmark, receiving this designation in 1974 and noted for its Egyptian Revival columns...

.
1849 Lighthouse of l'Agulhas, the second-oldest lighthouse in South Africa, also called the "Pharos of the South".
the 1851 Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, by architect William Strickland
William Strickland (architect)
William Strickland , was a noted architect in nineteenth-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee.-Life and career:...

(who also did the Tennessee State Capitol
Tennessee State Capitol
The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the home of the Tennessee legislature, the location of the governor's office, and a National Historic Landmark. Designed by architect William Strickland, it is one of Nashville's most prominent examples of Greek Revival architecture...

).
the 1856 Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....

undergraduate secret society at Yale. Architect's attribution in dispute, but may also be Henry Austin of the Grove Street Cemetery Gates.
the 1867 Queen's Park Church, Glasgow.
the old Dubuque County, Iowa
Dubuque County, Iowa
Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 93,653 in the 2010 census, an increase from 89,143 in the 2000 census. The county seat is the city of Dubuque. Dubuque County is coterminous with the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the seventh...

, jail, designed by architect John Francis Rague, and completed during 1859. It is now a historical museum. Rague is better known as architect of the old Iowa statehouse in Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

.
the 1913 Masonic Temple in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the Middle East

A number of buildings in Middle Eastern countries, especially Egypt itself, have been built in this style, where it competed with versions of the Moorish Revival

Moorish Revival

Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...

style, a revival of the style medieval Islamic architecture in Egypt, as well as Western styles. The National Museum of Beirut

National Museum of Beirut

The National Museum of Beirut is the principal museum of archaeology in Lebanon. The collection was begun after World War I, and the museum was officially opened in 1942. The museum has collections totalling about 100,000 objects, most of which are antiquities and medieval finds from excavations...

, completed during 1937, is an example. A number of entries for the competition for the proposed Grand Egyptian Museum

Grand Egyptian Museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum , also known as the Giza Museum, is a planned museum of artifacts of ancient Egypt. Described as the largest archaeological museum in the world, the USD 550 million museum is scheduled to open in 2013...

near the Pyramids of Giza mixed modernism with various elements of Ancient Egyptian tomb and temple architecture. The current building of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt

Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt

The Supreme Constitutional Court is an independent judiciary body in the Arab Republic of Egypt, with its new seat in the Cairo suburb of Maadi....

, opened in 2001 in the Maadi

Maadi

Maadi is a wealthy suburb south of Cairo, Egypt. The town is home to the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo American College , Lycée Français du Caire , Misr American College , Maadi British International School , the Cairo Rugby Club, and the national Egyptian Geological Museum.-...

district of Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, is a more recent example of the Egyptian Revival style.

Twentieth century

The expeditions that eventually discovered during 1922 of the treasure of Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...

's tomb by the archaeologist Howard Carter

Howard Carter (archaeologist)

Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun.-Beginning of career:...

resulted in a third revival. Grauman's Egyptian Theatre

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, is one of the world's most famous movie theatres. Opened in 1922, it was the venue for the first-ever Hollywood premiere.- History :...

in Los Angeles, USA, now home to the American Cinematheque

American Cinematheque

The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the Moving Image in all its forms. It is considered among the premier organizations of its kind in America....

, is an Egyptian Revival theatre from the era. Interestingly, the Egyptian Theatre was designed, built and opened during October 1922, two weeks before the historic discovery during November 1922 of the tomb.

The Reebie Storage Warehouse

Reebie Storage Warehouse

The Reebie Storage Warehouse was built for the Reebie Storage and Moving Company in Chicago, Illinois, in 1922. Located at 2325-2333 North Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, it is a widely recognized example of Egyptian Revival architecture...

in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, features twin statues of Ramses II and accurate use of ancient Egyptian images and hieroglyphics. Plaster reliefs depict ancient Egyptians moving grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

on barges. The warehouse is one of the nation's best examples of pure academic-style Egyptian Revival commercial architecture, and is designated as a Chicago Landmark

Chicago Landmark

Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...

and listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Simultaneously, Aleksey Shchusev designed Lenin's Mausoleum

Lenin's Mausoleum

Lenin's Mausoleum also known as Lenin's Tomb, situated in Red Square in the center of Moscow, is the mausoleum that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924...

(1924; rebuilt during 1929) with many elements borrowed from the Pyramid of Djoser

Pyramid of Djoser

The Pyramid of Djoser , or step pyramid is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built during the 27th century BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by Imhotep, his vizier...

. The Egyptian revival of the 1920s is sometimes considered to be part of the Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

decorative arts style. It was present in furniture and other household objects, as well as in architecture.

The Louvre Pyramid

Louvre Pyramid

The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum...

in Paris and Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum , founded by the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, is a museum about Ancient Egypt located at AMORC's Rosicrucian Park in the Rose Garden neighborhood of San Jose, California, United States....

in San Jose, California

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

, are modern-day examples of Egyptian Revival structures. Additionally, Rosicrucian Park

Rosicrucian Park

Rosicrucian Park is the headquarters of the English Grand Lodge for the Americas of AMORC, located in San Jose, California. The park takes up nearly an entire city block and includes the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, the administration building for the Order, the Rosicrucian Planetarium, the...

contains many examples of Egyptian Revival architecture.

Egyptian Revival architecture before Napoleon

Egyptian revival in the wake of Napoleon

In the United States and British colonies

In the Middle East

Twentieth century

See also