Greenwich Village has seen its fair share of architectural styles since the first structures were erected all the way back in the late 1700s with hardwood floors. Now, two centuries later, the New York City neighborhood lovingly referred to as “the Village” is home to an eclectic collection of historic architecture that spans the years.
Greenwich Village Hardwood Floor Installation
With a 100-year lifespan for hardwood floors, many village homes still retain the original hardwood floors. Refinishing or replacement for hardwood floors depends on the authenticity of the building design. Here are five types of homes you can expect to find while walking the streets of Greenwich Village.
Second Empire
Taking after its late Victorian roots, Second Empire architecture resembles the Mansard architectural style made famous in the late 1800s. A perfect example of this style of architecture in Greenwich Village is Perry Street, which is a tree-shaded street in the heart of the Village. Perry Street is lined with numerous Second Empire brownstones complete with double-pitched Mansard roofs, beautiful dormer windows, and 123-year-old hardwood floors. The architectural style is also known for molded cornices that accent the roofline and elongated first-story windows with elaborate borders.
Georgian Revival
The Georgian Revival style is found throughout the streets of Greenwich Village. 27 Barrow St. is an excellent example of this style of architecture, which was popularized in the late 1700s as an offshoot of Italian Renaissance architecture from the 1500s. Georgian Revival architecture is known for its symmetry and centered appearance, which is evident with the home on 27 Barrow St. The building’s façade has a central entrance and vertically aligned windows. Georgian Revival is also known for its hipped roofs, raised foundations, and hardwood floors throughout.
Federal style
Arguably one of the most famous architectural styles in the Village is Federal style, which is historically preserved on almost every street throughout the famous New York City neighborhood. The two-story homes on Grove Street show the Federal style in all its glory, with original brick façades dating back to the 1820s. The federal-style architecture was a popular style in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It takes after European trends of the same period. Typical features of Federal-style architecture include small, semicircular entry porches, louvered shutters, hardwood floors, and low-hanging hipped roofs.
Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture in Greenwich Village was usually built for the social elite of the time, so the architectural style isn’t as widespread as the rest of the styles mentioned. Remaining examples of Greek Revival style houses of the mid-1800s are located on Washington Square North near Fifth Avenue. The defining features of the Greek Revival architectural style are rounded columns that take after Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian design, double-hung sash windows, and entryways surrounded by sidelights and transoms. The hardwood floors are dark, sober, and warm.
Italianate
The Italianate style is also known as Tuscan, Lombard, or bracketed. Popularized in the mid-1800s, Italianate architecture takes after the Picturesque movement, which was a dominant style in Europe a century prior. Italianate architecture knew no class boundaries. Of all the homes built in the United States during the Victorian era, the romantic Italianate style became the most popular. Centrally located in the Village is a group of townhouses at St. Luke’s Place, which are perfect examples of Italianate architecture.
Italianate remained the preferred house style in the U.S. until the 1870s, when the Civil War curbed the progress of construction. Italianate was also a common style for modest structures like barns and for larger public buildings such as courthouses, town halls, libraries, and train stations. You will find Italianate buildings in nearly every part of the United States except for the deep South. There are fewer Italianate buildings in the southern states because the style reached its peak during the Civil War, a time when the south was economically devastated.
The high square towers made the style a natural choice for upscale homes of the newly rich. However, the brackets and other architecture details, made affordable by new methods for machine production, were easily applied to simple cottages. With their nearly flat roofs, wide eaves, hardwood floors, and massive brackets, these homes suggested the romantic villas of Renaissance Italy.
The Italianate style features low-pitched roofs with overhanging eaves, narrow windows, and paired doorways complete with centered porches and stucco siding. Italianate homes can be wood-sided or brick, with commercial and public properties often being masonry. The most common Italianate styles will often have many of these characteristics: a low-pitched or flat roof; a balanced, symmetrical rectangular shape; and a tall appearance, with two, three, or four stories. Often the building is two stories with heavily molded double doors. Doors and rusticated quoins on masonry buildings are classic Italianate style. Features include wide, overhanging eaves with large brackets and cornices; a square cupola; and a porch topped with balustraded balconies. Tall, narrow, paired windows, often arched with hood moldings projecting above the windows and a side bay window add romantic lighting to the interior. Warm hardwood floors of oak, maple, and walnut finish the interior.
Greenwich Village Hardwood Floor Installation
The next time you’re strolling through Greenwich Village, stay on the lookout for these architectural styles and their hardwood floors. All in all, the end choice is entirely yours, as no one can say with absolute conviction that a single hardwood species has the most beautiful grain. The obvious choice is oak, and you still have two very distinct oak species from which to choose. Each hardwood species has its own unique traits. The main characteristics most people care about are color, texture, grade, sheen, and of course, grain. When it comes to grain, some hardwood types have prominent patterns that make them stand out, while others have them in a more subtle sense. Naturally, both of these looks are great, and the one you choose should be based on the overall design of the room you’re flooring.
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Homeowners and business owners get the same high-quality service at Hudson Flooring. We work with architects, designers, builders, and general contractors. Hudson Flooring is a trusted flooring company since 2008. Hudson Floor Group Inc has been a leading provider of residential & commercial flooring products and flooring services including installation, restoration, refinishing, maintenance, and design consultation services to a growing number of loyal customers throughout the Tri-state area especially in Upper West Side NYC. Certifications OSHA, NWFA, and FSC.
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