Quick Summary
The Minnesota Digital Library has recently created a timeline to highlight several examples of architectural styles found in Minnesota from the 1850s and beyond. Viewed together, these buildings show just how much our built environment has changed over the years.
An architectural style is a set of characteristics that shapes how a building or other structure looks. These characteristics include a building’s form, materials, construction, and decoration. Styles are generally tied to a specific moment or era, and they can be influenced by the wider artistic and social movements of their time.
The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) has recently created a timeline to highlight several examples of architectural styles found in Minnesota from the 1850s and beyond. The Architectural Style Timeline describes the key features of over 20 styles, identifies specific buildings that illustrate those styles, and places photographs or drawings of the buildings within the date range that the style was popular. Viewed together, these buildings show just how much our built environment has changed over the years.
This new timeline joins MDL’s three other interactive timelines that explore topics from specific moments in Minnesota’s past. We encourage you to explore these timelines to engage with MDL’s digital collections in a new way.
Image: Minnesota State Capitol building, St. Paul, c. 1910. Source: Minnesota Streetcar Museum.
