The Flickr Frenchsecondempire Image Generatr

Anaconda, Montana

The home was constructed in 1895 with both Queen Anne and French Second Empire stylings. It is listed on the NRHP.

Historic plaque:
www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/54659380439/in/datetaken-public/

Couronne de l’impératrice Eugénie (Crown of Empress Eugénie), on display in Salle 705 of the Denon Wing, by Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier, dated 1855.

This imperial crown is crafted from gold, diamonds, and emeralds, designed in the form typical of French imperial crowns. Eight arches in the shape of eagles, a symbol of the Empire, are sculpted in chased gold; between them, palmette motifs set with brilliant-cut diamonds are flanked by emeralds. The arches converge beneath a diamond-encrusted globe circled with emeralds, topped with a cross of diamonds. In total, the crown contains 1,354 brilliant-cut diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds, and 56 emeralds. Though much of the imperial regalia was lost, Eugénie’s crown survived; it was returned to her after the fall of the Empire and later passed to her relative, the Countess de Wittb before it was acquired by the Louvre in 1988.

The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and one of its largest, housing over 35,000 works of art from prehistory to the 19th century. Originally built as a fortress under Philippe Auguste in the late 12th century, it was transformed into a royal palace and later into a public museum during the French Revolution in 1793. Its collections span eight departments, including Egyptian antiquities, Greek and Roman art, Islamic art, sculpture, decorative arts, paintings, prints, and drawings. The museum is organized across three wings—Denon, Sully, and Richelieu—surrounding the Cour Napoléon. The modern glass Pyramid entrance, designed by architect I. M. Pei and inaugurated in 1989, unifies the historic palace complex while serving as a symbol of the museum’s global identity.

This handsome view along Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.’s Embassy Row perfectly captures the neighborhood’s eclectic architectural blend. On the left, a mid-century modernist building with textured concrete panels and a geometric steel canopy reflects the postwar boom in government and commercial development. To its right, a striking late 19th-century brick townhouse basks in golden light, standing proud with its clean cornice, gabled dormers, and simple bay windows—a restrained example of Washington’s Victorian-era urban housing.

Next door, a French Second Empire–style mansion shows off a classic mansard roof and wrought-iron balcony, adding European flair to the row. In the distance, the sharp vertical lines of a modernist white-and-glass building punctuate the skyline, hinting at the evolving character of this stretch of Massachusetts Avenue.

While today many of these historic homes house embassies, private clubs, and cultural organizations, the street’s architectural DNA—part stately, part experimental—remains distinctly Washingtonian. The bare winter trees lining the avenue allow full appreciation of the façade details, from decorative brickwork to elegant iron railings.

This is Embassy Row at its finest: a walking history lesson where 19th-century ambition, 20th-century pragmatism, and 21st-century innovation coexist.

Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

www.MikeMcLaughlinPhoto.com

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex, in Washington, DC. A National Historic Landmark, the EEOB was once the home of the State, War, and Navy Departments. The building now houses the offices of a majority of White House staff.

Erected in 1856, this 8-foot tall bronze likeness of Benjamin Franklin by Richard S. Greenough is boston's first public portrait statue. Located in front of Boston's Old City Hall, an ornate 1862 French Second Empire style structure (appropriately so since Franklin was this country's first ambassador to France), and in front of City Carpet, a hopscotch-like mosaic that marks the original site of Boston Latin School, which Franklin attended before dropping out.

Boston's Old City Hall, home to the city council from 1865 to 1969, was built in the French Second Empire style by Gridley James Fox Bryant and Arthur Gilman from 1862 to 1865 at 45 School Street, along the Freedom Trail. The Boston Public Latin School, marked by the City Carpet mural, operated on the site from 1704 to 1748, and on the same street until 1844. In 1810 the Suffolk County Court House was erected on this site, and converted to Boston's second city hall in 1841. Thirty-eight Boston mayors, including John F. Fitzgerald, Maurice J. Tobin, and James Michael Curley, served their terms of office on School Street at this site over a period of 128 years. With the 1969 move to the current Boston City Hall, Old City Hall was converted to serve other functions–an early and successful example of adaptive reuse. It now houses a number of businesses, organizations, and a Ruth's Chris Steak House, though its most famous tenant, the upscale French restaurant Maison Robert, closed in 2004.

National Historic Register #70000687

1861 French Second Empire

Corinth, Mississippi

The French Second Empire home was constructed in 1877.

Historic sign:
www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/52621579090/in/datetaken-public/

This was originally the: State, War, and Navy Building

commissioned by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Built: 1871 - 1888

Architect: Alfred B. Mullett, Supervising Architect of the Department of Treasury

This was originally the: State, War, and Navy Building

commissioned by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Built: 1871 - 1888

Architect: Alfred B. Mullett, Supervising Architect of the Department of Treasury

The First Division Memorial, was erected in 1924 in President's Park, west of the White House and south of what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, at the corner of 17th Street and State Place, NW. Designed by Adolphe Huguet and architect Cass Gilbert, the memorial is centered with an 80-foot high pink Milford granite shaft, topped by a 15-foot gilded bronze winged figure of Victory, designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Conceived by the Society of the First Division, the veterans' organization of the U.S. Army's First Division, the monument was designed to honor the valiant efforts of the 5,599 men of the First Division who were killed in World War I. Later additions to the monument commemorate the lives of First Division soldiers who fought in subsequent wars---the World War II addition on the west side, designed by Cass Gilbert, Jr. was dedicated in 1957, the Vietnam War addition on the east side in 1977, and the Desert Storm plaque in 1995.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), formally known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), was built from 1871 and 1888 to house the growing staffs of the State, War, and Navy Departments. Located on 17th Street, N.W., between Pennsylvania Avenue and New York Avenue, and West Executive Drive, it is owned by General Services Administration and currently occupied by the agencies of the Executive Office of the President, such as the White House Office, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council. Supervising Architect Alfred B. Mullett's design is considered one of the best examples of French Second Empire architecture in the country. Much of the interior was designed by Richard von Ezdorf using fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements.

Executive Office Building National Register #69000293 (1969)
Lafayette Square Historic District National Register #70000833 (1970)

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), formally known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), was built from 1871 and 1888 to house the growing staffs of the State, War, and Navy Departments. Located on 17th Street, N.W., between Pennsylvania Avenue and New York Avenue, and West Executive Drive, it is owned by General Services Administration and currently occupied by the agencies of the Executive Office of the President, such as the White House Office, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council. Supervising Architect Alfred B. Mullett's design is considered one of the best examples of French Second Empire architecture in the country. Much of the interior was designed by Richard von Ezdorf using fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements.

The first executive offices were constructed on sites flanking the White House between 1799 and 1820. A series of fires and overcrowding conditions led to the construction of the Treasury Building, whose North Wing necessitated the demolition of the State Department Building in 1866. Congress appointed a commission to find a replacement in 1869, and by the time construction began in 1871, it was set to incorporate the War and Navy Departments. Gradually, the original tenants outgrew and vacated the building--the Navy Department in 1918, followed by the War Department in 1938, and finally by the State Department in 1947. The White House began to move some of its offices across West Executive Avenue in 1939, and in 1949 the building was turned over to the Executive Office of the President and renamed the Executive Office Building. In 1957, President Eisenhower's Advisory Committee on Presidential Office Space recommended demolition but public outcry and associated cost saved the building.

Lafayette Square Historic District, roughly bordered by 15th and 17th Sts. and H St. and State and Treasury Places, exclusive of the White House and its grounds, covers the seven-acre public park, Lafayette Square, and its surrounding structures including the Executive Office Building, Blair House, the Treasury Building, the Decatur House, and St. John's Episcopal Church.

National Register #69000293 (1969)
Lafayette Square Historic District National Register #70000833 (1970)

The First Division Memorial, was erected in 1924 in President's Park, west of the White House and south of what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, at the corner of 17th Street and State Place, NW. Designed by Adolphe Huguet and architect Cass Gilbert, the memorial is centered with an 80-foot high pink Milford granite shaft, topped by a 15-foot gilded bronze winged figure of Victory, designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Conceived by the Society of the First Division, the veterans' organization of the U.S. Army's First Division, the monument was designed to honor the valiant efforts of the 5,599 men of the First Division who were killed in World War I. Later additions to the monument commemorate the lives of First Division soldiers who fought in subsequent wars---the World War II addition on the west side, designed by Cass Gilbert, Jr. was dedicated in 1957, the Vietnam War addition on the east side in 1977, and the Desert Storm plaque in 1995.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), formally known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), was built from 1871 and 1888 to house the growing staffs of the State, War, and Navy Departments. Located on 17th Street, N.W., between Pennsylvania Avenue and New York Avenue, and West Executive Drive, it is owned by General Services Administration and currently occupied by the agencies of the Executive Office of the President, such as the White House Office, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council. Supervising Architect Alfred B. Mullett's design is considered one of the best examples of French Second Empire architecture in the country. Much of the interior was designed by Richard von Ezdorf using fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements.

Executive Office Building National Register #69000293 (1969)
Lafayette Square Historic District National Register #70000833 (1970)

The First Division Memorial, was erected in 1924 in President's Park, west of the White House and south of what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, at the corner of 17th Street and State Place, NW. Designed by Adolphe Huguet and architect Cass Gilbert, the memorial is centered with an 80-foot high pink Milford granite shaft, topped by a 15-foot gilded bronze winged figure of Victory, designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Conceived by the Society of the First Division, the veterans' organization of the U.S. Army's First Division, the monument was designed to honor the valiant efforts of the 5,599 men of the First Division who were killed in World War I. Later additions to the monument commemorate the lives of First Division soldiers who fought in subsequent wars---the World War II addition on the west side, designed by Cass Gilbert, Jr. was dedicated in 1957, the Vietnam War addition on the east side in 1977, and the Desert Storm plaque in 1995.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), formally known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), was built from 1871 and 1888 to house the growing staffs of the State, War, and Navy Departments. Located on 17th Street, N.W., between Pennsylvania Avenue and New York Avenue, and West Executive Drive, it is owned by General Services Administration and currently occupied by the agencies of the Executive Office of the President, such as the White House Office, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council. Supervising Architect Alfred B. Mullett's design is considered one of the best examples of French Second Empire architecture in the country. Much of the interior was designed by Richard von Ezdorf using fireproof cast-iron structural and decorative elements.

Executive Office Building National Register #69000293 (1969)
Lafayette Square Historic District National Register #70000833 (1970)

Fair Haven, VT
October 8, 2021

"Standing on 1.78 acres on the Green in Fair Haven, Vermont, the Marble Mansion Inn is a twenty-two room 6,400 square foot French Second Empire mansion complete with mansard roof, belvidère, and porte cochère.

The Hon. Ira C. Allen
The big marble house was built in 1867 by the Honorable Ira C. Allen, a prominent businessman of the Fair Haven community; born in Bristol, Vermont in 1816, Allen was the grandson of a cousin of American Revolutionary War patriot Ethan Allen. He was married to Mary E. Richardson, daughter of C. Richardson of Geneva, New York, in 1855 and they had four children: Charles, Ira, Jessie, and Francis.

A banking and railroad magnate, Allen had interests in marble, slate, and real estate. He also served as a state representative, 1861-62 and a state senator, 1867-68 in the Vermont State Legislature and was one of the founders of the Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River, Vermont. He served on the Academy’s board of trustees for many years.

The Mansion (built 1866-67)
In 1866, Ira C. Allen bought the property from Judge William Kittredge who had a house on the property. This house was removed to another site. Moving houses was common in those days because it was cheaper than building or buying. The house was placed on rollers and as horses pulled it, the rollers were moved from back to front. The marble came from Proctor and according to the story, each piece of marble was numbered and lay on the lawn for quite some time before it was used in construction.

Grandfather (Ira C.) Allen and his family moved in on January 1, 1868.
The parlors were not furnished. Two hot air furnaces and coal stoves were in the dining room. In 1870 with two large cisterns well water was brought in and pumped to the second floor. With running water on the second floor baths and toilets were put in. Two years later the town of Fair Haven put in water works. The parlor was furnished at a cost of $4,000.

At first the marble house was piped for gas with kerosene lights; then in 1893 the house was wired for and became the first house in Fair Haven to have electricity. All the marble was brought from West Rutland by ox teams and had sheet lead put in between.

The Allen & Vail Families
Upon his death Ira C. Allen left the marble house to his four children: Charles R. Allen, Ira R. Allen, Jessie A. Allen, and Francis Allen. The eldest, Charles R. Allen, resided at the mansion with his wife Jessie Dailey Allen and his family. Charles’ siblings Jessie A. Allen and Francis Allen boarded at the home at this time. Eventually the three sons sold their shares to Jessie in 1889 for $15,000.

In 1903 Jessie conveyed it to George Vail for the sum of $1.00. George was married to Elizabeth Allen, a relative of the Allen family. When Elizabeth (Aunt Libby) Allen Vail died, the marble house was taken over by Aaron Vail Allen, Sr. and his wife Rebecca. Their son, Sherman Vail Allen became the next in line and upon his death in 1975 the mansion was sold and left the Allen family.

Intervening Years
The mansion changed hands a number of times between 1975 and 2009, being both a private residence and at times an inn.

A National Historic Landmark next to the White House in Washington, DC., the Eisenhower Executive Office Building was once the home of the State, War, and Navy Departments. The building now houses the offices of a majority of White House staff.

Siena Hall, an assisted living facility at 608 S. 11th Street in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Built in 1877 as a residence for the local Catholic Bishop, this structure is of the French Second Empire architectural style.

The time, location, architect, and some aspects of its design mark the 1911 villa-style apartment building at Armfeltintie 6 as Finnish Art Nouveau. But, other influences, French Second Empire chief among them, are also evident. Juhani Aho (born Johannes Brofeldt), a leading Finnish writer who lived in this building, is the namesake of the neighboring park containing the statue of him seen in this photo. Designed by Finnish architect Werner von Essen as part of a planned Garden City community called Eira, this building is a reminder that design and culture are shaped by cross-pollination.

To read about other Finnish Art Nouveau buildings in Helsinki, please see my article for Minor Sights at www.minorsights.com/2019/02/helsinki-art-nouveau.html?m=1

New London, CT

Shot from shore using a 150-600mm Tamron lens and cropped quite a bit.