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The elegant front doorway, usually the most elaborate feature
of the restrained row house front, reflected the good taste and
fine workmanship of the early nineteenth century. The usual Federal
style doorway had a delicately leaded rectangular toplight and,
often, leaded side lights. The single wooden door had six or eight
deeply set panels, often edged with a delicate egg-and-dart pattern
or beading, and brass or silver doorknob and knocker. The fanlight
doorway, commonly associated with the Federal style, was used in
New York only in the 1820s and early 1830s, generally in the Late
Federal form. Doorway size and ornamentation depends upon the size
of the dwelling and its date of construction. The high cost of
hand labor, even then, reserved the highly decorated doorway for
the houses of the rich. |
