Gothic Revival architecture is a revival of medieval Gothic architecture. Beginning in the mid-18th century, it first spawned from the romanticism of the era and eventually became a reaction against the rapidly progressing Industrial Revolution towards an idealized pre-industrial urban fabric. The style flourished in America by the mid-19th century, though it fell out of favor for commercial architecture a few decades later, and it was mainly used for religious architecture thereafter.
Though Gothic architecture was mostly supplanted by Renaissance architecture and later designs by the 16th century, it remained in practice through buildings still undergoing construction and projects in rural areas. With a growing romanticism for medieval architecture beginning in the 18th century, people began to admire the picturesque quality of Gothic ruins, and architects soon began to design buildings and interiors in the Gothic Revival style.
The first Gothic Revival building is considered to be Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill House, completed in 1749, as it was not a renovation of an existing medieval building and it was based on historic precedent. The style was adopted by Neoclassical architects of the time, such as James Wyatt in the eccentric Fonthill Abbey. In the 19th century, architects such as Viollet-le-Duc were commissioned to restore Gothic monuments or complete unfinished buildings, as well as construct new ones. In the United States, the earliest fully Gothic Revival church was Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, completed in 1814. Montreal's Notre-Dame is Canada's most prominent early design, finished a decade later.
As the style progressed, it became more eclectic and several offshoots resulted. These include High Victorian Gothic, an interpretation of John Ruskin's writings, and Collegiate Gothic, which was based on the academic architecture of England's universities. Gothic Revival houses and commercial buildings were popular in the United States during the mid-19th century. After this point, it was mainly employed on churches and university buildings.
Gothic Revival architecture's authenticity varies in its execution, but at its core it revives the forms and decoration of Gothic architecture. Though Gothic architecture has a detailed history with several distinct styles, it is generally revived in the "English" (perpendicular) or "French" (vertical) manner. In churches, elements such as the Latin cross plan, prominent towers, radiating chapels, flying buttresses, and cloisters or chapter houses are present. On other building types that were not typically executed in the Gothic style, common features include pointed arches, stained glass, hood molds, pinnacles, and tracery. Buildings are typically masonry (though usually a veneer over an iron or steel frame). They are usually tall and vertical, French-inspired designs more so, and have large windows.
Gothic Revival architecture declined around the beginning of the 20th century, though churches would continue to be built in the style and early skyscrapers sometimes incorporated tracery or gargoyles. It was almost completely supplanted by Modernism by the 1930s. Gothic Revival buildings are still being built today, however, as a continuation of the New Classical movement.