One of America's most popular 19th-century styles, the Italianate was derived from the architecture of Italian villas. Chicago architects used the style between the 1860s and 1890s for a wide variety of building types, from houses and small apartment buildings, to institutional structures. Surviving examples can be seen in most community areas developed during the period, although the greatest concentrations can be found in Lincoln Park, the Lower West Side, and West Town. Common characteristics are:
- vertical proportions
- tall, rounded windows and doors
- stone trim with incised foliated ornament
- intricate wood or pressed metal cornices
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