Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters. The abundance of North American timber and the carpenter-built vernacular architectures based upon it made a picturesque improvisation upon Gothic a natural evolution. Carpenter Gothic improvises upon features that were carved in stone in authentic Gothic architecture, whether original or in more scholarly revival styles; however, in the absence of the restraining influence of genuine Gothic structures, the style was freed to improvise and emphasize charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication by Alexander Jackson Davis of Rural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations in publications by Andrew Jackson Downing.
Aaron Ferrey House, Kent, Ohio, an example of Downing's Form III
Grace Episcopal Church (Georgetown, Colorado)
Springside in Poughkeepsie, New York
Christ Church, Fort Meade, Florida
Alexander Jackson Davis was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style.
Detail of Davis portrait ca. 1855
Federal Hall National Memorial, New York City
Front facade of Lyndhurst, 1838 and 1864
Blandwood Mansion is an example of Italianate design by Davis. 1844 in Greensboro, North Carolina