Which ethnic groups introduced the log cabin as a lasting symbol of the American frontier? Who helped turn the front porch into an American institution? Which immigrants built saunas to recall Old World traditions? Where did we get neat, whitewashed row houses, barn paintings and stuccoed arches that now tell us where to find tacos and tortillas?

All of these pieces in America’s architectural mosaic came from the varied and industrious ethnic groups that built America. Native peoples, settlers before the Revolution and 19th-century immigrants each contributed their own building patterns to help create what we call American architecture. But each ethnic tradition was changed by the experience of building in America — adapted to new terrains and materials, different climates, existing forms and styles. In the process, a distinctive new architecture developed, one whose multifaceted origins can be traced just as clearly as can ethnic customs in language and food.

America’s Architectural Rootsis the first book to explore the ethnic derivations of American buildings with such a broad scope. The contributions of 22 groups are highlighted in this fascinating overview that provides an important new way of looking at the buildings that surround us. Groups covered include:

Afro-Americans Belgians Chinese Czechs Danes Dutch English Finns French German-Russians Germans Hawaiians Irish Japanese Mexicans Native Americans Norwegians Russians Spanish Swedes Swiss Ukrainians

Afro-Americans

Belgians

Chinese

Czechs

Danes

Dutch

English

Finns

French

German-Russians

Germans

Hawaiians

Irish

Japanese

Mexicans

Native Americans

Norwegians

Russians

Spanish

Swedes

Swiss

Ukrainians

Indigenous Groups.

Native Americans (Peter Nabokov and Bob Easton).

Eastern Woodlands-Great Lakes.

Southeast.

Great Plains-Plateau.

Southwest.

California.

Arctic-Northwest Coat.

Native Hawaiians (Ray Morris).

Pre-Revolutionary Immigrants.

Afro-Americans (John Michael Vlach).

Dutch (Dell Upton).

English (Cary Carson).

French (Jay D. Edwards).

Germans and Swiss (Edward A. Chappell).

Irish (Henry Glassie).

Russians (Anatole Senkevitch, Jr.).

Southeastern Spanish (Kathleen Deagan).

Southwestern Hispanics (Joe S. Graham).

19th-Century Immigrants.

Belgians (Charles F. Calkins and William G. Laatsch).

Chinese (Christopher Lee Yip).

Czechs (David Murphy).

Danes (Thomas Carter).

Finns (Matti Kaups).

German-Russians (Michael Koop).

Japanese (Ronald K. K. Lee).

Midwestern Germans ( William H. Tishler).

Norwegians (Darrell D. Henning).

Swedes (Lena A:son Palmqvist).

Ukrainians (John C. Lehr).

Contributors.

Further Reading.

Information Sources.

Index.