Architectural Historian Jane Griswold-Radocchia will present "Early American Architecture" on Saturday, March 21 at 2:00 pm at the at the Springfield Art and Historical Society facility at 65 Route 106 in North Springfield.

How did early Americans build such beautifully proportioned homes and buildings with just dividers and a straight edge? The early schools, meetinghouses and homes in Springfield were built using geometry. Builders knew it as "Practical Geometry". With a compass, straightedge, and a scribe, carpenters set out "modules", "parts", and "diameters" to plan and measure for construction. This way of designing, known by the Egyptians and Greeks, mentioned in the Bible, discussed by Vitruvius, understood by Palladio and Christopher Wren, was also used here.

With Springfield's historic homes as examples, Jane Griswold Radocchia will introduce this geometry and show how it was used for layout and design before dimensions were fixed or standardized – before we needed interchangeable parts, before the Industrial Revolution. She will also touch on Benjamin Asher and his 1797 book "The Country Builder," the first architectural handbook published in America.

This program is free and open to all! For more information, email sahs@vermontel.net or call 802-886-7935. Please note: There is no snow date for this program at this time.

Dec 19, 2024, 6 PM

Dec 22, 2024, 3 to 5 PM

Dec 22, 2024, 4:30 to 8 PM