The Gothic Revival spread to the USA, which is surprising because America had no tradition of medieval building. American architects began by building conventional Gothic churches. St Patrick's Cathedral (1878, James Renwick) in New York is an example. But soon they began adapting Gothic to new building types.
Fig. 1 St Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Woolworth Building(1910) is an early skyscraper designed by Cass Gilbert [Fig. 2]. The basic form is that of a typical skyscraper, but the surface is covered with Gothic ornament, so technically this is the biggest Gothic building in the world. It's nicknamed the "cathedral of commerce."
Fig. 2 Woolworth Building
The leading exponent of Gothic in America was Frank Furness, who designed the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (1876) [Fig. 3]. This follows in the tradition of High Victorian Gothic - it's very muscular and aggressive. Furness developed a very distinctive style based on heavy overbearing forms. This style was used for prisons quite extensively.
Victorian Britain had used the Gothic Revival as a retreat from the harsh realities of industrialisation. They tried to escape into an idealised vision of the middle ages, and hoped that the revival of medieval style would lead to a revival of medieval values, particularly religious faith. In America, the Gothic Revival was put into the service of industrial and consumer capitalism.
Fig. 3 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
