Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada

Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada is an architectural style known as "Second Empire," most popular between 1865 and 1900, as it was practiced in the United States and Canada. Second Empire architecture developed from the redevelopment of Paris under Napoleon III's Second Empire and looked to French Renaissance precedents. It was characterized by a mansard roof, elaborate ornament, and strong massing and was notably used for public buildings as well as commercial and residential design.

In the 19th century, the standard way to refer to this style of architecture was simply "French" or "Modern French", but later authors came up with the term "Second Empire". Currently, the style is most widely known as Second Empire. Second Empire Baroque, or French Baroque Revival, Leland M. Roth refers to the style as "Second Empire Baroque." Mullett-Smith terms it the "Second Empire or General Grant style" due to its popularity in designing government buildings during the Grant administration.

The central feature of the Second Empire style is the mansard roof, a four-sided gambrel roof with a shallow or flat top usually pierced by dormer windows. This roof type originated in 16th century France and was developed in the 17th century by Francois Mansart after whom it is named. The greatest virtue of the mansard was it allowed an extra full story of space without raising the height of the building. The mansard roof could assume many different profiles, with some being steeply angled, while others were concave, convex, or s-shaped. Sometimes mansards with different profiles were superimposed upon one another, especially on towers. For most Second Empire buildings, the mansard roof is the primary stylistic feature and the most noteworthy link to the style's French roots.

A secondary feature is the use of pavilions, a segment of the facade that is differentiated from surrounding segments by a change in height, stylistic features, or roof design and are typically advanced from the main plane of the facade. Pavilions are usually located at emphatic points in a building, such as the center or ends and allow the monotony of the roof to be broken for dramatic effect. While not all Second Empire buildings feature pavilions, a significant amount, particularly those built by wealthy clients or as public buildings, do. The Second Empire style frequently combined a rectangular (sometimes octagonal) tower. This tower element could be of equal height to the highest floor, or could exceed the height of the rest of the structure by a story or two.

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