Greek and Roman Styles
Buildings based on Greek and Roman buildings often have characteristics of Greco-Roman
temples, such as rows of columns, triangular pediments with sculptures, and a sense of being
rather imposing.
In London, two examples are the Tower of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the front of
Harrod's department store. However, you can see that these are Victorian recreations
because of the use of columns in the tower, and because of the highly ornamented nature of
the Harrod's store front. Here, as elsewhere, the architect mixed the Greco-Roman temple
front with another style, here Baroque, to create a composite.
In Pittsburgh, the Mellon Institute, with its columns and monumental size are
a good example of this. The Oliver Building also shows the influence of ancient civilization.
Mellon Institute
The Oliver Building