Italianate architecture continues the trend of asymmetrical design, romanticism, and Medieval influence — this time borrowing features from Medieval Italy. Italianate style is common up and down the East Coast and peaked in popularity between 1850 and 1880.

Italianate architecture features:

• Belvederes for natural light and airflow
• Overhanging eaves with decorative support brackets
• Tall and narrow or pedimented windows with rounded crowns
• Cast iron detailing and decor

Pattern books were becoming a popular way for craftsmen to build homes in different styles. This flexibility meant Italianate features were accessible for a variety of homes including large estates and urban townhouses.

The Parthenon in Centennial Park, in Nashville, Tennessee, is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was designed by architect William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

Today the Parthenon, which functions as an art museum, stands as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, a large public park just west of downtown Nashville. Alan LeQuire's 1990 re-creation of the Athena Parthenos statue in the naos (the east room of the main hall) is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. Since the building is complete and its decorations were polychromed (painted in colors) as close to the presumed original as possible, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Treasury Room (the west room of the main hall) are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 BC. The surviving originals are housed in the British Museum in London and at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin,[1] Andrew Oliver, and other Founding Fathers of the United States.[2] It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Membership in the academy is achieved through a thorough petition, review, and election process.[3] The academy's quarterly journal, Dædalus, is published by MIT Press on behalf of the academy.[4] The academy also conducts multidisciplinary public policy research.

The Academy was established by the Massachusetts legislature on May 4, 1780, charted in order "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people."[6] The sixty-two incorporating fellows represented varying interests and high standing in the political, professional, and commercial sectors of the state. The first class of new members, chosen by the Academy in 1781, included Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as well as several international honorary members. The initial volume of Academy Memoirs appeared in 1785, and the Proceedings followed in 1846. In the 1950s, the Academy launched its journal Daedalus, reflecting its commitment to a broader intellectual and socially-oriented program.[7]

Since the second half of the twentieth century, independent research has become a central focus of the Academy. In the late 1950s, arms control emerged as one of its signature concerns. The Academy also served as the catalyst in establishing the National Humanities Center in North Carolina. In the late 1990s, the Academy developed a new strategic plan, focusing on four major areas: science, technology, and global security; social policy and education; humanities and culture; and education. In 2002, the Academy established a visiting scholars program in association with Harvard University. More than 75 academic institutions from across the country have become Affiliates of the Academy to support this program and other Academy initiatives.[8]

The Academy has sponsored a number of awards and prizes,[9] throughout its history and has offered opportunities for fellowships and visiting scholars at the Academy.[10]

In July 2013, the Boston Globe exposed then president Leslie Berlowitz for falsifying her credentials, faking a doctorate, and consistently mistreating her staff.[11] Berlowitz subsequently resigned.

The Pueblo Revival was inspired by the indigenous Pueblo people’s architecture in the Southwestern US. Pueblo homes were made of adobe or stucco and designed to handle the extreme temperatures of the desert.

Architects in California began to explore the Pueblo style in the late 19th century and the Pueblo Revival style spread across New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

The Pueblo Revival hit its peak in the 1930s in Santa Fe, and these Pueblo-style elements are still popular in the Southwest:

• Rounded corners and irregular shapes
• Earth tones that reflect the desert colors
• Stepped effects with higher floors becoming smaller
• Flat roofs with parapet trim
• Exposed roof beams extending past the walls

The Pueblo Revival style is also commonly called Adobe or Santa Fe style architecture.

Shingle-style homes took influence from Colonial architecture rather than Medieval Europe. Ornamentation became simpler towards the end of the Victorian-era and Shingle-style homes are best known for their creative floor plans and signature shingles on exterior walls.

Shingle Victorian homes are identified by these interior and exterior features:

• Shingles cover the entire exterior
• Asymmetrical interior layouts without a central hallway
• Emphasis on horizontal planes
• Custom built to meld with the nature surrounding the house

Shingle-style houses were designed as a work of art and encouraged creativity in their use of shapes and features.

House styles will continue to evolve with influences from history, culture, and our lifestyles. All of these house styles can be seen and celebrated across the US and have their own stories to tell. Choose the house style that fits your lifestyle, location, and, of course, personal style best. Then check your credit score, get pre-approved, and start house-hunting.

American popular music has had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, bluegrass, country, R&B, doo wop, gospel, soul, funk, punk, disco, house, techno, salsa, grunge and hip hop. In addition, the American music industry is quite diverse, supporting a number of regional styles such as zydeco, klezmer and slack-key.

Distinctive styles of American popular music emerged early in the 19th century, and in the 20th century the American music industry developed a series of new forms of music, using elements of blues and other genres of American folk music. These popular styles included country, R&B, jazz and rock. The 1960s and 1970s saw a number of important changes in American popular music, including the development of a number of new styles, such as heavy metal, punk, soul, and hip hop. Though these styles were not in the sense of mainstream, they were commercially recorded and are thus examples of popular music as opposed to folk or classical music.

Townhomes are common in cities and densely populated neighborhoods. Townhouses are tall and narrow homes designed to make the most out of vertical space without too much of a yard or garden area.

Homes are considered townhouses when they:

• Share one or two walls with adjacent homes
• Have their own entrances
• Are built with multiple floors to maximize vertical space
• Often share a similar style to their neighbors’ homes and may operate under an HOA

Townhouses can be built to mimic other architecture styles, like Italianate and Greek Revival, while maintaining the condensed, vertical floor plan.