The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis

A museum gallery with wooden floors, blue walls, a red colonial door with white trim, historical photos, text panels, patterned wallpaper, furniture displays, and overhead lighting. The exhibit focuses on American architectural and decorative styles.

A grand, white column stands before a sweeping marble staircase with ornate railing. Behind it, a deep blue wall frames a red, classic doorway and a large black-and-white photo of historic buildings. Marble floors shine in natural light from tall windows.

Museum exhibit room with wooden furniture on a platform, including tables and chairs, photos on a wall, a black-and-white house photo projected, and polished wood floors. The space has a modern yet historic feel, with detailed displays and information panels.

Museum exhibit featuring antique wooden furniture—tables, chairs, cabinets—displayed on platforms. Framed paintings and artifacts are arranged on a white paneled wall. Glass cases in the foreground hold books and documents. Hardwood floor; focused lighting.

Museum exhibit features vintage wooden chairs, a striped sofa, and a wooden table in the foreground. The background has a wall displaying quilts or textile art with historical motifs. A person views the exhibit, and artworks hang on the surrounding walls.

Museum gallery with navy blue walls, wood floor, framed artworks, and text panels displayed. A glass case contains a large, ornate white and gold vase, while another case holds glassware and bowls. Soft natural light enters from upper windows.

The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis

For The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis, an exhibition that ran in 2011 at the Museum of the City of New York, PPA worked with museum curators to create the backdrop to showcase rare furniture, decorative arts and photographs encompassing the Colonial Revival movement in architecture and design from 1900 to the 1930s. As one of the exhibit’s highlights, PPA designed a Colonial Revival door surround that was later incorporated into a PPA project: Estate in New Jersey.

Museum of the City of New York, June 2011 – October 2011

Exhibition Design: Peter Pennoyer Architects

Design Director: Mark Herring

Associates: Cecilia Rodgers, R. Nathaniel Brooks

Curators: Donald Albrecht and Thomas Mellins

Photography: Peter Mauss/ESTO