Second Empire architecture in Europe

The Second Empire style quickly spread throughout Europe and evolved as a loose form of Baroque Revival architecture, where its suitability for super-scaling allowed it to be widely used in the design of municipal and corporate buildings

The style is particularly prominent in Paris and Vienna, both of which were heavily redeveloped in the late 19th century. Rome also saw a huge expansion after the

Second Empire became popular in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century, where it emerged as a fusion of the architecture of the classical Renaissance exemplified by Christopher Wren and the solid mass Baroque of John Vanbrugh, decorated with some of the more ornate Baroque motifs previously found only on mainland Europe.^[3] It often featured a low dome, a once complex architectural feat rendered less difficult through the use of iron and reinforced concrete.

In London, the style is exemplified by

• 
  Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco

  , was completed in 1868
• 
  Brussels Stock Exchange was designed by Léon Suys and built between 1868–73
• 
  Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer and completed in 1888, is a prime example of the Second Empire style^[6]
• 
  Methodist Central Hall

  , Westminster, completed in 1911

See also

• Beaux-Arts architecture
• Second Empire architecture in the United States and Canada

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Second Empire architecture.