The architecture of the United States at the turn of thecentury- 1895 to 1905 -was, at best, a collection ofeclectic styles, with hardly one relating in any way orsense to the ideal of the nation in which it was built.This was an era which regarded architecture as anapplication of fashions and styles, unrelated to structure or construction techniques. Yet it was also a timewhen the entire construction industry was undergoing revolutionary changes. New materials wereemerging, and new methods of handling the oldermaterials were being developed at the same time. Butthe architecture being designed reflected little if anything of those new methods and materials.