The most interesting windows in American architecture showed up in the decades after the Civil War, when architecture veered away from the Classical and toward ornate details and a nostalgia for medieval- and gothic-influenced early-American house styles.
Designed to let light stream in while keeping prying eyes out, vintage patterned glass was more commonly used in commercial interiors, such as on office doors, than in residential architecture. In houses, its use was generally limited to areas where privacy was essential, but light desired (as in the transom light above a bathroom door or the windows of basement-level or alley-facing service rooms).
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