Explanation:
As the elaborate age of Baroque and Rococo drew to a close, appreciation for classical restraint resurfaced. This trend was accelerated by the excavation of numerous ancient ruins, both Roman (e.g. Pompeii) and Greek (e.g. Athens), which rekindled interest in antiquity and expanded classical architectural vocabulary.1
Such excavations also made clear the distinct architectural styles of the Greeks and Romans. This finally allowed architects to deliberately design buildings that were purely Greek, purely Roman, or a Greco-Roman hybrid. All three options proved popular.
Concurrent with Neoclassical architecture was the Gothic Revival, a British-born movement. Gothic Revival (aka Neogothic) may be considered the architectural manifestation of Romanticism, given the Romantic affinity for medieval nostalgia and the wild, fanciful nature of the Gothic style (as opposed to the restraint and order of classicism; see Western Aesthetics). (It should be noted that Gothic construction had never gone completely dormant in Western Europe, given the style's suitability for churches and university buildings.)13
