Research list

Pre-1900 buildings and places to research for the project, grouped by region. ✅ means the place has an entry; ⬜ means it's still to do. When you add an entry, change its ⬜ to ✅ and link the name to the entry.

Dates are approximate starting points, so check them when researching. "Begun" means the building was started before 1900 but finished later.

Progress: 20 of 132 done.

United Kingdom and Ireland

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	The Crystal Palace	London	1850–51; rebuilt 1852–54	Built in about 9 months; destroyed by fire 1936
✅	Royal Pavilion	Brighton	1787; 1815–23	Onion domes and minarets on the English coast
✅	St Pancras Station and Midland Grand Hotel	London	1865–76	Undercroft below the tracks; clock tower
✅	Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth Tower	London	c. 1840–70	1834 fire started by burning old records
⬜	Alexandra Palace	London	1873; rebuilt 1875	Burned down 16 days after opening, then rebuilt in two years
⬜	Royal Albert Hall	London	1867–71	Huge iron and glass dome over an oval hall
⬜	Natural History Museum	London	1873–81	Romanesque 'cathedral of nature' with towers
⬜	Royal Courts of Justice	London	1873–82	Vast Gothic complex; spires and towers
⬜	Tower Bridge	London	1886–94	Steel frame hidden inside 'medieval' stone towers
⬜	Palm House, Kew Gardens	London	1844–48	Early iron and glass giant
⬜	Tilbury Fort	Essex	1670s	English star fort on the Thames
⬜	Berwick-upon-Tweed walls	Northumberland	1558–70	Bastioned town walls (star fort design)
⬜	Manchester Town Hall	Manchester	1868–77	Gothic clock tower
⬜	St George's Hall	Liverpool	1841–54	Giant neoclassical hall with columns
⬜	Leeds Town Hall	Leeds	1853–58	Domed clock tower
⬜	Glasgow City Chambers	Glasgow	1882–88	Marble interiors, tower
⬜	Scott Monument	Edinburgh	1840–46	Gothic spire monument
⬜	West Pier	Brighton	1863–66	Iron pier, now a ruin

France

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Palais du Trocadéro	Paris	1876–78	Moorish towers; demolished and wrapped by Palais de Chaillot
⬜	Palais Garnier (Paris Opéra)	Paris	1861–75	Underground water tank (the 'lake') beneath the stage
⬜	Tuileries Palace	Paris	1564 onwards	Burned in 1871, ruins demolished 1883
⬜	Hôtel de Ville	Paris	Rebuilt 1874–92	Burned in 1871 and rebuilt as a copy
⬜	Eiffel Tower	Paris	1887–89	Iron tower built for a world's fair, meant to be temporary
⬜	Sacré-Cœur	Paris	Begun 1875 (finished 1914)	White domes on Montmartre, over old quarries
⬜	Palais Longchamp	Marseille	1862–69	Monumental 'water palace' at the end of an aqueduct
⬜	Notre-Dame de la Garde	Marseille	1853–64	Hilltop basilica with tower and statue
⬜	Neuf-Brisach	Alsace	1698–1703	Octagonal star fort town by Vauban
⬜	Citadel of Lille	Lille	1667–70	Pentagonal star fort by Vauban
⬜	Château de Chambord	Loire Valley	1519–47	Double-helix staircase; unusual rooftop

Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Anhalter Bahnhof	Berlin	1876–80	Blown up in 1960; electroformed copper figures
✅	Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof	Frankfurt	1883–88	Atlas with steam and electricity on the roof
✅	Dresden Hauptbahnhof	Dresden	1892–98	Two-level station; domed hall with Saxonia
✅	Cologne Cathedral	Cologne	1248–1880	Unfinished for about 400 years
⬜	Neuschwanstein Castle	Bavaria	1869–86	Fairy-tale castle with modern technology inside
⬜	Hamburger Bahnhof	Berlin	1846–47	One of the oldest station buildings, now a museum
⬜	Reichstag building	Berlin	1884–94	Original dome lost after the 1933 fire
⬜	Hamburg Rathaus	Hamburg	1886–97	Built on thousands of oak piles
⬜	Schwerin Castle	Schwerin	Rebuilt 1845–57	Fairy-tale castle on an island
⬜	Hohenzollern Castle	Baden-Württemberg	Rebuilt 1850–67	Hilltop castle rebuilt in Gothic Revival style
⬜	Wilhelma	Stuttgart	1842–64	Moorish-style royal gardens and buildings
⬜	Votivkirche	Vienna, Austria	1856–79	Gothic Revival church with rose window and spires
⬜	Vienna State Opera	Vienna, Austria	1861–69	Opera house; architects' tragic deaths
⬜	Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)	Vienna, Austria	1872–83	Gothic tower
⬜	Austrian Parliament	Vienna, Austria	1874–83	Greek temple style, Athena statue
⬜	Zürich Hauptbahnhof	Zürich, Switzerland	1865–71	Triumphal-arch station front

Italy

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Villa Sultana	Ospedaletti	1883–84	Italy's first casino; derelict; the 1911 photo
✅	Castello di Sammezzano	Reggello	Remodelled c. 1853–89	Moorish interiors by one man
✅	Rocchetta Mattei	Grizzana Morandi	1850–1890s	Castle of the 'electricity' healer
✅	Villa Crespi	Orta San Giulio	From 1879	Minaret on an Alpine lake
✅	Palmanova	Friuli	Founded 1593	Nine-pointed star fort town
✅	Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II	Milan	1865–77	Architect's unexplained fall
⬜	Mole Antonelliana	Turin	1863–89	Extremely tall brick spire
⬜	Galleria Umberto I	Naples	1887–90	Iron and glass arcade with dome
⬜	Castello di Miramare	Trieste	1856–60	White castle on a rock by the sea
⬜	Castello d'Albertis	Genoa	1886–92	Gothic Revival castle-museum
⬜	Palace of Justice (Palazzaccio)	Rome	Begun 1889 (finished 1911)	Giant building that began sinking
⬜	Vittoriano	Rome	Begun 1885 (finished 1935)	Huge white monument over older buildings
⬜	Royal Palace of Caserta	Caserta	1752–1845	Enormous palace with long aqueduct
⬜	Milan Cathedral façade	Milan	Completed 1805–13	Six centuries to finish

Spain and Portugal

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
⬜	Pena Palace	Sintra, Portugal	1842–54	Colourful hilltop palace mixing styles
⬜	Rossio station	Lisbon, Portugal	1887–90	Horseshoe-arch entrances
⬜	Palacio de Cristal	Madrid	1887	Iron and glass pavilion
⬜	Arc de Triomf	Barcelona	1888	Gateway to the 1888 world's fair
⬜	Sagrada Família	Barcelona	Begun 1882	Still unfinished
⬜	Alhambra	Granada	13th–14th century	The original of the Moorish style copied across Europe

Belgium, Netherlands and Scandinavia

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
⬜	Palace of Justice	Brussels	1866–83	One of the largest 19th-century buildings; giant dome
⬜	Antwerp Central Station	Antwerp	Begun 1895 (finished 1905)	'Railway cathedral' with dome
⬜	Royal Greenhouses of Laeken	Brussels	1874–95	Iron and glass domes
⬜	Amsterdam Centraal	Amsterdam	1881–89	Built on an artificial island on wooden piles
⬜	Rijksmuseum	Amsterdam	1876–85	Gothic and Renaissance style; tunnel road through it
⬜	Bourtange	Groningen, Netherlands	1593	Star fort village
⬜	Naarden	North Holland	17th century	Star fort town
⬜	Kastellet	Copenhagen, Denmark	1660s	Pentagonal star fort

Russia, Eastern Europe and Turkey

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Saint Isaac's Cathedral	Saint Petersburg	1818–58	Monolithic granite columns; mercury gilding
⬜	Alexander Column	Saint Petersburg	1830–34	Single granite column standing by its own weight
⬜	Winter Palace	Saint Petersburg	1754–62; rebuilt 1838–39	Rebuilt in about a year after the 1837 fire
⬜	Kazan Cathedral	Saint Petersburg	1801–11	Curved colonnade
⬜	Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood	Saint Petersburg	Begun 1883 (finished 1907)	Onion domes
⬜	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour	Moscow	1839–83	Demolished 1931, rebuilt 1990s
⬜	Kronstadt forts	Gulf of Finland	1830s–1840s	Sea forts, including Fort Alexander
⬜	Odessa Opera House	Odessa, Ukraine	1884–87	Baroque opera house
⬜	National Museum	Prague, Czechia	1885–91	Domed museum
⬜	Romanian Athenaeum	Bucharest, Romania	1886–88	Domed concert hall
⬜	Hungarian Parliament	Budapest, Hungary	Begun 1885 (finished 1904)	Gothic Revival with dome
⬜	Keleti station	Budapest, Hungary	1881–84	Great iron train shed
⬜	Dolmabahçe Palace	Istanbul, Turkey	1843–56	European-style Ottoman palace
⬜	Sirkeci station	Istanbul, Turkey	1888–90	Orient Express terminus with Moorish details

Russia: Republic of Tatarstan

Tatarstan, on the Volga, is the historic heartland of the Volga Tatars, the Kazan Khanate and, before it, Volga Bulgaria. Its name links it directly to the "Tartary" (Tartaria) shown on many old European maps, which makes it a natural focus for the project.

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
⬜	Kazan Kremlin	Kazan	16th century onwards, on the site of the khans' fortress	Citadel of the Kazan Khanate, rebuilt after the 1552 conquest; UNESCO World Heritage Site
⬜	Söyembikä Tower	Kazan Kremlin	Disputed: 16th to early 18th century; first documented 1777	Leaning tower that nobody can date or attribute with certainty
⬜	Annunciation Cathedral	Kazan Kremlin	1554–62; enlarged after the 1855 fire	Built on the conquered khans' citadel; unusual six-pier, five-apse plan
⬜	Governor's Palace (now President's Palace)	Kazan Kremlin	1845–48	19th-century palace on the old khans' palace grounds
⬜	Peter and Paul Cathedral	Kazan	1723–26	Lavish baroque cathedral linked to Peter the Great's 1722 visit; damaged by repeated fires
⬜	Märcani (Marjani) Mosque	Kazan, Old Tatar Quarter	1766–70	First stone mosque permitted in Kazan after 1552
⬜	Kazan University main building	Kazan	1820s–1830s (university founded 1804)	Long classical colonnaded front
⬜	Kazan railway station (old building)	Kazan	1893 or 1896 (sources differ)	Ornate station of the Moscow–Kazan railway
⬜	Sviyazhsk and its Assumption Cathedral	Sviyazhsk island	Town founded 1551; cathedral c. 1556	Fortress said to have been prefabricated upriver and assembled in weeks; rare frescoes; UNESCO World Heritage Site
⬜	Bolgar (Bulgar)	Spassky District	10th–15th century ruins	Former capital of Volga Bulgaria; Peter the Great ordered its ruins preserved in 1722; its Great Minaret was rebuilt in modern times; UNESCO World Heritage Site

Asia

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Goryōkaku	Hakodate, Japan	c. 1857–66	European star fort in Japan
⬜	Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)	Mumbai, India	1878–88	Gothic station with dome
⬜	Madras High Court	Chennai, India	1888–92	Indo-Saracenic, minaret-like towers
⬜	Mysore Palace	Mysore, India	Begun 1897 (finished 1912)	Indo-Saracenic palace with domes
⬜	Old Summer Palace (Xiyanglou)	Beijing, China	1747–83	European palaces in China, destroyed 1860
⬜	Tomioka Silk Mill	Gunma, Japan	1872	Early Western-style industrial building

North America

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Palace of Fine Arts	Chicago, USA	1893	Only survivor of the White City
✅	Seattle Underground	Seattle, USA	1889 onwards	Buried shopfronts under raised streets
⬜	Chicago Water Tower	Chicago, USA	1869	Survived the 1871 Great Chicago Fire
⬜	United States Capitol dome	Washington DC, USA	1855–66	Cast-iron dome
⬜	Library of Congress (Jefferson Building)	Washington DC, USA	1890–97	Dome; elaborate symbolism
⬜	Philadelphia City Hall	Philadelphia, USA	Begun 1871 (finished 1901)	Massive masonry tower
⬜	Memorial Hall	Philadelphia, USA	1876	Domed survivor of the 1876 world's fair
⬜	Brooklyn Bridge	New York, USA	1869–83	Gothic stone towers
⬜	Fort Jefferson	Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA	1846–75	Unfinished star fort on a remote island
⬜	Fort McHenry	Baltimore, USA	1798–1800	Star fort
⬜	Fort Pulaski	Georgia, USA	1829–47	Brick fort
⬜	Texas State Capitol	Austin, USA	1882–88	Dome
⬜	Salt Lake Temple	Salt Lake City, USA	1853–93	Granite temple with spires
⬜	St. Louis Union Station	St. Louis, USA	1892–94	Romanesque station with clock tower
⬜	Old San Francisco City Hall	San Francisco, USA	1872–99	Destroyed in the 1906 earthquake
⬜	Sutro Baths	San Francisco, USA	1894–96	Glass bathhouse, now ruins
⬜	Parliament Hill Centre Block	Ottawa, Canada	1859–66	Burned in 1916
⬜	Château Frontenac	Quebec City, Canada	1892–93	Castle-style hotel
⬜	Halifax Citadel	Halifax, Canada	1828–56	Star fort

Central and South America

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
⬜	Teatro Amazonas	Manaus, Brazil	1884–96	Opera house in the Amazon rainforest
⬜	Teatro Colón	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Begun 1889 (finished 1908)	Opera house
⬜	Palace of the Argentine National Congress	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Begun 1896 (finished 1906)	Domed parliament

Australia and New Zealand

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
✅	Royal Exhibition Building	Melbourne, Australia	1879–80	Domed palace in a young city
⬜	Queen Victoria Building	Sydney, Australia	1893–98	Domed shopping arcade
⬜	General Post Office	Sydney, Australia	1866–91	Clock tower
⬜	General Post Office	Melbourne, Australia	1859–87	Classical columns
⬜	Larnach Castle	Dunedin, New Zealand	1871	'New Zealand's only castle'

Africa

Done	Building	Location	Built	Why it's interesting
⬜	Castle of Good Hope	Cape Town, South Africa	1666–79	Pentagonal star fort
⬜	Gezirah Palace	Cairo, Egypt	1869	Palace built for the opening of the Suez Canal