The late eighteenth-century elite taste for geometric play in the planning of houses is expressed most often in Virginia in multipart houses, particularly those that follow the form of a two-story central block flanked by integral lower wings. Williamsburg's Finnie House is probably the earliest of these. Its principal pediment and a largely original porch emphasize that a more literal classicism traveled in company with compositional experimentation.
William Finnie House
c. 1770–1780. 1932 and 1952, restoration. Francis St. west of Waller St.