Identifying feature
Pediment A low triangle over columns, a door or a window, framed by a projecting ledge called a cornice. It comes from Greek temple roof ends and is common on Neoclassical and Greek Revival buildings.
a sign of these styles Ancient Greek c. 900–100 BCE Marble temples of columns carrying flat stone beams, in the Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian patterns, under a low roof triangle. Empire c. 1800–1830 Triumphal arches, victory columns and temple-front porches with tall Corinthian columns, decorated with eagles and bees. Greek Revival c. 1820–1860 The Greek temple front reborn: full-height columns, a wide plain band above them, and a low triangular gable. Gründerzeit c. 1870–1914 Four- to six-story stucco apartment blocks with shops below, pedimented windows and heavy cornices, built around courtyards. High Renaissance / Palladian c. 1500–1600s Temple fronts applied to villas and civic buildings, strict symmetry, and triple windows with an arched center. Mannerism c. 1520–1600 Classical rules bent on purpose: oversized keystones, broken pediments, and columns sunk into walls. Postmodernism c. 1975–1995 Classical bits quoted at the wrong scale in bold colors: columns, pediments, and keystones with a wink. 
