In the United States, architecture styles referred to as "Victorian" include Second Empire, Stick, Queen anne, shingle, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Folk Victorian.

The Victorian category is named for architecture styles popularized from about 1860 to 1900, during the later half of Queen Victoria's reign in Britain. During this period, industrialization and the growth of the railroad in the United States led to more complex and elaborate detailing.

The stick style, a transition from from Gothic Revival to Queen Anne. In California, stick style buildings are often called Stick-Eastlake even if they lack distinctive Eastlake details.

The style is chiefly characterized by decorative stick work which mimics structural components and is often reminiscent of half-timbered houses.

Distinctive features are:

overhanging eaves with embellished truss
siding and stick work applied in various directions: horizontal, vertical, diagonal
corner boards with extended brackets
squared bay windows
false gable
false mansard roof
wide band of trim under cornice
sunbursts in gables
Eastlake trim
vertical trim at sides of windows