Replies

1. 
   Jencar | Feb 15, 2003 04:59am | #1

   Whoa...they didn't even have Autocad to calculate the angles on those corbels over the porch!

   Jen

2. 
   don26299 | Feb 15, 2003 07:40am | #2

   Rez, That's quite a production.  It's hard to comprehend the time spent and materials used.  They got the proportions right too.  Wonder if they used the golden section.  You have to have reverence for their skill.  Fonzie

3. 
   FrankB89 | Feb 15, 2003 08:55am | #3

   I really admire and appreciate those old houses and the worksmanship involved.  In many cases, much of the millwork was done on site with hand tools. 

   If this forum had been available to those guys, the archives for us would be a real treasure!

   Jules Quaver for President   2004

1. 
   rez | Feb 15, 2003 02:47pm | #4

   Thought I'd repost this shot of curved baseboard I had to rescue out of an old Victorian that was getting ready to be burned down to make room for a ...gulp...parking lot. About 35 cuts with a handsaw I figured. Wonder if he clamped it down when cutting.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

   The other...proper application of risk.

    

    

1. 
   don26299 | Feb 15, 2003 06:37pm | #5

   rez I bet he had a board clamped on each side of the handsaw (backsaw maybe) and another guide on the board to run it against.  That's nice.  Did you get your digital camera? Fonzie

1. 
   rez | Feb 15, 2003 11:41pm | #7

   ya, a sony 1.2 that'll work off a floppy also. Handy and good enough for the price. Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

   The other...proper application of risk.

    

    

2. 
   Piffin | Feb 16, 2003 11:16pm | #10

   "In many cases, much of the millwork was done on site with hand tools. "

   Actually, There were mills in the Philadelphia area that mass produced a tremendous amt of various kinds of facades in the ninetennth centuyry.

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   FrankB89 | Feb 17, 2003 07:00am | #11

   Yes, there was a lot of millwork produced in several regions of the country, but I've been through a few houses, specifically on the West coast, that were constructed by craftsmen who did all the millwork on-site using handtools because the locations were remote and only occasionally served with outside supplies.

   Of course, the oldest architecture in this part of the country is more recent than much of that found in the East, but a few of the timber barons and shipping magnates played a lot of brinksmanship in the construction of their homes re: monuments to themselves. 

   The "Painted Lady" Victorians in once remote towns like Eureka, California or Astoria, Or. are cases in point.Jules Quaver for President   2004

1. 
   rez | Feb 17, 2003 07:35am | #12

   What is it about those things anyhow?Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

   The other...proper application of risk.

    

    

   
1. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 17, 2003 07:42am | #13

   All the explanations I could think of were quite rude, so I'll pass.

2. 
   rez | Feb 17, 2003 08:39am | #14

   Roar! After I posted I considered that someone might go there. Thery're all done anyhow.

   Here's an Octogon building in town that served as a stop for the underground railroad and even had an underground tunnel that led to the creek.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

   The other...proper application of risk.

    

    

   
3. 
   rez | Feb 17, 2003 09:44pm | #15

   and what is the cap on this tall tower configuration called?

    

    

   
4. 
   jonblakemore | Feb 18, 2003 12:01am | #16

   maybe a widow's walk?

   Jon Blakemore

5. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 18, 2003 12:28am | #17

   I'd call it a mansard roof.

6. 
   rez | Feb 18, 2003 12:53am | #18

   So it's a mansard roof with a widow's walk?

    

    

7. 
   UncleDunc | Feb 18, 2003 01:35am | #23

   I don't think it's a widow's walk at all. If I understand the term correctly, widow's walk implies a railing. The pickets don't look high enough to be railing, and there's no top rail. Here are three other pictures of similar configurations.

   http://www.heritageinspection.com/images/architectural/mansard.jpg

   http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/19th/2empirehse05.jpg

   http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/19th/2empirehse03.jpg

8. 
   rez | Feb 18, 2003 01:37am | #24

   Whoo boy! You guys are loaded for bear.

   I just love those things. One year I was tempted to go out to Frisco to see if I could get on a serious paint crew that specialized in 'painted ladies'. Then I started looking around this area and discovered we were pretty loaded with them too.

   Hate to see them go for parking lots and the like. Happens all the time.

    

    

   Edited 2/17/2003 5:41:25 PM ET by rez

9. 
   GoldenWreckedAngle | Feb 18, 2003 08:50pm | #34

   The widow's walk was simply a high place on the house where sailor's wives could stand looking out to sea for the return of their husband's ship. The ships had a bad habit of disappointing them by never coming back... hence the term. The railing was there to keep the widow's walk from becoming an orphan's walk for the kids downstairs.

   This railing could still be a widow's walk in spite of its short stature. Many of the walks had recessed floors and used the mansard as a parapet so the railing didn't have to be quite so prominent.

   Hard to believe "painted ladies" of such antiquity as those posted so far could still look so good. You don't see those works of art too often here in Texas. The "paint" doesn't seem to be working so well for the antiquated painted ladies you see around here. <G>

   Kevin Halliburton

   "I refuse to admit I'm more than fifty-two, even if that does make my sons illegitimate" -Lady Astore-

10. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 18, 2003 01:26am | #19

    rez, where are you again?  Have you traveled to Ohio City and looked at the Victorians?

11. 
    rez | Feb 18, 2003 01:29am | #21

    I'm in the northeastern tip of ohio bordering Pa and the lake.

    I saw you talking about it and was going to look it up on the map. Is that a suburb of Cleveland?

     

     

12. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 18, 2003 01:42am | #25

    Ohio City was the original land tract that was started when Moses Cleaveland landed at what is now known as Settlers Landing in the Flats.......Many settlers settled east of the Cuyahoga and many settled west of the Cuyahoga, hence its name Ohio City.......There has been an ongoing controversy as to which settlement was first.....

    Ohio City is directly across the Lorain Carnegie Bridge going west.......The Westside Market is the beginning and Ohio City goes up Lorain Avenue and across Bridge Avenue.......There are gorgeous Victorians in that area.......It was once the up and coming "area"........I Yuppies bought these old houses, rehabbed them, lived there for a while and then sold them....It is smack dab in one of the poorest areas in the city........However, there are many many people who have chosen to still  live there but they have had problems....The Tremont area is in Ohio City.......I work at a school at W. 41st and Lorain.......Need a tour?

13. 
    rez | Feb 18, 2003 01:45am | #26

    Would that be near Martin Luther Highway and the hospital?

    I think I recall the area but Cleveland is still the faraway land to me. Done a few pilgrimages to the hospital and seem to remember a lot of Victorians in that none prosperous area of town and wondered how it happened. Been a while and it was before my building interests got perked. Sometimes I come down off the mountain to check out the big city. :O)

     

     

    Edited 2/17/2003 5:51:25 PM ET by rez

14. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 18, 2003 01:57am | #27

    No, you are on the East side of Cleveland........MLK and University Hospital are way east.......

    Ohio is West of downtown Cleveland......Damn, if I knew how to post a hot link, I would.......If you are coming into Cleveland via 90W, get off at Lorain exit or Fulton exit........Now, my husband always tells me when I give directions, ignore them......<g>

15. 
    rez | Feb 18, 2003 01:59am | #28

    Ha, I'll look on the map. Thanks.

     

     

16. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 18, 2003 02:03am | #29

    OK

17. 
    MikeSmith | Feb 18, 2003 01:28am | #20

    rez: i think it is "cresting".... first i thought it might have been "pierced parapet"

    here's a nice glossary..

    http://www.preservationdayton.com/Pages/glossary.htmlMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

18. 
    rez | Feb 18, 2003 01:35am | #22

    Thanks Mike- Balloon Framing needs a little help tho'. Roar!

    I always liked that house. Only one around here with all those various distinctions.

    To many old building hanging around that look too much like this:

     

     

    
19. 
    MikeSmith | Feb 18, 2003 03:41am | #30

    here's that gatehouse that was hidden behind that hedge for all these years..

    look at the mix of brick and stone... this little gem is just loaded with details... i gotta meet the ownerMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

    
20. 
    ProDek | Feb 18, 2003 09:18am | #32

    Mike you and Rez live near some really great neighborhoods with fantastic old world charm. You really are lucky. Keep the pictures coming.Bob

    "Rather be a hammer than a nail"

21. 
    rez | Feb 19, 2003 08:36am | #37

    What gets me is I'll go into some old 2 or 3 storey brick store fronts and find old beat up drop ceilings in use covering up the old stamped tin ceiling squares. Sad but true.

     

     

22. 
    rez | Feb 18, 2003 09:54am | #33

    Now I gotta go out and shoot some more:O)

     

     

23. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 19, 2003 01:38am | #35

    rez, on the way to school today, I tooled down Bridge Avenue(there's a great restaurant there, too) and noted that any street off Bridge has some great houses.......Jay Avenue is one of them.......

24. 
    rez | Feb 19, 2003 07:04am | #36

    Well girl, ya got me thinking now. I'll have to keep that on the backburner for a day trip sometime.

     

     

25. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 19, 2003 02:54pm | #38

    okey, doaky..........Pick a good day, though, those streets don't always get plowed! 

26. 
    rez | Feb 19, 2003 04:40pm | #39

    Have to keep an eye out for the sunny, sunny, sunny side of the street.

     

     

27. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 21, 2003 02:46am | #40

    good luck........Cleveland does not always put a top priority on these side streets...........

28. 
    rez | Feb 21, 2003 03:26am | #41

    Sounds like a nice spring or summer cruise.

     I'll bring my camera.

    Hope you decide to get a digital. Easy to use and no developement costs.

     

     

29. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 21, 2003 03:35am | #42

    I know just have to convince husband of the advantages    of digital over his Minolta.....He has done some beautiful photos of Cleveland............spring is a wonderful time....That area is one of my favorites........

30. 
    rez | Feb 21, 2003 03:42am | #43

    Sounds like you could use both.

    How many rolls of developement would it take to pay for a digital?

    Ease of quick view kinda like a modern tech polaroid.

     

     

    Edited 2/20/2003 7:42:55 PM ET by rez

31. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 21, 2003 03:47am | #44

    I am in a conversation about which I know nothing about.......Husband has done some photos here in the Cleveland area, shown a few, still loves his ol Minolta....When we were out in AZ, he took some collages and has recently mounted them and they are hanging in our kitchen......I won't even attempt to speak for him.....We have some wonderful digital photos taken in So. California while on vacation, but they seem to lake something....JMO....

32. 
    rez | Feb 21, 2003 08:22am | #45

    I've a few friends who are protograghers. I don't know the first thing about photograghy so I better shut up. A while back I got an old 35mm Pentax with flash and extra lenses thinking I would finally learn how to get accomplished with it. Ya right, what a joke. There it sits.

     

     

33. 
    CaroleG4 | Feb 22, 2003 03:04am | #46

    Photography is not my suit, either......But husband is an accomplished photographer......You should see his collages he did of Shaker Lakes in each season......I keep telling him he should sell them......When that digital comes, I can post pics.......He loves his Minolta......

34. 
    Jay72 | Feb 18, 2003 07:35am | #31

    The roof itself is a mansard for sure. I can't tell from the picture whether it is a concave, convex or straight sided mansard. The ornate metalwork on top is generically called roof cresting. I suspect that it is cast iron and would probably be refered to as ornamental cast iron roof cresting by some people. I think that the overall style of the house is Second Empire. Nice house for sure! Jay

4. 
   ZippyZoom | Feb 15, 2003 09:40pm | #6

   Love the entry, but those wrought iron rails on the steps have to go!

   =====Zippy=====
5. 
   ProDek | Feb 16, 2003 08:19am | #8

   Nice shot Rez- probably made out of one piece of lumber too. True craftsmanship.

   Bob

   "Rather be a hammer than a nail"

   

1. 
   rez | Feb 16, 2003 10:41pm | #9

   gotta love them turrets:Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.

   The other...proper application of risk.