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daveverdo
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:44 pm Post subject: Cantilevered Gable dormers |
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Hi,
I am buying a home with an unusual architectural feature. It is a three story Dutch Colonial Revival home built in 1924. It has three gable dormers on the front that are cantilevered out. I have seem many Dutch Colonial Revival homes and have never seen this feature before. In fact I don't believe I have ssen it on any style home.
Has anyone seen something like this before? Is it a regional style? The home is in western NY state. Any historical value, that is, is it a feature common to a perticular designer of the era?
Any comments on how to draw attention awy from the "top heaviness" of the house? On suggestion was window boxes onthe second floor.
Thanks,
Dave |
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SDR
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1536
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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I like it as it is. Are there comparable dormers on the rear elevation?
I suppose heavy window boxes on the second floor would help integrate the projecting dormers into the building mass -- but you wouldn't put one under the middle window, where it would intersect the porch roof.
I prefer to leave the design intact, and enjoy it as a (possibly unique) forecast of more adventurous building composition to come, in the decades following its construction. It certainly seems neatly done, althought one wonders at the slight variation at window-sill level, between the two outer dormers and the central one. . .
SDR |
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daveverdo
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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The rear has a more traditional shed dormer.
Never noticed the difference between the middle and two flanking windows before. The middle window is to a hallway whereas the others are bedrooms. It is symetric at least. The difference can also be a result of the vinyl siding and not intended originally. I plan to research the history a bit more. It was originally built for a general returning from WW I. He was not not a hero or anything, in fact he made a few tactical errors during the war.
Dave |
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SDR
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1536
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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Well, it all looks very neat and tidy. The entrance portico roof seems to have a little forward projection to it, too? Hard to understand the motivation for the dormers, as the space enclosed has little useful function, normally. Just take it as a delightful oddity? I wouldn't try to "correct" it, visually, as that would inevitably add another level of complication while accomplishing little (besides pointing to the "problem"). A tree might be described as "top-heavy," too . . .?
Thanks for the nice photos -- a very interesting house. Maybe the answer will turn up, someday. A search might uncover other work in the region by the same architect or builder; perhaps he/they did some other unusual things in your town.
Enjoy your new home. SDR |
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