The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-03-29


makes one tremble at the audacity of the de-
signer who would dare to stick such bird
cage boxes in such places. OF all the excrescen-
ces which disgrace our buildings, these false
and absurd .turrets sre,to bemost condemned.
They belong clearly to the sheet-iron styles
and are met everywhere.
Many years ago the people were so fond of
classic architecture that not only did they
place a Grecian portico in front of every court
house and town hall, no matter what shape or .
character the body of the building was, but
they after while adopted them for their
dwellings and the country was full of them.
Now every building must have tower, turret,
or cupola--even the barns, stables, and hem
neries. In fact, everything runs to towers.
They are expected in every design.
Perhaps the most common falsity in our
buildings is that of cornices. How rarely,
even in very expensive buildings, do we find
stone cornices They require strong support
ing walls, and have to be so large and heavy
as to more than balance on the walls Possibly
if there is anything extenuating in the use of
iron it may be in the use of this light material
for this purpose, which, being the surmounting
mouldings, have little to perform in the con-
struction of the building
II iron is The most useful material In con-
struction terra Gotta Is its coassistant. Here
we know the weakness Of q material which
can be nodded only in short lengths, which is
better calculated for decoration than for
strength, and which, X used In connection
q
tion less Objectionable every way than with
stone. At the same time what is more de-
plorable and painful to the well-trained eye
than to see lintels which are supposed to
carry great loads full of joints, and in the
majority of cases these pieces uneven, out. OF
line, and almost-topsy-turvy Where there
are so many joints there is greater chance for
expansion, tits true, but less protection against
the inroads OF water, and water is the greatest
enemy we have to contend with In the lasting
qualities Of our buildings
A stone coping, as we are apt to get 1t, un-
less shaped to shed the water from the brick,
is the ruination of more walls and chimneys
than any other covering we use for that pur-
pose. / never look at the mason pointing up
crumbling fire walls and chimneys but that
think of the ignorance or carelessness OF
those who omitted to cut upon the copings a
simple water drip, which would have saved
the WALL remedying the defect by obviating
the cause
Another very absurd thing, and quite prev
alent, Is the overwhelming desire to manu-
facture supports for columniations, pedi-
mented projections and such like massive ad-
ditions to the facade Of building, from the
upper stories, projected to stand out boldly,
having no other Office to perform than In a
meaningless way break up the upper plainn0ss
of the front, and resting on carved trusses or
corbels. costly appendage to construct, it
ranks in absurdity with the bird-cage turret
Whatever the character OF the device, or the
features aimed at in designing building, the
support is the first thing to be considered,
and no column should ever be admitted IN a
| design, being support itself, without solid,
| substantial founding from the very ground
| beneath. Everything in. building has its
uses. When you wish to support something
| and use column, you use 1t because you
| want it for support; that is why you use it.
\ Now if vnr a LOT of ata chad cn11n nj
and entablatures from building, with nothing
| at all for them to support, you show mean
ingless study, which is absolutely absurd
| AS we said, the design depending greatly upon
reason, analyses will soon show the weakness
OF any departure from accepted principles
| No truer precepts were ever taught than tC
| keep solid over solid, void over void. There
can be no thoroughly well-constructed build
| ing where this old axiom has been disregarded
| Architecture is no longer a study for q few
| Persons living in large cities, who are con
stantly seeing buildings erected, can hardly
help studying by comparison.
There is delightful grace and repose in the
those simple methods which bring strong re
suits. 1t is neither deferred by the specula
! tive mania, which is the curse of good practice
nor partakes of the glaring bizarre of bad
| practice
The poets, in their fights of fancy, very
prettily christened true architecture "frozeI
| music''
Where there is graceful fitness of the beau
tiful with the useful the imagination draw
inspiration from it,
TIE silent majesty of grand edifice seems t.
beam with real intelligence. There is melod,
in its dignifed columns, entablatures an(
gracefully curved arches, with the lights ant
shadows of projection scintillating over line
of holdings and weaving in its artistic cary
ings charming us with their pathos and power
| bTjs hapanea nf its trnthfu1npes that IL fhrs m
peals to our senses. Tricks may be admired
for their ingenuity, but are not upon the plan
by which good and true men or their works ar
measured; so in conclusion we know of nj
BETTER simpler exemplifcation of our subjec
works, "Esto quod esse videris." Be what W yo1
seem to be.