Pop Quiz Answer Round-Up

There are numerous pop quizzes lying around Preservation in Pink just awaiting answers. So here we go, starting with the most recent. Click on the image to return to the original post.

This abandoned building is in Florence, Vermont. I do not have an answer for you at this time, though one reader suggests a church. Can any locals provide some help?

This brick bond is seen on a building in Middlebury, Vermont. Devin commented with the correct answer: diapering. You can identify diapering by the diamond pane that the glazed brick forms, along with the one glazed header in the center of the diamond.

The comments for this quiz are mostly divided between Colonial Revival and Craftsman. I think this house is a cross between the two, exhibiting elements of both styles. The exposed rafters and the false timbering on the entry gable belong to Craftsman. The symmetry, the portico columns and the entryway sidelights belong to Colonial Revival. Would you be surprised to know that this building was originally for a telephone company and on the rear it’s three stories? It is much larger than it looks.

What would you call the recessed brick sections on this building? The winning answer: blind arch or blind arcade. One is an arch, many is an arcade.

Name this structure. The marquee to a drive-in movie theater. Many of you guessed this right away. Good job!

Thanks for playing everyone. More pop quizzes to come. If you have any images that you think would be a good pop quiz, send it along.

Advertisement

Flamingo-grams

Some recent PiP adventures across the northeast.

And today is Veterans Day. Thank you to all who have served for our country and for our freedom. May we always be safe because of you and your sacrifices.

Happy Veterans Day

Talk with A Veteran

Proud to be An American

Thank You for Your Service to the United States

Preservation Pop Quiz & Abandoned Vermont

A double post: what is this abandoned structure? It is located in Florence, VT. The building is built into a hill, so the side not shown has only small windows. Any guesses?

Preservation ABCs: G is for Gateway

Preservation ABCs is a series that will work its way from A to Z, bringing words into conversation that are relevant to historic preservation, whether it’s an idea, feature or vocabulary term. The idea is to help you see preservation everywhere you look and wherever you go. Enjoy! See previous letters.

————————–

G is for Gateway

This pony truss bridges is a gateway to the Woodstock Village Historic District.

A gateway is an indication on the landscape or in the built environment that you are crossing to a new setting. This indication is a tangible change in the environment. Think of a gateway like an entrance to someplace new; however, gateways are more than gates and fences, of course. A gateway might be a bridge, stone walls, landscaping or a settlement pattern that gets denser as you approach the center of town. A bridge is a gateway to a historic district because it anchors one side of the district boundary. Upon crossing that bridge, you are entering the village or historic district.

Gateways are important because they allow us to read the landscape as we travel and to recognize communities. Because of this, our historic bridges are important to maintain and rehabilitate. Removing a truss bridge or an ornamental concrete railing to be replaced with a standard highway bridge will change how you read the landscape. Historic bridges signify crossings and entrances.

Towns and neighborhoods do not need a bridge in order to have a gateway. Sometimes when an “entrance” to a village is less obvious, due to development and sprawl, towns will employ welcome signs and banners or other landscaping elements. The street might be narrower or sidewalks begin at a certain point. These are examples of reading the more subtle hints of the built environment. New development and even shopping malls today attempt to create the feeling of gateways by lining the traffic lanes with ornamental street lights and banners, using pavers or dyed concrete.

When you cross that gateway maybe you get the feeling that you are in a settled area, a more human scale area as opposed to the wide open spaces or the sprawl development. Take a look next time you’re traveling.

Think about this: how do you recognize when you enter your town? What does the approach into your neighborhood look like? Would you say that it has a gateway?

Preservation Photos #156

The Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building and United States Post Office in Portsmouth, NH constructed 1967.

This building struck me as being particularly sympathetic to its surrounding environment – a modern 1960s government building that perhaps most people will be able to enjoy and read in the landscape.

And speaking of the federal government … remember to VOTE today. It’s your right, privilege and responsibility as an American citizen.

Sending Love from Vermont

Sending lots of love, strength and hope to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. To relatives, friends and strangers on Long Island, in New York City and everywhere else, may you soon have power, hot water, a plan of action for your house if necessary and the warmth of community surrounding you. Vermont feels your pain in an all too familiar way, since Sandy comes only 14 months after Irene.

Vermont Strong, New York Strong — may we all be united and strong.