[MassHistPres] yet another oddity — any suggestions?

[Dennis De Witt]

All

Micael Ruderman of Arlington has sharp eyes and spotted yet another odd aspect of this house.  If you enlarge the image sufficiently, you can see, in the center red oval, that between the three beams supporting the overhanging central bay roof  the upper five shingle courses are very slightly set back — with that setback blended into the wall surface below those courses.  

The same thing occurs below the two small second floor casements in the red oval on the right.  There, it happens below windows with no sills — and thus the setback makes a perverse sort of sense.  But why at the center bay? 

Have you seen this sort detail before?

Also, at the risk of repeating one of the questions below, do you know of comparables to the dormers’ mullion pattern in the yellow oval?  It may be a matter of what i don’t know, but I can only think of European examples — e.g. in Portuguese “Victorian” fenestration.

I believe this house, as seen here, is ca. 1883-85 and the photograph is probably contemporaneous with its completion.

All thoughts welcomed.

Thanks

Dennis De Witt
Waterworks Museum   



> On Feb 17, 2020, at 12:07 PM, Dennis De Witt <abtdewitt at rcn.com> wrote:
> 
> All
> 
> Below is a previously unidentified, house, quite possibly by E.M. Wheelwright.  It was built on a lot in Milton owned by J, Murray Forbes, probably ca. 1884-85 but in any case not likely before 1882.  It was deeded by Forbes to his 3d cousin, and future business partner, Nathaniel H. Stone on Christmas Eve. 1885.
> 
> Close examination of the photo shows a lot of ODD features.  All except for the first seem to be the only examples in Wheelwright’s work.
> 
> I’d be interested in learning of any other examples of the following
> — The two forward projecting dormer roofs (There is one similar later Wheelwright example)
> — The more strongly projecting center bay roof — almost as if over a stable hayloft door 
> — The windowless, 3d floor not-head height, upper part of the central bay.  (Staircase is elsewhere)
> — The narrow strip of shingles between the ground floor windows.
> — The multiple window muntin configurations — especially at this time, in a shingle style house 
> Particularly:
> 	— The ladder muntins in the central bay
> 	— The diamond panes in the dormers
> 
> All thoughts or comments welcomed.
> 
> Dennis De Witt
> Metropolitan Waterworks Museum.
> 
> 
> <239 Central.crpd.lo res adj.jpeg>

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