Sunday, May 27, 2012

Jane's Walk: Site 27

Today we wind up our oriel ogling by looking at the oriels in the last three blocks of Warren Street. The search for oriels is not as rewarding here as it was in the 400 block or the 500 block. In the last three blocks combined, there are a total of only nine oriels. In the 600 block, remarkably, there is only one: this one at 610 Warren Street.

610 Warren Street

The 800 block similarly has very few oriels--only two--and both of them have been nearly obliterated by alterations to the buildings.

807 Warren Street
833 Warren Street

With the exception of the oriel at 744 Warren Street, made indistinct by the application of vinyl siding, the best oriels by far in this upper stretch of Warren Street are found in the 700 block. Worthy of notice are the oriel at 715 Warren Street, which like the house to which it is attached looks amazingly like the residence of the crooked man of nursery rhyme fame, and the one at 721 Warren Street, where huge panes of plate glass make the oriel seem more like two stacked display cases.  

715 Warren Street
721 Warren Street
723 Warren Street
744 Warren Street

The oriels at 746 and 748 Warren Street make a fitting conclusion to our oriel tour. We started out by defining the difference between a bay and an oriel, using the mnemonic provided by Christopher Gray in the New York Times: "Does it rest on its bottom? Then that's B, for bay. Or, does it stick out from a higher floor on the facade with nothing under it? That's O for oriel, with zero underneath." At 748 Warren Street, there is both an oriel (at the right) and a bay (at the left) in a single facade.

746 and 748 Warren Street
   

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for"our oriel ogling by looking at the oriels".Truly fascinating".
    I feel a little sad that May is coming to a close.Your "Jane's Walks" have been so enlightening.I hope you will continue with "Carole Walks".
    Thank you for all the time, care,and love you have put into this series.Anyone following your tour,will never look at many buildings and their story or the spots where they once stood, ever quite the same.You have done Jane Jacobs proud.

    ReplyDelete