Friday, November 22, 2019

A Discovery at 59 Allen Street

Much of the plastic enshrouding 59 Allen Street has now been taken down, revealing a detail that went unnoticed before the paint was removed: a brick semicircular arch over what must have been a window--a much larger window than the one that is there now.

The presence of this detail in the brick work raises some questions about the window that was originally there. The engraving of the house that appears on an 1858 map of Columbia County shows a tripartite window in this position with rectangular hood mouldings.

By 1954, when Howard Gibson took this picture of a fire in a nearby house on Allen Street, the smaller window that is there now is in place, with a rectangular hood moulding, similar to what appears in the 19th-century engraving, which is now missing.
So, why is there this brick semicircular arch? It would not have been needed for the window that appears in the 1858 engraving. The house was built in 1851, so it seems reasonable to assume that the engraving shows the house as it was originally.
COPYRIGHT 2019 CAROLE OSTERINK
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4 comments:

  1. Chris HoppeNovember 22, 2019 at 8:08 PM

    The arch could have been intended as a means to transfer wall loads around the tripartite windows so that the wood window frames only had to support the small amount of brick between the top of the window and the bottom of the arch. I am a structural engineer and have seen this method employed in similar situations.

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    Replies
    1. Carole OsterinkNovember 22, 2019 at 9:01 PM

      Thank you! That is very helpful information.

      Delete
    2. big tNovember 25, 2019 at 12:31 PM

      I think that's correct. It's called a "relieving arch".

      Delete
  2. leonardo sideriNovember 22, 2019 at 9:05 PM

    The boring existing rear elevation does not match the engraving at all. The engraving implies some sort of balcony? The only way to evaluate the exterior is to look at the interior. There's not an intact building in Hudson, why should this be any different.

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