Abbreviations

LHD

Local Historic District

NRDIS

National Historic District

NRHD

National Historic Register District

NRMRA

National Register Multiple Resource Area

NRNID

National Register Individual property

Architectural terms

Balustrade

A railing system with upper and lower horizontal rails and short vertical elements (balusters)

Band course

A projecting, horizontal element separating parts of a wall surface, especially in masonry construction

Bay

A regularly repeated unit of space on the façade of a building, often formed or suggested by dimensions of the structural framework

Brick corbel

A series of masonry courses, each stepping progressively outward from the face of a building to create a decorative element

Casing

The flat wood trim on the surface of the wall surrounding a window or door, often with bands of molding around the perimeter

Corner board

A flat trim board applied to an exterior corner of a wood-frame building

Cornice

Molded projections extending across the top of a wall, or forming the top element of a door or window frame

Cresting

A horizontal ornamental element at the top of a parapet or roof ridge, usually made of metal or occasionally of terra cotta

Curtilage

A court, courtyard, a piece of ground included within a fence surrounding a dwelling house

Dormer

A small structure that projects from a sloping roof, with a window in the vertical face

Eave

The projection of a roof beyond the wall below; most often used to refer to the edge or underside of a roof

End gable form

A gable-roofed building with its primary façade on a short end wall usually facing the street (the roof ridge is perpendicular to the street)

Entablature

A series of horizontal elements at the top of a wall; in classical architecture consisting of an architrave, frieze, and cornice

Facade

Any of the exterior faces of a building; often refers to the architectural front, which is distinguished from other walls by its degree of elaboration or the location of the principal entrance

Fascia

A flat, horizontal band on a wall surface; often a plain element with little molding at the top edge of a wall

Fanlight

A semicircular window over a door

Gable end

A short end wall of a gable-roofed building, perpendicular to the ridge beam, which has a triangular shape at the top portion. An end gable structure is set with this wall facing the street; a side gable structure is set with this wall set perpendicular to the street

Gable return

The bottom corner of a raking cornice molding that turns inward towards the center of the wall in a horizontal direction

Half-timbering

A medieval building construction technique in which an exposed timber frame is infilled with plaster or brick, so that the timbers form a geometric pattern on the exterior

Hip roof

A roof that slopes inward from all four exterior walls, forming a pyramid

Hood

A projecting element that covers a wall opening such as a window or door; often supported by brackets at each end

Joint

The space between masonry units in a wall, usually filled with mortar to attach the units

Light

An individual pane of glass in a window or door

Lintel

A horizontal structural element in a wall that spans a window or door opening; in a masonry building, often distinguished by a contrasting material

Mansard

A roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope typically being almost vertical

Menage

A dwelling house

Messuage

A dwelling house with adjacent buildings and cartilage and the adjoining lands used in connection with the household

Monitor

A raised section at the top of a roof, usually with glazing in its vertical sides to allow illumination of the center of a building

Muntin

A secondary framing member that holds individual panes of glass within a window or glazed door

Palladian window

A three-part window unit, with a wider center window usually having an arched top, flanked by a narrower rectangular window on each side

Parapet

The part of a vertical wall that extends above the adjacent roof

Pediment

The triangular gable end of a building, framed by a horizontal cornice and the raking (diagonal) cornices of the roof eaves, or a similar form used above a door or window

Pilaster

A vertical projection on a wall, usually rectangular in cross-section and often with a capital and base, that appears to be supporting building elements

Pitch

The slope of a building element in relation to the horizontal, especially in a roof

Pointing

The material with which joints in a masonry wall are filled. Also the process of placing mortar in a masonry joint as the units are laid up; re-pointing refers to removing an outer portion of deteriorated mortar and re-filling the joint with new mortar

Rake board, raking cornice, raking course, raking molding

A diagonal trim element following the slope of a gable or roof, where it meets an exterior wall

Sash

The perimeter frame of a window, including the horizontal rails and vertical stiles, that holds the glass panes; it may be movable or fixed

Set back

On a parcel of land, the distance between the street and the front of a building, or between a building and the side or back property lines. On a building, recessing elements (such as upper stories) back from the main wall plane

Side gable form

A gable-roofed building with its short end walls perpendicular to the street (the roof ridge is parallel to the street) and its primary façade on a long wall

Sidelight

A narrow rectangular window to the side of a door or wider window

Soffit

The exposed undersurface of an overhead element, such as an arch or roof eave

Transom

A window above a doorway, separated by a horizontal crossbar, or a secondary window similarly set above a larger window

True divided-light sash

A window with individual panes of glass separated by muntins