widow's walk

[A. Maberry]

This is from the Getty Vocabulary Program at the Getty Research Institute
Art and Architecture Thesaurus Browser.

Descriptor: widows' walks

Term ID: 2379

Hierarchy: Components [PJ]

Scope note - Use for railed, unroofed platforms surmounting the roofs of
American houses offering a view, especially of the sea; for rooftop
outlooks that are enclosed, use "belvederes"; for rooftop structures that
are usually ornamental, use "cupolas."

Alternate Forms of Speech {ALT}:
                 widow's walk
Synonyms and spelling variants {UF}:
                 captains' walks
                 galleries, roof
                 roof galleries
                 walks, captains'
                 walks, widows'

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu

On Sat, 28 Oct 2000, Nathan H Brown wrote:

> I know what a widow's walk is, but does anyone know anything else about
> the phrase? Where it came from, when it came into use, who first used it,
> anything at all about it? My mother needs to know for a newspaper story
> she's writing. Any help would be appreciated.
>