widow's walk

[A. Maberry]

Perhaps I should have mentioned earlier that, in using this particular
thesaurus, that "Synonyms and spelling variants {UF}" means basically,
"Used for" and nothing more. Since it is a cataloging schema, {UF}
equals "Used for" and is only indicating that the terms are related
closely enough in the mind of whoever designed the schema, to be
designated for indexing purposes by the term "widow's walk".
Neither an architect nor a designer, I can recall many houses in Portland
which had widow's walks which served no practical purpose, as Mark
suggests, except perhaps to overlook a some rather busy streets.

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu

On Sat, 28 Oct 2000, Mark Odegard wrote:

> >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
>
> Aha! 'Surmounting'. A widow's walk usually refers to the mostly
> ornamental/useless thing at the very top of an Empire-style Victorian house
> (as with the one the Addams Family lives in). The idea is it is incorporated
> into the roof, rather than surmounting it.
>
> 'Surmounting' would mean 'roof-top deck' in current terminology. This is
> above whatever is beneath to keep water out of the building.
>
> 'Roof gallery' suggests what I've seen on a few art-deco era apartment
> buildings. It's actual space meant for use and has a roof above it, with
> provision for proper drainage of water. 'Roof-top gazebo' would be accurate.
>
> 'Piazza', as exemplified by the one at the T. Roosevelt house at Oyster Bay,
> is a term that gives most readers the willies. It's a first floor outdoor
> room, fully walled on two sides, with a full ceiling and flooring (all
> weatherproof); it's a subspecies of a verandah (the main body of the roof of
> the house encompasses them). Mrs. Longworth spoke about it. She also spoke
> about Mr. Longworth's ancestral Victorian awful in Ohio, which indeed had a
> belvedere.
>
> As I understand it, a belvedere is a 'tower-room', a full-size 'attic' above
> the real attic (at least in Victorian houses).
>
> Mark.
>
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