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March 26, 2008
WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS THING?
Ok the brownstone I live in has a great staircase, with a cool newel post, there is also a small landing at the foot of the stairs. At the base of the stairs there is another newel post and a thing on top of it that extends out from the wall. It's a cool detail i would like to keep but maybe replace with something nicer. Can someone tell me what this thing is called? I'll post an image soon. help.
Comments
looks like an old harp was adapted to your hallway
Posted by: guest at March 26, 2008 9:05 PM
I don't know what they are called; but they kind of, well, creep me out and I don't know why.
But I really love your newel posts.
Posted by: guest at March 26, 2008 10:13 PM
Gid Rid of it...that's an eyesore.
Posted by: guest at March 26, 2008 11:19 PM
I call it ugly!
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 9:54 AM
uh, that's my wife retard. Thanks for the insight.
Posted by: oldbaby at March 27, 2008 10:01 AM
I would just call it fretwork, but I may be wrong. To be honest, I don't like it (even though I love fretwork, generally); it serves no functional purpose, isn't very attractive, and would really get in the way when you're, say, moving furniture up the stairs.
That having been said, what on earth are you talking about when you say you're considering "replacing it with something nicer?" They don't exactly sell this stuff at Crate & Barrel.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 10:55 AM
If this piece of ornamentation ran between an archway, I think you'd call it a spandrel. You can buy this kind of thing in seveal of the antique shops on Atlantic Avenue. It looks like the builder put it in somewhat whimisically, as another piece of ornamentation.
Posted by: cgguy at March 27, 2008 11:10 AM
My earlier response, posted in error after the OP's first post w/ot he picture, appears to be a minority view. It looks like most responders don't share my love for this type of ornamentation.Nevertheless, I'd like to repeat my earlier request. If you remove this stuff, please store it away so that a subsequent owner can replace it, if wanted. Original ornimentation is part of the fabric of old houses--IMO it's a shame to loose it forever because of a transitory change in taste.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at March 27, 2008 11:35 AM
Dover Books reprinted in 1988 a Millwork Catalog. The title of it is "Roberts' Illustrated Millwork Catalog, A Sourcebook of Turn of the Century Architectural Woodwork - E L Roberts & Co".
The cover shows something similar. If you go to pg 267, you will see something also similar. They give any of this type of wood trim the name "Grilles".
The purpose of the Grille is safety (as a stop for downward motion from the stairs), decorative (the catalog different grills in different design styles, and shows swags and plants as part of the after market decorative flourishes), and as a way to define the interior space flows around the area (think Feng shui). The reason for the size and that arching component may have to do with the lack of structure below to lag into, and above to connect a vertical support.
If you are intent on changing this feature, the catalog mentioned above shows any number of Grille configurations. If you do disassemble it, do it carefully and put it in storage for the next owner to consider. If you examine the parts and pieces, you may find manufacturers marks that will help to date it and place it's provenance.
I would be happy to send you references (Dover is free to copy and distribute). Contact me through my web site www.lesperancetileworks.com
Oh and BTW this architectural feature cost the builder around $50 in 1903. That was unfinished. Anybody know what that would cost today?
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 12:18 PM
Please also keep any old corsets you have laying around and maybe the canes you used to beat the slaves because we should really preserve everything old. These favored items may come back in vogue as they should.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 12:30 PM
I think it is very unusual. In 25 years of living in Brownstone BK and visiting many brownstones, I have never seen anything like it. It is unusual and to my eye beautiful
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 12:39 PM
Actually, they're fairly common [allbeit still beautiful] in neighborhoods with houses built between the late 1890s and 1910s. Some houses on Rutland Road in PLG , for example, have similar details.My own house, on another LM street, has an elaborate fretwork screen separating the front and middle parlors, but nothing like this on the stairs.
I suspect that 12:30's comment is tongue-in-cheek, but original interior features of a house aren't really the same as old cloths. OTOH I know lots of brownstoners of my generation who would have felt justified in using those disgarded canes on the assholes who removed these irreplacable details in the '40s and '50s to make their houses "modern." [NOT me--the previous owners of my house left virtually EVERYTHING. That's why I bought it].
Posted by: Bob Marvin at March 27, 2008 2:03 PM
Whatever you call it, it's a whole lot better than the exposed plumbing up at the ceiling and going over the landing of the floor above.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 2:23 PM
What kind of carpeting is that and where did you buy it?
Posted by: faithful at March 27, 2008 2:38 PM
The exposed plumbing works great for pull ups..
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 3:50 PM
Those aren't balustrades, they're spindles. I believe balustrades are the actual handrail.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 3:59 PM
I think the exposed plumbing is there for the hanging of canes and corsets referenced by 12:30.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 4:34 PM
I agree 100%, Bob.
Also, keeping Grandma's corset is appropriate if she is still wearing it. An historic house is the same. Great info, 12:18.
If one doesn't want an old house, complete with the details that define it, then don't buy one, or get one that has already been stripped. If you must remove it, I agree, carefully put it in storage for the next owner. Can't count the times people comment on how they found the original doors, shutters, fretwork, etc, in the basement, and were overjoyed.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at March 27, 2008 7:57 PM
I don't hate it, I've seen versions of it done better. My goal is to preserve aspects of the house and juxtapose them with modern furniture. The exposed pipes are a sprinkler system that runs through the entire house. I prefer it to having a nasty fire escape in the back. Ideally I would replace it with something more substantial. The thing is very rickety and is missing several pieces. Don't think it was original to the building. And no I won't just rip it out and toss it. I would probably just store it or sell it.
As for the carpeting, it came with the house. It's pretty ugly but keeps the stairs pretty quiet.
Posted by: oldbaby at March 28, 2008 12:53 PM
I'm looking for carpeting for my stairs for the same reasons. They're very noisy.
Posted by: faithful at March 31, 2008 9:57 AM
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