HOME



picture info

Octagon House
Octagon houses are eight-sided houses that were popular in the United States and Canada mostly in the 1850s. They are characterized by an octagonal (eight-sided) Floor plan, plan and often feature a flat roof and a veranda that circles the house. Their unusual shape and appearance, quite different from the ornate pitched-roof houses typical of the period, can generally be traced to the influence of amateur architect and lifestyle pundit Orson Squire Fowler. Although there are other octagonal houses worldwide, the term ''octagon house'' usually refers to octagonal houses built in North America during this period, and up to the early 1900s. History Early examples, before Fowler: *Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's private retreat and plantation house near Lynchburg, Virginia. *William Thornton's John Tayloe III House, more commonly called The Octagon House in Washington, D.C. After the White House was burned by the British during the War of 1812, President of the United States, Pre ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




McElroy Octagon House (San Francisco) 2
The McElroy Octagon House, also known as the Colonial Dames Octagon House, is a historic octagonal house now located at 2645 Gough Street at Union Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States. It was listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark on February 3, 1969, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972. The house is open to the public for tours. History William C. McElroy (?–1869) and his spouse Harriet Shober (1816–1899) bought the lot across the street from the house's current location on Gough Street in 1859. McElroy was a wood miller by trade and he built the house between 1860 and 1861. Originally the house was designed with two floors (four rooms on each floor) with a winding staircase in the middle of the building. The McElroy family lived in the house until around the 1880s when the house became a rental property. Daniel O’Connell, a co-founder of the Bohemian Club, was one of the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

James Madison
James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the "James Madison as Father of the Constitution, Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the United States Bill of Rights, Bill of Rights. Madison was born into a prominent slave-owning Planter class, planter family in Virginia. In 1774, strongly opposed to British taxation, Madison joined with the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the American Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention (United States), Constitutional Convention, which produced a n ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Cistern
A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings. Modern cisterns range in capacity from a few liters to thousands of cubic meters, effectively forming covered reservoirs. Origins Early domestic and agricultural use Waterproof lime plaster cisterns in the floors of houses are features of Neolithic village sites of the Levant at, for instance, Ramad and Lebwe, and by the late fourth millennium BC, as at Jawa in northeastern Lebanon, cisterns are essential elements of emerging water management techniques in dry-land farming communities. Early examples of ancient cisterns, found in Israel, include a significant discovery at Tel Hazor, where a large cistern was carved into bedrock beneath a palace dating to the Late Bronze Age. Simi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Fowler's Folly
Fowler's Folly, built during 1848–1853, was the octagonal home of Orson S. Fowler in Fishkill, New York. It was a "monumental" house for its time, with four stories and 60 rooms. an''Accompanying 10 photos, exterior and interior'' The house was condemned as a public health hazard and dynamited in 1897.''The Octagon House'', Orson S Fowler: Introduction to the Dover Publications, Inc. 1973 reprint. Orson Squire Fowler was author of a book, ''The Octagon House: A House for All'', that was first published in 1848. The book, frequently mischaracterized as a pattern book, ignited a fad for octagon houses in the United States and perhaps also in Canada. See also *List of octagon houses This is a list of octagon houses. The style became popular in the United States and Canada following the publication of Orson Squire Fowler's 1848 book ''The Octagon House, A Home for All''. In the United States, 68 surviving octagon houses ar ... References {{coord missing, Hudson Valley ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Norrish House
The Claflin-Norrish House is a historic octagon house, octagonal house located in Hastings, Minnesota, United States; a contributing property to the West Second Street Residential Historic District. The two-story home was built of limestone covered with stucco. Special features include a windowed cupola and wrap-around porch. It still stands at Spring and West 2nd Streets. It is one of scores of List of octagon houses, eight-sided homes built in the Antebellum era, antebellum United States. Originally built for the Clafflin family, John F. Norris purchased the house in the late 19th century. After the mid-1940s, the house was remodeled into 5 unit apartments. It was bought by John and Lorena Phelps and has been going through renovation to make it a single family house. References External links City of Hastings Residential Style Guide
Houses completed in 1858 Historic district contributing properties in Minnesota Houses in Dakota County, Minnesota Houses on the Nationa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Pattern Book
A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern books have been very influential in spreading architectural styles. An early author of pattern books was American architect Minard Lafever. In 1829 he published ''The Young Builders' General Instructor'', followed by ''Modern Builders' Guide'' in 1833, ''The Beauties of Modern Architecture'' in 1835 and ''The Architectural Instructor'' in 1850. His pattern books were influential in spreading his Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival style, which is known as the first major non-British high architectural style in the United States. The style was popular for being not British, and for association with Greek history, ancient and modern, and was greatly facilitated by the pattern books. Orson Squire Fowler notably made a mark on American ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bay Window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the ground. A window may be all three: projecting outward from the main fascia of a wall, curved in shape, and not reaching the ground. A bay window may be supported from the ground by a foundation, or in space by corbels, brackets, or cantilever. A typical bay window consists of a central windowpane, called a fixed sash, flanked by two or more smaller windows, known as casement or double-hung windows. The arrangement creates a panoramic view of the outside, allows more natural light to enter the room, and provides additional space within the room. Bay windows are often designed to extend beyond the exterior wall, either adding to floor space, often filled with a table, desk, or seating area, or turned into a window seat (often with storage o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Degree (angle)
A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane (mathematics), plane angle in which one Turn (geometry), full rotation is 360 degrees. It is not an SI unit—the SI unit of angular measure is the radian—but it is mentioned in the SI Brochure, SI brochure as an Non-SI units mentioned in the SI, accepted unit. Because a full rotation equals 2 radians, one degree is equivalent to radians. History The original motivation for choosing the degree as a unit of rotations and angles is unknown. One theory states that it is related to the fact that 360 is approximately the number of days in a year. Ancient astronomers noticed that the sun, which follows through the ecliptic path over the course of the year, seems to advance in its path by approximately one degree each day. Some ancient calendars, such as the Iranian calendar, Persian calendar and the Babylonian calendar, used 360 days for a year. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

East Coast Of The United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always played a major socioeconomic role in the development of the United States. The region is generally understood to include the U.S. states that border the Atlantic Ocean: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York (state), New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as some landlocked territories (Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.). Toponymy and composition The Toponymy, toponym derives from the concept that the contiguous 48 states are defined by two major coastlines, one at the West Coast of the United States, western edge and one on the eastern edge. Other terms for referring to this area include ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

American Architecture
The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over two centuries of independence and former Spanish, French, Dutch and British rule. Architecture in the United States has been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic and innovative tradition. Pre-Columbian The oldest surviving non-imported structures on the territory that is now known as the United States were made by the Ancient Pueblo People of the four corners region. The Tiwa speaking people have inhabited Taos Pueblo continuously for over 1000 years. Algonquian villages Pomeiooc and Section in what later became coastal North Carolina survive from the late 16th century. Artist and cartographer John White stayed at the short-lived Roanoke Colony for 13 months and recorded over 70 watercolor images of indigenous people, plants, and animals. The remote location ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. It is not the same as junk science. The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is widespread agreement "that creationism, astrology, homeopathy, Kirlian photography, dowsing, ufology, ancient astronaut theory, Holocaust den ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]