A gazebo is a

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

structure, sometimes

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al or

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

-shaped, often built in a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

, or spacious

public area A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

. Some are used on occasions as

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

s. In

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

, the word is also used for a tent-like canopy with open sides to provide shelter from sun and rain at outdoor events.

Etymology

The etymology given by

Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly: Historical dictionaries * ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', an abridgement of the ''OED'' Single-volu ...

is "Mid 18th century: perhaps humorously from gaze, in imitation of Latin future tenses ending in -ebo: compare with

lavabo A lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands. It consists normally of a ewer or container of some kind to pour water, and a bowl to catch the water as it falls off the hands. In ecclesiastical usage it refers to all of: the ...

." L. L. Bacon put forward a derivation from ''

Casbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...

'', a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

quarter around the citadel in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

.Bacon, Leonard Lee. "Gazebos and Alambras", ''American Notes and Queries'' 8:6 (1970): 87–87 W. Sayers proposed Hispano-Arabic ''qushaybah'', in a poem by Cordoban poet

Ibn Quzman Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Isa Abd al-Malik ibn Isa ibn Quzman al-Zuhri (; 1087–1160) was the single most famous poet in the history of Al-Andalus and he is also considered to be one of its most original. One of the characteristics of his poetry was ...

(d. 1160).William Sayers, ''Eastern prospects: Kiosks, belvederes, gazebos''. Neophilologus 87: 299–305, 200

/ref> The word ''gazebo'' appears in a mid-18th century English book by the architects John and

William Halfpenny William Halfpenny (active 1723–1755) was an English architect and builder in the first half of the 18th century, and prolific author of builder's pattern books. In some of his publications he described himself as "architect and carpenter ...

: ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste''. There Plate 55, "Elevation of a Chinese Gazebo", shows "a Chinese Tower or Gazebo, situated on a Rock, and raised to a considerable Height, and a Gallery round it to render the Prospect more complete."

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

had a small eight-sided garden structure at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

wrote about gazebos, then called summerhouses or pavilions.

Design

Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and are often open on all sides. They provide

shade Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to: * Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color) * Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight * Shades or sunglasses * Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...

, shelter from rain and a place to rest, while acting as an

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

feature. Some gazebos in public parks are large enough to serve as a

Types

Gazebos overlap with pavilions,

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

gloriette A gloriette (from the 12th-century French meaning "little room") is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The structural execution and shape can vary greatly, often in the form of a pavili ...

pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

s, and

rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

s. Such structures first appeared in

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

gardens approximately 5,000 years ago and appear in the literature of China,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and other classical civilizations. Examples in England are the garden houses at

Montacute House Montacute House is a late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan mansion in Montacute, South Somerset, England. An example of English architecture created during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic architecture, Gothic to the more Classica ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. The gazebo at

Elton on the Hill Elton on the Hill is a hamlet and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England and within the Vale of Belvoir. A population of 114 was reported at the 2021 census. Location and facilities Elton lies about east of Nottingham. It straddles the A52 ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, thought to date from the late 18th or early 19th century, is a square, crenelated, brick and stone tower with an arched opening. It acted as a focus for an extensive system of red-brick walled gardens, which has survived with some more modern additions.British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
/ref> In today's England and North America, gazebos are typically built of wood and covered with standard roofing materials, such as shingles. Gazebos can be tent-style structures of poles covered by tensioned fabric. Gazebos may have screens to aid in the exclusion of flying insects. Temporary gazebos are often set up in the campsites of

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, usually accompanying

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

s around them. A structure resembling a gazebo, found in villages in the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, is known as a ''holhuashi''.

Gallery

File:Spitz Pavillon Hinterhaus-3233.jpg, Austria File:Slovakia Bratislava 947.jpg, Unique gazebo in

Janko Kráľ Park Janko Kráľ Park (, literally ''Janko Kráľ Orchard/Garden''; formerly called ''Städtischer Aupark'' (in German), is a park in Bratislava's Petržalka borough. It is located in the northern part of Petržalka, bordered by the Danube in the nort ...

is former gothic tower from the Franciscan church File:Greek-Style Gazebo 2.jpg, Greek-style gazebo in

Longwood Gardens Longwood Gardens is a public garden that consists of more than 1,100 acres (445 hectares; 4.45 km2) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the premier ...

File:Bandstand at Royal Palace, Sarahan, HP, India.jpg, Bandstand at Royal Palace,

Sarahan Sarahan is a small town in Himachal Pradesh of India. It is the site of the Bhimakali Temple, originally known as Bhimadevi Temple (Bhīmā Kālī), dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, presiding deity of the rulers of the former Bu ...

, India Image:Barrington IL Gazebo 1.jpg, A gazebo during winter, topped with a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

Image:Gazebo in Sam Houston Park -- Houston.jpg, Gazebo in

Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas Sam Houston Park is an urban park located in downtown Houston, Texas, United States, dedicated to the buildings and culture of Houston's past. The park, which was the first to be established in the city, was developed on land purchased by form ...

Image:Gazebo Late 19th Century USA.JPG, Gazebo, United States, late 19th century Image:Foxmoor Park in Fox River Grove, Illinois.jpg, Weathered gazebo near a fishing hole in

Fox River Grove, Illinois Fox River Grove (FRG) is a village in Algonquin Township, McHenry County, Illinois, Algonquin Township, McHenry County, Illinois, McHenry County and Cuba Township, Lake County, Illinois, Cuba Township, Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinoi ...

Image:Mohonk Mountain House 2011 Fishing Gazebo in Early Morning FRD 3158.jpg, A gazebo to shade

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

Lake Mohonk, New York Lake Mohonk is located in Ulster County, New York, United States. It is located approximately northwest of Poughkeepsie. Activities on the lake are operated by Mohonk Mountain House. Description The small lake, long and deep, is located abov ...

Image:15 18 0264 junaluska.jpg, Gazebo at

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina Lake Junaluska is a census-designated place (CDP) in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States, and an artificial lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Junaluska is named after n ...

Image:Ammand Dam (135).jpg, A two-story gazebo at Ammand Dam,

Tabriz, Iran Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

Image:Zabytkowa altana.JPG, Gazebo in Prudnik, Poland File:Kuopio - huvila.jpg, A small gazebo in Väinölänniemi, Kuopio, Finland

References

External links