Coshocton Revisited

[ink]

Ugh...car shows...

[ProkNo5]

Looks great.  As much as I hate cars, I don't mind a car show if it brings the pedestrians out.

What's inside that Peebles store?  It looks like a nice old-fashioned department store.

[Robert Pence]

... I don't mind a car show if it brings the pedestrians out.

I was about to say that. Looks like a nice turnout.

I appreciate high-quality restorations of cars of any era, and especially the more flamboyant models. I respect the skilled workmanship that goes into really well-done customization, but I prefer to see authentic restorations.

That last house is somethin'. Somethin' indeed.

[ColDayMan]

Thanks!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Would anyone hazard a guess as to what that silver dome thing is in the last house?

Surely it's not a "planet-arium".

[John S.]

Would anyone hazard a guess as to what that silver dome thing is in the last house?
Surely it's not a "planet-arium".

Looking at this eclectic style house from an architectural standpoint, it is primarily a Dutch Colonial Revival with a typical Dutch Gambrel (barn type) roof. However, it also has details from the late Victorian Queen Anne style with the rounded "tower" being the most prominent feature. What is very unusual is the size/scale of the tower. It may have had a different material covering the domed roof originally, perhaps patterned shingles. A look at the side shows various windows with neoclassical details. The back porch gable even has stylized half-timbering, reminiscent of Tudor-Elizabethan style. The front facing dormer has a "Roman" window which was popular at the end of the 19th century. Most unusual is the "Chinese Chippendale" style fretwork arch over the front porch. All-in-all this is a highly individualistic designed house which represents the confusion architects were feeling in the first years of the 20th century when all things Victorian were starting to lose their appeal yet, what was to come (Prairie Style, Bungalows, Foursquares, various Colonial Revivals) had no yet gained widespread acceptance. To be on the "safe" side design-wise, some architects dug deep into their bag of architectural designs and created a synthesis or hybrid of many past styles combined in ways never seen before-this house is a great example from that short period in time. By 1910 such eclecticism had disappeared and the new styles and designs of the 20th century were firmly entrenched. I'd love to see what the interior looks like if it has not been extensively remodeled. Otherwise, Coshocton does not seem to have a lot of impressive historic commercial architecture. I'd pay the town a visit just to see the last house, though.

[Rusty Shackleford]

To be on the "safe" side design-wise, some architects dug deep into their bag of architectural designs and created a synthesis or hybrid of many past styles combined in ways never seen before-this house is a great example from that short period in time.

Put that way, this house almost seems like an architectural "wink" or pun. Thanks for the explanation, very interesting!

[GCrites80s]

I always like hearing people from out of state (or Cincinnati, hardy-har-har) try to pronounce this town's name.

[The_Cincinnati_Kid]

Whoever did this should be shot!  I hate when people do it to buildings, sticking the store bought vinyl windows into large openings and board the rest over.

[Robert Pence]

Whoever did this should be shot!  I hate when people do it to buildings, sticking the store bought vinyl windows into large openings and board the rest over.

It looks mostly structurally intact; they didn't destroy the cornices or other ornamentation and presumably the building is stable and suitable for occupancy, reducing the chance that it will deteriorate to the point of being condemned and razed.

A building that age would have had wood sash, and even with normal care they would have deteriorated enough to pose a hazard from glass falling to the sidewalks below. Thermally efficient windows that big, of historically authentic appearance, could cost a few thousand dollars a pop. Had an owner or prospective buyer been faced with the prospect of spending that much, they might have just walked away.

I agree it's unattractive, but it looks like it's still eminently restorable if someone should be motivated to do it. Sometimes you gotta settle in the near term for what you can get. Compare it with a vacant lot and see which you prefer; sometimes that's what the choice comes down to, for the owner. 

[GCrites80s]

^ I think that's called "Firring it out".