Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1: Level II

6-I-13-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Replacement/repair

Replace late-added metal and concrete porch, stairway, and balcony with chamfered square posts and turned or sawn balustrade. Add decorative porch post brackets in the style of the original woodwork on the front of the house.

Replace three late-added exterior doors with wood paneled half-light doors.

Replace a missing window on the first floor facing 3rd Street, to match existing 1/1 double-hung wood window.

Repair decorative elements on original woodwork on the front of the house, replace and repair gutters to match current gutters and remove late added shutters.

Install a three-foot wrought iron or wood picket fence around the property perimeter.

Site Info

Two- story frame with artificial siding, circular sawn wood attic vent. Hip roof with lower cross gables, asphalt shingle covering, gabled roof raised section at top of roof obscuring former widow's walk, sawn wood bargeboard on front elevation. One over one replacement windows, with gabled trim at second story front window. Square bay window on front with gabled roof. Shed roof replacement porch at former front entry, and two story fire escape on side. Brick foundation. Chimneys removed. Irregular plan.

1) The late reconstructed front porch has not acquired historic significance due to poor construction quality and ad hoc design.

2) There is physical evidence that a wrap-around porch existed. The configuration of the house footprint and the Sanborn maps provide evidence that a wrap-around porch existed. The details for the porch can be inferred from similarly detailed properties in the district, the details existing on the house, and academic architectural history manuals.

3) It is difficult to tell if the original porch was two-story as there is currently no door to the exterior 2nd level on the front part of the house; however, there is a 2nd level door at the rear side of the house along 3rs Street.

4) The detailing 1887 2-level porch depicted in the submittal is ~10-years too early and too ornate for the subject house; however, the confiiguration appears to be appropriate based on other examples in the neighborhood. Utilizing only two brackets instead of 3 on each porch post and eliminiating the fretwork cornice would render the porch to be more appropriate for the level of detail on the house, which exhibits sawnwork detailing in the gable and above the window on the first level.

5) Sawnwork balusters and square chamfered posts rather than turned would appear to match the original sawnwork detailing exisiting on the front of the house.

6) The existing 1/1 windows are late replacement windows. It would be appropriate to replace the missing window on the 3rd Street side with 1/1 wood double-hung since the opening is original.

7) The window shutters are late installations and are not historically appropriate.

8) The wooden half-light replacement doors are typical for the Queen Anne style.

FOURTH AND GILL DESIGN GUIDELINES (the following are the most pertinent guidelines in staff's opinion, but the HZC may consider the guidelines applicable in their entirety.)

PORCHES:
" . . . individual [porch] details should be repaired and preserved, or replicated if good documentation of the original porch exists."

1. Repair porches on historic houses using wood floors, balustrades, posts and columns, or replace duplicating the original size and design. Reconstruction of the documented original porch is also appropriate.

3. New front porches must be large enough to provide seating, i.e., six to eight feet in depth.

4. In new construction, the proportion of the porches to the front facades should be consistent with the historic porches in the neighborhood. Details such as columns, posts, piers, balustrades and porch flooring must use materials that present a visually and physically appropriate appearance historically.

7. An entire wooden feature that is too deteriorated to repair or is completely missing should be replaced in kind. Replacement parts should be based on historical, pictorial, and physical documentation.

WINDOWS
4. If replacement windows are necessary, they should be the same overall size as the originals, with the same pane division, and the same muntin style and exterior depth, width and profile.

ENTRANCES
3. Service (rear or side) entrances should not be altered to make them appear to be formal entrances by adding paneled doors, fanlights or sidelights.

4. Secondary entrances should be compatible with the originals in size, scale or materials but should not give the appearance of a primary entrance.

7. Missing doors should be replaced with new doors appropriate or the style and period of the building. In replacing missing original doors, replacement doors should mimic doors typical for that architectural style, including materials, and glazing.

WOOD
4. Repair wooden features by patching, piecing-in, or otherwise reinforcing the wood. Repair may also include limited replacement with matching or with other compatible substitute materials, when elements remain and can be copied.

5. Wood features that are important in defining the overall historic character of the building should not be removed.

6. Replace only the deteriorated wood. Reconstructing in order to achieve a uniform or "improved" appearance is inappropriate because good historic materials can be lost.

7. An entire wooden feature that is too deteriorated to repair or is completely missing should be replaced in kind. If features are replaced, the materials they are made from should be compatible with the original in size, scale, and material. Replacement parts should be based on historical, pictorial, and physical documentation.

The following SECRETARY OF INTERIORS STANDARDS are particularly applicable to this proposal, but the HZC may find that all or any apply:

5. Distinctive features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.