Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/701

 1869.] Descriptions. 503 this conclusion, who can blame those of our builders, who are largely interested in "getting up" houses for market, if they cater to the public taste, (even though it be a vitiated one,) find, in turning out " sale" houses by the block, alwa3 r s see to it, that they are made respectable, by the shrinking loveliness of walnut front-doors ? Now, sir, it is the farthest from my intention, to condemn the use of Black Walnut for doors. I think it is deci- ded ly more elegant, richer, and better suited to the requirements of architect- ural beauty than a,nj thing yet employed for that purpose ; but I also think it should only be adopted, where the sur- roundings are "in keeping," and where the general appearance of a building warrants the supposition that its inte- rior details are upon a scale commen- surate with its external appearance. Moreover, a walnut door should al- ways be well made and show that it is well made, in order to be in the slightest degree ornamental. The e3*e is continually offended, now-a-days, by wretched-looking mulatto-colored doors, whose gaping joints and cracked panels (to say nothing of their naked screw- heads, whose thin putty covering was washed away in the first rain) seem to say, " I'm not worth much, in dollars and cents, but I come of a good stock !" In truth, a Walnut door should not have a particle of hardware about it, except the hinges and lock. A veneered door, (clear walnut on clear pine,) where nothing but glue is used, will withstand any ordinary exposure, and outlast any other kind, in nine cases out often; but the cost of making such an one would probably be more than the entire mar- gin of profit on many a house, whose front bears one of the mulattoes above alluded to ; consequently, the idea is im- practicable ; and we are forced into the conclusion, that a neat, white door is that, which good taste would dictate, in the building of small, cheap resi- dences. Again, we miy see a great abuse of Walnut, in the fitting up of rooms. A small sitting-room, for instance, whose entire cheerfulness and comfort depend upon its being light and airy-looking, is rendered heavj', contracted and dull, by inordinate use of walnut in washboards, sashes, jambs and mouldings ; or a cosy little library is turned into a caricature, by the alteration of the doorways and window-places uito walnut arches, in the " Tudor" style, perhaps, having the enormous altitude of six-feet-six I I think, Mr. Editor, that these matters are deserving of some attention, at the hands of those who take an interest in the improvement of American taste, and in that view, give publicity to this scrap of gratuitous criticism, through the medium of the " Review." Respectfully yours, F. H. Williams, • Seventeenth and Spring Garden Streets. . -INVERTED ARCHES. As Used in Foundations. CONCRETE has, since its introduc- tion into building, done much to- wards the equalization of ground for foundations ; yet there are some in- stances of very heavy buildings, with wide apertures, requiring the use of in- verted arches ; and, indeed, in no such cases should their help be declined by the judicious architect. We very sel- dom see a large building, some of the openings of which do not exhibit a cracked lintel. The exceptions are really, so few that the rule may be con- sidered absolute. It must, be obvious, that inequality of pressure is the reason for the presence of fractures such as these, and that such inequality has. not been adequately pro- vided against. The ground, however well rammed, cannot be expected to remain always uniform under unequal pressure, especially when acted upon by the influence of moisture, either from