Tuesday, March 8, 2011

By the reef

This little house feature can tell you many things. Most importantly it tells you you are by the ocean, Key West in this example. This is known as a 'Mirador' and 'Widow's Walk' and it was built as an observation post to spot ships coming into port. It was also used to spot ships that had wreck-ed on the reef. Once spotted, the call would go out and a free for all would ensue with the winner being the first to arrive at the distressed ship and thus making the first claim to the salvage rights. The Mirador is the lower enclosed section with the shuttered windows on all sides. The Widow's Walk, a much more familiar term, is the open top platform with a  rail that surrounds. Notice on this nineteenth century example how low that railing is. Of course today that wouldn't pass approval with modern code. Present codes dictate 36 inches of height, leaving this 26-28 inch sample mighity short, and if that rail is removed the owner must replace it to the taller requirement. The message here is: Work with what you have. Restoration, not renovation, helps to set truly unique architecture apart from all that follows.

2 comments:

  1. Is that a palm rising through the center of the picture?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, you can even see lichen growing. FYI - the palm is 'Thrinax radiata'. It happens to be my favorite and I borrowed it when I incorporated my business, Thrinax, Inc.

    ReplyDelete

About Me

I am a landscape designer based in Key West, Florida and Surry, Maine. I place much attention with the house, not as an adjunct to the garden but as an integral element. This symbiotic relationship will always produce the best and most natural environment. The best description for my views on the relationship between the garden and the house comes from the naturalist Charles Keeler, “landscape design with occasional rooms in case of rain”