deshingling reveals vestigial pediments

with the trim carpenter expected to show up around the end of the week, the time had come to see what has been hidden behind all those shingles.  with an older house one does expect to be surprised.

• old beadboard siding:  more or less as expected, including the gaps in it where the window (L) and door (R) had been.
• cream paint with green trim:  equally expected but nice to see nonetheless, and when all else is done and it's time to paint, reversion to this scheme will be in order.
• but, interestingly enough, it's now quite clear that the double doors and windows going in will actually match a known previous configuration.
• also quite unexpected is the evidence of decorative pediments having been situated over the doors and windows.  these details were removed when the shingles were applied some time before 1957.

I do not know of any cottages in the Grove with exterior trim in such a configuration.  this also helps explain why there are no known photos of this cottage in the Town archives: I never knew what to look for.  so a trip through the old Heritage Committee photo holdings will be called for.  what a shame they are needing me to show up at work this week. 

it is also interesting to note how many nails to took to attach all those shingles: 

an abundance of nails

cottage archaeology (posting to Town listserv)

posted the following to the Town listserv:

over the next few days a walk through the Circle will provide an opportunity for a bit of a look back in time: no. 15 has had its shingles removed and the old siding can now be seen, including traces of decorative pediments that once overhung the former locations of doors, windows and even shutters.  I do not know of any cottage in the Grove with trim in such a configuration. 

the oldest known photo of this cottage in the Town archives was published in the Sunday Star in 1957.  it shows the shingles and a front configuration of door on the far R and windows in the middle and to the L.  now it seems clear that before the shingles were there, the front of the house looked quite different (this helps explain why I was never able to identify it in any old photos: I didn't know what to look for). 

if anything turns up documenting how the front really looked, I'll try to restore to that appearance as part of the replacement of the hideous sliding door unit with salvaged french doors and double hung 2-over-2 windows.