AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP, DERMOTT ARKANSAS

Built in 1919, this abandoned automobile dealership is in Dermott, Arkansas, in the southeast corner of the state. I was passing through and had no time to investigate it, so if anyone knows its history, please send me a note.

It has some typical Cratftsman details, such as the three-lite transoms and terra cotta tile roof, but other details are more esoteric. The turned stone (or more likely cast concrete) tapered round columns in front support a massive entablature sporting scrolled brackets. The brackets are somewhat Craftsman, but the entablature and columns seem straight out of the pages of Greek Revival. The whole thing has a well-constructed gutter along its edge.

I especially like the brick; it's a running bond, which uses the long side of the brick (stretchers) without any runs of the short side of the brick (headers). The tooling of the mortar is flat and recessed, leaving the edges of the brick crisp and sharp. The brick is probably from Malvern (Brick Capital of Arkansas) and has purplish-maroon headers as opposed to the dark red stretcher side. This creates an alternating color scheme of dark and light at the corners, which is rather striking.

I wasn't sure what the building was until I saw the AAA sign on the pole out front, and only until I peered into the repair garage in the back that I realized it was actually a dealership. No simple repair shop would have such an elaborate storefront, and the hand-painted lettering above the door into the front confirms it. Might be hard to see here, but it reads "OFFICE AND SHOWROOM." "GENTS" adorns the right-hand door; there might not have been a public restroom for the ladies, or, more likely, if there was, it's in the showroom. Only gents would have been in the garage, of course.

The doors from the showroom into the garage are somewhat unusual, being six-panel ladderbacks, and for the life of me I don't know how they got the cars into that showroom. Possibly there was an entrance on the side of the building with the steel shed, or the opening on the near side may have originally been a door. Close inspection of the brick shows the brick below this window does not match the surrounding brick.

A massive truss supports the roof joists above, and the rear of the roof structure is collapsing.

The building, if it does not get a roof soon, will likely collapse in the next ten years. Pity. It really is beautiful.

   FARMHOUSE IN THE CITY, RUSSELLVILLE ARKANSAS

This turn-of-the-century Colonial Revival house is in Russellville, Arkansas, and has several interesting features.

I especially like the foundation; made of edge-laid Jackfork Sandstone (the most prevalent local rock), it is a vernacular style peculiar to Arkansas and southern Missouri, and is often referred to as 'giraffe rock'. It appears that the foundation for the house proper is older and more well-laid than the foundation for the porch, whose rock is more orange and whose mortar is less skillfully applied. The darker and more purple the rock, the more manganese is in it and the harder it is. That's Jackfork for you.

The porch has some gingerbread trim elements straight out of the Victorian era, including the serrated bridgework and the frilly column braces. These elements do not reflect the original house design, which can only be called austere. The fanciest original design element is at the top of the cornerboards; small square capitals here are more reflective of Greek Revival or Federal style.

The siding is not typical beveled "half-to-nothing" six inch; it is a shiplap with convex top and is much sturdier than typical 1/2 inch.

There are several changes evident.

The chimney is small and off-center, leading me to believe that it had a twin to the right. Most homes of this era were heated by small coal stoves as opposed to wood, but the latter is possible. A twin to the right could have handled rooms above as well as below, and its position would have it in a wall next to the central hallway. It was probably removed when a new roof was added, and the remaining chimney may have been kept because it was used to vent a water heater or other gas appliance.

The second-story window on the right is not original; the rest are one-over-one lites and this is a strange six-over-six salvaged from elsewhere.

The transom over the entry door may put the date of this structure back to the 1880s, but the neglect it is presently receiving may add to the structure's demise. Look at the area to the right of the porch roof, where runoff is rotting the siding. A typical problem.

 

OLD JAIL, MAGNOLIA ARKANSAS

This is the old jail in Magnolia, Arkansas. It appears to be an early 20th century structure, and was for sale at the time of the picture (2011). It has several interesting Vestiges, but by far my favorites are the twin gargoyles on the corners of the portico. Probably used as downspouts, they directed water away from the brick below, draining the flat roof of the portico. Rather Deco, too.

The building is about as creepy as any I've ever seen. The cells had no heating or air conditioning, and tales circulate of how the windows were always crowded with inmates during the hot summers.

DO YOU SUPPOSE IT'S LEAD PAINT?

What anyone could do with such a structure is beyond me, though the real estate agent that toured me through the building suggested a restaurant with a prison theme. Serving cakes with files in them, no doubt.

COCA-COLA SIGN, GUTHRIE KENTUCKY

I've always loved old painted signs on commercial buildings. This is a Coca-Cola sign on a late nineteenth century drugstore in Guthrie, Kentucky, north of Nashville. The sign was painted around a rotting fire shutter; my only disappointment is that there is no evidence of the fire shutter having been painted the same as the sign. The sign may predate the Food and Drug Act of 1906, before which Coca Cola was infused with cocaine. No wonder it relieved fatigue.

FROM THE ALLEY, LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS

This is the back of a circa 1900 commercial building in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. Several things come to mind when I look at this, and all are indications of past mindsets in the building's history.

The original wood windows on the second floor have been replaced with custom made vinyl units, as is evidenced by the arched tops above each. They fit the spaces exactly, but are probably of a mistaken design; most commercial buildings of similar age have one-over-one lites, not nine-over-ones.

Being a preservationist, I would rather see wood windows; I abhor vinyl.

It is apparent that the door on the first level is a new steel unit and the opening in which it sits was much larger, probably for loading goods from the alley. The standard door was installed after newer (and badly matched to the original fabric) walls were built in the space.

I like the shutters, and though they look original, they are not. Shutters on such a structure would have been steel or steel over wood, and would have been intended as protection against fire.

The brick has been badly repointed with a high Portland cement mortar, and is smeared all over the faces of the brick. The only large area with original brick finish is to the left of the upstairs left window, and shows the skill of the original masons. This thin style of mortar is common on turn-of-the-century buildings, and few masons today can reproduce it. Few masons of skill would smear the building as it appears, even today. The area above the replaced door was repaired with a softer clay brick, as is evidenced by the orange color. Harder red brick makes up the original structure; fired at a higher temperature, this brick is meant to be exposed to the elements. Soft brick has a tendency to expand and contract with moisture, which, when coupled with a hard Portland mortar, often leads to spalling. This is where large flakes of brick begin to fall off after expansion.

I am of the opinion that the area thus repaired, the brick beneath that, and the brick on either side of the door unit were all or mostly replaced at one time. The header bricks (the short ends) do not line up one either side of the window to the left, and the smeared mortar is not on this entire section. It appears to have been more professionally built, which is typical. Anyone can repoint badly; it takes a professional to repair an entire section.

The step crack above the window to the left of the door is typical, indicating movement in the arch below. My favorite feature of this picture is the double layer of brick above the window between the electric meters and the previously mentioned window with he crack in the arch. Both runs were laid with one brick directly atop the other, lining up the mortar joints as opposed to staggering them. If this practice had been applied in more places, the structure would have given way quite a while ago.