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.