A "Milwaukee in Stone and Clay" Companion, Part 3: Classy Casting | The Iron Block (1861)
This series complements my recently published guidebook, Milwaukee in Stone and Clay: A Guide to the Cream City's Architectural Geology. Henceforth I'll just call it MSC.
The MSC section and page references for the building featured here: 5.11; pp. 74-76.
Facing westward and looking at the Iron Block's ground-floor exterior.
Behold a portion of a prefab modularized construction unit, nineteenth-century style. For more on the significance of that, and for the geologic origins of cast iron, see Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
On this level, the cast iron facade has been painted a golden-light-brown color at least a little reminiscent of that much costlier architectural metal, bronze.
At the direction of architect George H. Johnson, New York City foundry artisans cast the four-sided columns that march down the facade to resemble rusticated stone ashlar, a popular design conceit of Renaissance palaces. And each of the faux blocks is decorated with vermiculation, a pattern that looks like a tangle of worms, or at any rate a set of worm tracks.
Victorian-era stonemasons also liked to include vermiculation in their ornamental detail. I hope to show one Milwaukee example of that, on another vintage building that stands nearby, later in this series.
This site and many others in Milwaukee County are discussed at greater length in Milwaukee in Stone and Clay (NIU Imprint of Cornell University Press).
The other photos and discussions in this series can be found in my "Milwaukee in Stone and Clay" Companion album. Also, while you're at it, check out my Architectural Geology of Milwaukee album, too. It contains quite a few photos and descriptions of Cream City sites highlighted in other series of mine.
A "Milwaukee in Stone and Clay" Companion, Part 3: Classy Casting | The Iron Block (1861)
This series complements my recently published guidebook, Milwaukee in Stone and Clay: A Guide to the Cream City's Architectural Geology. Henceforth I'll just call it MSC.
The MSC section and page references for the building featured here: 5.11; pp. 74-76.
Facing westward and looking at the Iron Block's ground-floor exterior.
Behold a portion of a prefab modularized construction unit, nineteenth-century style. For more on the significance of that, and for the geologic origins of cast iron, see Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
On this level, the cast iron facade has been painted a golden-light-brown color at least a little reminiscent of that much costlier architectural metal, bronze.
At the direction of architect George H. Johnson, New York City foundry artisans cast the four-sided columns that march down the facade to resemble rusticated stone ashlar, a popular design conceit of Renaissance palaces. And each of the faux blocks is decorated with vermiculation, a pattern that looks like a tangle of worms, or at any rate a set of worm tracks.
Victorian-era stonemasons also liked to include vermiculation in their ornamental detail. I hope to show one Milwaukee example of that, on another vintage building that stands nearby, later in this series.
This site and many others in Milwaukee County are discussed at greater length in Milwaukee in Stone and Clay (NIU Imprint of Cornell University Press).
The other photos and discussions in this series can be found in my "Milwaukee in Stone and Clay" Companion album. Also, while you're at it, check out my Architectural Geology of Milwaukee album, too. It contains quite a few photos and descriptions of Cream City sites highlighted in other series of mine.