Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
Eyebrow (dormer)
Eyebrow: A low dormer on the slope of a roof. It has no sides, the roofing being carried over it in a wavy lineEyebrow window: A window in an eyebrow dormer
An eyebrow dormer has no sides, the roofing being carried over it in a wavy line.
History does not record when the first eyebrow dormers peeked out of American houses, but it does show them opening up on roofs in increasing numbers through the last two decades of the 19th century, particularly on houses in the Shingle or Queen Anne styles.
Built low and without sides, these dormers are closer to ruptures in the roofing, which continues right over the window in wavy lines.
The common function of an eyebrow dormer is to admit light and air to an unfinished attic, so visually it is usually a subtle, secondary feature rarely appearing more than once in a house.
- Old House Journal, June 2006
Also found in Second Empire and Stick styles.
Examples from Buffalo architecture
- Illustration above: 132 Lexington Avenue (Eyebrow)
- 7 Nottingham Terr.
- 2838 Main St.
- Convention Hall
- 56 Depew Ave.
- 200 Ashland Ave.
- 283 Beard Ave.
- 542 Parkside Ave
Other examples:
