Illustrated Architecture Dictionary

Roof Styles in Buffalo, New York

Roof: The external upper covering of a building, including the frame for supporting the roofing.

On this page, below: .   Barrel ... ... Bell ..... Candle-snuffer ..... Conical ..... Cupola ..... Dutch gable...... Flat .......Gable ..... Gambrel ..... Hexagonal .... Hip(ped) ..... Mansard .    Octagonal .....Onion..... Pyramidal/Pavilion ..... Shed  .......Spire...... Tent

See also: Roof framing

All illustrations are of standing buildings in Buffalo

Click on illustrations for larger size



Blessed Trinity RC Church

Barrel
A straight, continuous arched vault or ceiling, either semicircular or semi-elliptical in profile


1974 Seneca Street

Bell
A roof whose cross section is shaped like a bell


420 Linwood Avenue

Candle-snuffer


123 Lexington Ave.

Conical (KON i cle)
A roof in the shape of an inverted cone atop a cylindrical tower

Found especially in Queen Anne style building

St. Casimer RC Church

Cupola (KYOO pa-la)
A dome, especially a small dome on a circular or polygonal base crowning a roof or turret.

257 Grant Street
Dutch Gable/Flemish Gable
A gable having a pediment whose outline contains two or more curves on each side of its apex.


Flat
A roof having no slope, or one with only a slight pitch so as to drain rainwater


Michigan Street Baptist Church

Gable / Pitched
A pitched roof having a gable at each end


412 Linwood Avenue

Gambrel (GAM bril)
A ridged roof with two slopes on either side, the lower slope having the steeper pitch

Glass door canopy
Transparent or translucent overhead protective structure installed directly above an exterior doorway.

Built using heavy-duty safety glass, secured with metal supports


446 Linwood Avenue

Hexagonal (hek SAG a nal)
Six-sided roof with sloping sides meeting at an apex


424 Linwood Avenue

Hip(ped)
A roof with four uniformly pitched sides


Watson House / The Buffalo Club

Mansard
A roof having two slopes on all four sides, with the lower slope almost vertical and the upper almost horizontal.
Named after French architect Francois Mansart (1598-1666)


Buffalo Zoo Elephant House
Octagonal
Eight-sided roof with sloping sides meeting at an apex
Onion


Buffalo Cremation Co. Bldg., 901 Delavan Ave

Pyramidal (pi RAM i dl)
Alternate name: pavilion
Roof with a square base (4 equal bases) and sloping sides meeting at an apex


452 Parkside Ave.

Shed/Pent
A roof shape having only one sloping plane


Spire

375 Richmond Ave.

Tent
Octagonal base with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak
Photos and their arrangement © 2002 Chuck LaChiusa
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