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


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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