All Blog Entries by Anthony Licciardello

Gothic architecture was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages-specifically between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. It is best known for its use in churches and cathedrals. Prominent features of Gothic-style buildings included flying buttresses and pointed arches.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, a revival of the Gothic architectural style began in England. Roughly one century later, the style had spread to the United States, where it became quite popular in housing construction. Like its medieval counterpart, Gothic Revival architecture was common in the construction of religious buildings, as well.

There are many distinguishable features of Gothic Revival-style architecture. A number of different types of windows can be found on

The Arts and Crafts Movement began in Britain during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was initiated in an attempt to promote craftsmanship and to steer people away from cookie-cutter arts. The Arts and Crafts Movement was introduced to the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Americans based their creations off of the European models, establishing their own "American Craftsman" style, a term often applied to the architecture of buildings being constructed at the time.

The Craftsman style flourished as a variant of the Bungalow, a practical, one-story home. Craftsman-style houses share some features of Bungalows, such as the low-pitched gable roof and the porches with square columns. There are many other features

When the English Puritans settled in America during the first half of the seventeenth century, they brought with them the architectural styles of England. Their homes and meetinghouses would be constructed in what is now known as the English Colonial style of architecture. These homes, along with their variations, were constructed until the mid-1850s.

The Saltbox style of architecture began as a variant of the English Colonial style around 1650. By looking at the main façade of the house, you will think that it is just a normal English Colonial-style house. It has all the same features here, such as the symmetrical fenestration and central chimney. Once you get to the rear of the house, though, you will find that it is very different from your

The British Raj began to control India in 1858. While in India, members of this governance would often stay in banglas, which were simply single-family homes in Bengal. Members of the government grew quite fond of these houses and brought the style with them when they would retire and return to the United Kingdom. Soon, the term "bungalow" began to be used to describe this new type of housing for the British.

In India, the bangla often had more than one story. When the British adopted the style, they created houses that had only one story, though some had an additional half-story. These are the bungalows you will find throughout America today. The most prominent features of Bungalow-style homes are their verandahs or porches, which often have square,

The construction of Raised Ranches or began around the same time as its parent style, the Ranch. This was around the mid-twentieth century, when the need for practicality was evident. Much of the Raised Ranch style is the same as the ordinary Ranch style, though there are a few obvious features which make Raised Ranch-style houses distinguishable among ordinary Ranch-style houses. The most similar feature of the two home styles is all of the homes living quarters exist on one floor. Consequently, the homes bedrooms, kitchens, full bath living and dining room are all accessible on a single level.

The biggest difference between the two styles of housing is that the roof is raised on a Raised Ranch-style house. This means that instead of the single

The construction of Ranch-style houses began in the 1920s.This architectural style emerged as a variant of the Bungalow, a single- or one-and-a-half-story house with a verandah. The Ranch seems to be a simplification of the Bungalow, though it was made to be a convenient house. While some Ranches do have front porches, many are just simple, one-story houses with an attached garage.

Ranches have many distinct features, though some may lack certain features that others may possess. The shape of a Ranch-style house can be rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped. The exterior is often constructed in either wood or brick and the only embellishments usually found on the outside are decorative shutters. The low roof of a Ranch is often gabled, though some have hipped

During the Colonial Period, settlers in the United States would often design their houses to be reminiscent of those of their homeland. When the English settled in New England, the weather played a significant role in the way their homes would be designed. They took the elements of their English-styles homes and made adaptations which would protect them from harsh weather during the winter months. The new style they created is now often referred to as the Cape Cod style of architecture.

The biggest factor to take into consideration when designing their homes was the cold. In order to conserve heat, the English gave their homes low ceilings with a central chimney. Atop the ceiling would be a steep roof, which allowed for much of the snow to fall off the

For centuries, ice harvesting had been a big part of the winter season. During the 19th century, the harvesting of Silver Lake's ice was very important. During the remaining seasons, the lake was used for swimming, boating, fishing, and ice skating. The area also held 1897's National Skating Amateur Championship races. Around 1911, refrigerators were made available to the United States, rendering the industry of ice harvesting useless. In 1917, Silver Lake was drained to be used as a reservoir. It was later replaced by underground storage tanks.

Silver Lake Park was Staten Island's first established city park. By the end of the 19th century, the growing population called for a park that could match the attraction of Central and

Old Town Playground is a small parcel of land, which is roughly two and a half acres ineach Houses complex, which was built across the street from this site. Just a few years later, the Board of Estimate transferred the property to be operated by both the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Board of Education. This was due to the fact that Old Town Playground is located next to Public School 46.

Old Town Playground received its name from the first settlement that was set up on Staten Island. This park was in the confines of this settlement when it was first established. Since the original settlement was split up into a few neighborhoods, today the park sits in the neighborhood of South Beach.

Old Town Playground houses more

In 1906, Happlyland Amusement Park opened in South Beach, on the East Shore of Staten Island. The amusement park was very popular in its day, attracting residents from nearby boroughs as well as Staten Island inhabitants. There were concession stands, a carousel, Vaudeville performance, a pool, and more. There were also small hotels which lined the beach for vacationers. During the first third of the 20th century, fires began to destroy what had developed into a summer resort. While Happyland was rebuilt each time, it finally saw its end in the early 1930's, when the rebuilding of the park proved to be financially futile.

With the closing of Happyland, the construction of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk began, replacing the decrepit