Of Cupolas & Domes, Towers & Turrets
The dome of the Helb mansion carriage house has been in the news lately, featured in a York Daily Record article as well as a York Town Square post by Jim McClure. Furthermore, my last Windows into York post made mention of a cupola. There are many architectural terms dealing with rooftop structures or architectural elements that define a roofline: dome, cupola, belfry, belvedere, spire, steeple, gazebo, tower, turret dormer, parapet…. Well, the list is somewhat extensive. So how do you know what is what?
Here’s a short primer:
Belfry – A rooftop structure, or portion of a tower or turret, in which bells are hung.
Belvedere – A rooftop structure, or top level of a tower, accessible by stairs or ladder and from which one can look out. A belvedere has a roof and is open on one or more sides. The term means “beautiful view.”
This view depicts a variety of roof-defining structures. To the left of the image is the Second York County Court House, with cupola. The large building in the center, known as the Hartman Building, is crowned by a lantern. And the Christ Lutheran Church steeple to the right is actually a tower topped by a cupola topped by a spire.
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