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abacus:  The flat plate on the top of a capital on which the architrave rests.
acroteria: Decorative pedestal for an ornament or statue placed atop the pediment.
adobe:  Often used to describe an architectural style; adobe is actually a building material made with tightly compacted earth, clay, and straw.
aisle: The portion of a church flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers. In general, the space between the arcade and an outer wall.
American Renaissance: In the history of American architecture and the arts, the period ca 1876 - 1914 characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance humanism.
antebellum:  Latin for “before war.”  Refers to elegant plantation homes built in the American South before the Civil War.
ante fixes:  small decorative fixtures put at the eaves of a roof of a classic building to hide the ends of the tiles.
apron:  The lower part of a molded cornice.
apse:  In a church, a semicircular or polygonal projection at the altar (usually east) end, beyond the sanctuary.
arcade:  A series of arches supported by piers or columns. 
arch:  A structure, especially one of masonry, forming the curved, pointed, or flat upper edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway.
architrave:  A horizontal beam or lintel, that rests on columns or piers; or the lowest portion of an entablature; or a decorative molding around a door, a window, or an arch.
archivolt:  Bands or moldings surrounding an arched opening.
armature: A framework serving as a supporting core.
Art Deco:  The Art Deco style evolved from many sources. The austere shapes of the Bauhaus School and streamlined styling of modern technology combined with patterns and icons taken from the Far East, ancient Greece and Rome, Africa, Egypt, India, and Mayan and Aztec cultures.  Building often styled with zigzag patterns and vertical lines that create dramatic effects.
Art Moderne:  Stripped-down forms and geometric designs, the Art Moderne style appears sleek and plain.  Features are asymmetrical, horizontal orientation, flat roof,
no cornices or eaves,  cube-like shape, smooth, white walls, sleek, streamlined appearance, and rounded corners highlighted by wraparound windows.
Art Nouveau:  Ornate motifs with strong organic curves.  Highlights:  cross-lined designs, rounded corners and intersecting planes.
Arts & Crafts style:  Stylistic design of interior woodwork with minimalistic design and precise craftsmanship.  English and Dutch origin.
ashlar:  Stone that is cut square.  Masonry using thin slabs of squared stone as facing material.
atrium:  An inner courtyard that is open to the air. The open central courtyard of an ancient Roman house.
attic story: Refers to a story or low wall above the cornice of a classical façade.
axis:  An imaginary line to which elements of a work of art, such as a picture, are referred for measurement or symmetry.

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