Dentils

Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of classical architecture or its various revivals.  This is generally not  a problem, there being comparatively few Greek or Roman-inspired buildings in the smaller communities where I tend to work.  And, while I am as entranced by triglyphs and metopes as the next guy (look them up), I mostly think they would be fantastic names for two cats (something that never seems to gain much traction with my family).

There are, however, elements of classical architecture that I find useful and “dentils” are among that category.  Cyril Harris, of the iconic Dictionary of Architecture & Construction, defines a dentil as “…one of  a band of small, square, tooth-like blocks forming a part of the characteristic ornamentation of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders, and sometimes the Doric” (I rather love Harris’ “..and sometimes the Doric” but that’s just me).

Today most people buy dentil bands by the foot, of extruded polystyrene or similar materials, often, but not always, for interior use. They used to buy them out of sheet metal, from companies like Berger Sheet Metal, above.  But in vernacular architecture, dentil bands were just simple elements of a frieze, typically made of wood.  They can be found in all sorts of late-19^th century homes, often around the porch or entry, and remained popular through the Bungalow and into the Colonial Revival styles.  They’re easy to construct, create great shadow lines, and, at least in my opinion, are attractive and not overly fussy elements.

We found evidence of dentil band on a small, otherwise pretty unassuming, house in Talent last month and I was interested that the original builder took the trouble to “fuss” up the porch.  It’s a simple design, made from two different sizes, and thicknesses, of wood blocks attached to a plain frieze.  We’ll re-create its as part of the rehab of the building and the removal of the tacky aluminum siding.

As a final note, this marks the 100th preserveoregonblog post, something of a milestone from the past 3 1/2 years of ruminating on old buildings.  I enjoy writing these, hope you enjoy reading them, and that maybe they increase your curiousity about the built world around you.

The center, in Talent

Last week saw beginning the research on the Talent Elementary School, an 1899 building that is in the early steps of becoming that city’s second ever National Register-listed property.  Built at the corner of I and Main streets as Talent’s third public school, it was replaced after little more than a decade of school use by a larger, brick, building.  In 1914 the Talent School District sold the property to the city for $1500, which transformed it into Talent’s first City Hall.

Today the building is called the “Talent Community Center” and now, as for most of the past century, that name is entirely accurate.  Talent’s first city hall, the location of the city’s council meetings and officials, the venerable building housed Talent’s public library from 1920 until 1975, has served as a polling place, the post office, the chamber of commerce, and the historical society.  In addition to the Talent Community Club, which played a major role in the building’s history and its grounds, the VFW and the Grange met here,.  So did the Campfire Girls, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and the Garden Club and, during WWII, the Red  Cross.  Talent's fire department and police department were both housed here.  The Lions Club has helped improve the property from more than half a century.  There was even a church group that met here for awhile, renting the hall from the city to hold services and in the 1960s and 1970s one of the city’s first preschools occupied the basement.

Since the main floor of the Community Center (then the city hall) was the largest assembly space in town, in addition to all its regular users, the building hosted any number of dances, and fundraisers, talent shows, art shows and other events.  A schedule for the City Hall during any typical week of the mid-20^th century must have found nearly every citizen in Talent in the building at one time or another.

Looking back at that history, it's hard not to compare the role of the Talent Community Center, a vibrant combination of government, civic, charitable, religious and educational uses all co-mingling under one roof, with the way we separate all those activities into different venues of today.  Few towns still enjoy the experience of pushing back the trappings of local government to make space for the garden club or an ice cream social.  I’m not so sure that is progress.

Talent prides itself on its small town character and its friendliness.  Their historic community center, still a pretty busy location, epitomizes that attitude.  It has for the better part of 110 years.

Talent, Oregon

The City of Talent, Oregon, located just north of Ashland, has a long tradition of working hard to retain its character while still supporting change.  Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working on several projects in Talent, starting with the city’s first comprehensive survey of historic resources, and continuing through helping with the development of the city’s landmark protection code.  Talent, with just 6,000 or so residents, has done a fine job of identifying what it values and then making sure it has the tools in place to to keep its history playing a role in its future.  One example is their complete reconstruction of the Talent Railroad Depot.  The original depot, actually built in Medford in the 1880s, was moved to Talent in 1900 and then was razed in the 1930s.  The city, using grant funding, rebuilt it with careful detail and it once again sits next to the tracks, right in the heart of town.

Talent's many volunteers, and staff, have made historic preservation and good design a recognized value in the city, a fact that means the actual designation of historic resources has lagged behind many other southern Oregon towns, even as Talent' s buildings are protected and often restored.  Some years ago I was honored to to be involved in the restoration of Hanscom Hall, the first, and still the only, building in Talent to actually be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Recently, with funding from the Robertson Collins Fund, the City has hired us to prepare a National Register nomination for the Talent Community Center, built at the Talent Elementary School in 1899.  Talent is finally going to have a second NR-listed building.