Does this look like a NE prototype building?

[OldEastRR]

Seeing that most TRW guys are from or live in the East, I figure they  are the best judges as to whether this scratch-built factory (N scale) is something you would see in a NE US setting. Pilasters, round-arched windows, sawtooth roof, all brick. The verdict?

[LV LOU]

 Absolutely..Many mine buildings were built in my area[Scranton,Wilkes Barre Pa..] with those exact window structures on the roof..Actually,in Forty Fort,Pa,right down the road,there's a building that's a block long,pretty much the entire roof is like that with those slanted windows.At one time,it was a car company,the Matheson Motor Company,then it was a moving company,Matheson Transfer..Still exists.

[Joetrain59]

Agree with Lou, and very nice structure.
 Joe D

[Blazeman]

Seemingly every fair sized town or city had factories using that style of building. Riding along the NE corridor in those days, that's all one would see from the trains.

In my city, very reminescent of the Baldt Anchor & Chain complex. The anchor of the Arizona displayed at Pearl Harbor came from that building.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yep. Looks like a bunch of buildings I can see from my office window.

[OldEastRR]

Thanks all. I built this based on a very old factory I saw on the west side of Chicago, using windows from the Heljan Brewery and H&R N scale brick sheeting.
What kind of architecture was used on cloth mills in New England in the 19th century? I saw some old mill buildings in Mass many years ago that had been around since the 1850's that were brick (or stone?) but I'm wondering if some started out as a wooden structure then got upgraded along the way. I'd like to model this as an industry that started before the Civil War, but had additions and eventually a steam plant to replace the water wheel.

[robert3985]

Also looks like downtown Ogden, UT in the mid 50's.  Or, it also looks like several buildings I remember in downtown Seattle too.

[Blazeman]

Maybe this helps you?

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/21boott/21boott.htm

[nkalanaga]

They were very common before electric lights were cheap enough for large-scale use.  Roof-mounted windows were the only way to affordably light large interiors.

They tend to become less common the closer one gets to the Northwest because electricity came there about the time that large industrial buildings did.  There were some very large sawmills in the latter 1800s, but many of them had enough open areas in the sides, and tended to be long and narrow, that lighting was less of a problem.

[Ngineer]

Why did these buildings always (well, most of the time) have green window frames and green doors?

What was the reason behind that decision? Cheap paint? Escape doors in case of an emergency?

Does anybody know?

Javier

[nkalanaga]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a cheaply mixed paint with preservative properties, possibly some type of copper compound.  There weren't a lot of common inexpensive paint colors in the 1800s, but when one color is used widely for a single purpose it sounds like a practical decision, not simply fashion.

Then again, I may be completely wrong, and it may have been "just because", as in "It's a factory, so the brick should be red and the woodwork green."  The same as "Country churches should be white." and "Barns should be red.".

[John]

Looks typical of that style. Some things to work on ..  the windows on top look like the glue didn't hold. Also, need to work a little on the seams on the corners. Could use a little putty or hide the seam with downspouts.  The excess paint on the model could use a little touch up.  I would also tone down the weathering a bit .. my opinion that brick weathers much more even, and doesn't turn white as much as we like to weather it.  See Ian's factory somewhere on the site. A good example of a well done mill type structure.

[OldEastRR]

What the picture shows is the third re-make/addition effort on this building. It started out as a partial wedge flat on a layout edge and with each new layout it grew another part, eventually becoming a complete building. As such, it incorporates all the levels of skill I acquired as I progressed in the hobby. My physical record of progress, I guess. The front and part of the wall shown are some of my first attempts at scratchbuilding. Now it will be cut down to a shallow flat against a backdrop, returning to its roots. But I plan on a long addition made of Walthers Modulars (representing a modern addition to the original building) so my record of progress will stay intact.