The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece , also known as a chimneypiece , originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke . The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace , and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling. Mantelpiece is now the general term for the jambs , mantel shelf, and external accessories of a fireplace. For many centuries, the chimneypiece was the most ornamental and most artistic feature of a room, but as fireplaces have become smaller, and modern methods of heating have been introduced, its artistic as well as its practical significance has lessened.
22-597: Morton Memorial Library may refer to: Morton Memorial Library (Pine Hill, New York) , listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Morton Memorial Library (Rhinecliff, New York) , also listed on the NRHP Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Morton Memorial Library . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
44-508: A cottage (this home still stands on Birch Creek Road, over a stone bridge. The home is large and grand enough to be a mansion, as many "summer cottages" actually were) in Pine Hill and began spending summers in the Catskills . He endowed a number of small local projects, primarily roads and bridges. In 1897 he bought a local building and established the community's first library, known at the time as
66-401: A rectangular light above, lead inside. Inside, the main block is one main room with the stacks and circulation desk. A fireplace with ornate mantel is on the wall between it and the reading room, in the east wing. An iron spiral stair leads to storage space in the attic, and a bronze dedication plaque is on the west wall. Dr. Henry Morton was a New York City native who, while studying at
88-447: A unique opportunity for the architect/designer to create a personal statement unique to the room they are creating. Historically the mantel defines the architectural style of the interior decor, whether it be traditional i.e. Classic, Renaissance , Italian , French , American , Victorian , Gothic etc. The choice of material for the mantel includes such rich materials as marble , limestone , granite , or fine woods . Certainly
110-453: Is in the great hall of the Palais des Comtes at Poitiers , which is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, having two intermediate supports to carry the hood; the stone flues are carried up between the tracery of an immense window above. The history of carved mantels is a fundamental element in the history of western art. Every element of European sculpture can be seen on great mantels. Many of
132-492: Is just south along the road. Both properties are also listed on the Register. The building is a one-and-a-half-story rectangular structure on a stone foundation , slightly exposed and faced in smooth limestone . The main exterior walls are done with stone in a rusticated ashlar pattern. Smooth limestone is also used for the keyed lintels, sills, and quoins . At the roofline is a broad frieze and denticulated cornice around
154-653: Is located on Elm Street in Pine Hill , New York, United States. It is a stone building in the Georgian Revival architectural style built at the beginning of the 20th century. It was named after a summer resident of the area who became a philanthropist later in his life. In 1997, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the Pine Hill Historic District . The library
176-467: Is on the west side of Elm Street, situated on a small rise above street level in a residential neighborhood a short distance south of state highway NY 28 . The ground generally slopes westward toward the divide between the Delaware and Hudson watersheds at nearby Highmount. District School No. 14 , now the headquarters of the local historical society, is to the northwest. The Elm Street Stone Arch Bridge
198-777: The University of Pennsylvania , Dr. Morton along with two other students presented to the Philomathean society of the university the First complete English translation of the Rosetta Stone. He changed his career from law to science. He eventually became a chemistry professor and secretary of the Franklin Institute . In the 1870s he became the first president of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey . A decade later he purchased
220-412: The lantern in the roof. As time went on, the placement of fireplaces moved to the wall, incorporating chimneys to vent the smoke . This permitted the design of a very elaborate, rich, architectural focal point for a grand room. At a later date, in consequence of the greater width of the fireplace, flat or segmental arches were thrown across and constructed with archivolt , sometimes joggled , with
242-579: The Birch Creek Club Library. Within a few years it had grown and he announced plans for a new building specifically to house the library. He died in 1902, the year before it was finished. The library has had some changes to its interior layout since its construction, but generally remains a strong example of the Georgian Revival design in the Catskills region. Fireplace mantel Where
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#1732858529694264-468: The chimneypiece. Towards the close of the eighteenth century the designs of the Adam Brothers superseded all others, and a century later they came again into fashion. The Adam mantels are in wood enriched with ornament, cast in molds, sometimes copied from the carved wood decoration of old times. Mantels or fireplace mantels can be the focus of custom interior decoration. A mantel traditionally offers
286-526: The chimneypieces at Hampton Court , and the shelf was omitted. In the eighteenth century, the architects returned to the Inigo Jones classic type, but influenced by the French work of Louis XIV . and XV . Figure sculpture , generally represented by graceful figures on each side, which assisted to carry the shelf, was introduced, and the over-mantel developed into an elaborate frame for the family portrait over
308-432: The early seventeenth century, when the purer Italian style was introduced by Inigo Jones , were extremely simple in design, sometimes consisting only of the ordinary mantel piece, with classic architraves and shelf, the upper part of the chimney breast being paneled like the rest of the room. In the latter part of the century the classic architrave was abandoned in favor of a much bolder and more effective molding , as in
330-422: The entire building. The peaked roof is surfaced in red slate, pierced by a brick chimney and two gabled dormer windows in the main block. On the east is a semicircular wing with a conical red slate roof. Paired Ionic columns support a classical entablature over the main entrance, centrally located on the north (front) facade . Above it the roofline is enhanced with a balustrade . Three panel doors, with
352-430: The fireplace continues up the wall with an elaborate construction, as in historic grand buildings, this is known as an overmantel . Mirrors and paintings designed to be hung above a mantel shelf may be called "mantel mirror", "mantel painting" and so on. Up to the twelfth century, fires were simply made in the middle of a home by a hypocaust , or with braziers , or by fires on the hearth with smoke vented out through
374-408: The grandeur of an interior space rather than as a heat source. Today, fireplaces of varying quality, materials and style are available worldwide. The fireplace mantels of today often incorporate the architecture of two or more periods or cultures. In the early Renaissance style, the chimneypiece of the Palais de Justice at Bruges is a magnificent example; the upper portion, carved in oak, extends
396-558: The historically noted sculptors of the past i.e. Augustus St. Gaudens designed and carved magnificent mantels, some of which can be found on display in the world's great museums. Exactly as the facade of a building is distinguished by its design, proportion, and detail so it is with fine mantels. The attention to carved detail is what defines a great mantel. Up until the 20th century and the invention of mechanized contained heating systems, rooms were heated by an open or central fire. A modern fireplace usually serves as an element to enhance
418-434: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Morton_Memorial_Library&oldid=545825764 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Morton Memorial Library (Pine Hill, New York) Morton Memorial Library
440-432: The most luxurious of materials is marble. In the past only the finest of rare colored and white marbles were used. Today many of those fine materials are no longer available, however many other beautiful materials can be found worldwide. The defining element of a great mantel is the design and workmanship. A mantel offers a unique opportunity in its design for a sculptor/artisan to demonstrate their skill in carving each of
462-491: The thrust of the arch being resisted by bars of iron at the back. In domestic work of the fourteenth century, the chimneypiece was greatly increased in order to allow of the members of the family sitting on either side of the fire on the hearth, and in these cases great beams of timber were employed to carry the hood; in such cases the fireplace was so deeply recessed as to become externally an important architectural feature, as at Haddon Hall . The largest chimneypiece existing
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#1732858529694484-559: The whole width of the room, with nearly life-size statues of Charles V and others of the royal family of Spain . The most prolific modern designer of chimneypieces was G. B. Piranesi , who in 1765 published a large series, on which at a later date the Empire style in France was based. In France, the finest work of the early Renaissance period is to be found in the chimneypieces, which are of infinite variety of design. The English chimneypieces of
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