HPC of South Bend and St. Joseph County - Standards Update Draft

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City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Guidelines 100 For More Information: Facades and Storefronts 3 . Entrances should relate logically to upper floor windows and/or pedimented cornices (cornices featuring a gable) . An entrance placed directly below an upper floor window or a pedimented cornice, or an entrance spaced evenly between upper floor windows is favored over an entrance randomly placed with no reference to the other elements of the façade . 4 . Doors to businesses should be largely transparent and should not be residential in character . The storefront or base provides the human scale that invites people to walk along the street and allows them to feel comfortable while doing so . Window shopping, created by the transparency of a storefront which allows direct visual access to a shop’s interior, is the essence of a downtown commercial area . Storefront Cornice/Lintel (A)The horizontal span located above the display window/ transom and below the second-floor windows, balconies, or bays . This space may contain supporting as well as cosmetic elements Piers (B) Vertical supporting members which frame the width of the building . Piers provide support for the upper story . Display Windows (C)Area of glass which extends from the supporting bulkhead to the transom or cornice/frieze . Transom (D)A window or horizontal series of windows located above the display windows and/or entrance doors . Kickplate (E)The space that occupies the lowest level of the storefront . The base which supports the display window . Storefront Column (F)Often decorative in nature, support for upper façade . Entrance (G)Recessed or flush constructed area where entrance to the interior is obtained . Windows (H)The windows of the upper floors establish a rhythm along the street, again at a human scale, and give the buildings an appearance of vitality . Window Hood (I)Highly decorative window lintels . Cornice (J)The cornice emphasizes the height of the building, completes the building in an attractive manner and gives identity to the building at the skyline . Awnings (L)Traditional awnings shade the storefront and sidewalk from sun and rain during the warmer months . During the winter, awnings could be retracted to allow natural sunlight into the store for light and warmth . The repetition of traditional components and standard elements creates a visual unity along the street that should be preserved . These features should not be altered, obscured, or removed . The preservation of a historic storefront will help maintain the interest of the street to pedestrians by providing views to goods and activities inside first floor windows.DRAFT