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City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Guidelines 99 <br />For More Information: Facades and Storefronts <br />A good façade design works within the framework of three basic elements: the base, the middle, and the top . On a typical or traditional building these elements take the form of the storefront, the upper floors, and the cornice. The relationship of these elements to one another, to the street, to the people that walk and drive along the street, and to other buildings on the street is critical to a good façade design . <br />The National Main Street Center in Keeping Up Appearances offers excellent information on good Façade and Storefront Design here . And for designing new rear entrances here . <br />The National Park Service offers several briefs related to historic commercial buildings and storefronts . <br />• Rehabilitating a historic storefront including a historic overview—here . <br />• Basic guidance for design of a storefront—here . <br />• Some different options when replacing or repairing—here . <br />• Designing a compatible new storefront—here . <br />• Repair of storefronts with cast Iron supports or elements—here . <br />• Storefronts with structural or pigmented glass—here . <br />• History of, repair and reproduction of Prism glass—here . <br />• Sidewalk vault lights—here . <br />The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions published this article about storefronts—here . <br />Storefront <br />Storefronts can be constructed out of <br />wood—the traditional material—or new <br />alternate materials such as composite or <br />aluminum . The important consideration <br />comes in the detailing as is outlined here: <br />1 . Storefronts should not extend beyond the plane of the façade . <br />2 . While recessed entryways are acceptable and often desirable, the entire storefront should generally not be recessed . This interrupts the continuity of the streetscape . However, an arcade and vertical structural elements carry the plane of the façade to the sidewalk . A storefront may be recessed when it is part of a system of covered walkways, such as a loggia . <br />Facades and Storefronts