shutters

[cgutha]

Casey: Are you calling my building big boat anchor? we did have some 90 mile an hour winds this year. Now I need to replace my downspout. I'm still looking for ideas. I do not believe these were simply for decoration.
ceg

[Mick_VT]

Casey: Are you calling my building big boat anchor? we did have some 90 mile an hour winds this year. Now I need to replace my downspout. I'm still looking for ideas. I do not believe these were simply for decoration.
ceg

I think they held exactly the same thing as they held on those wharves in Maine, large, heavy thick shutters/doors. What you have is identical to what I have seen there. I also seem to recall seeing similar at the old Navy base in Charlestown MA but can't be sure. I dont know if they were designed for security, or for withstanding extreme weather, or if in fact they were essentially doors rather than windows (to bring goods in and out on the different levels.

What I don't understand is why your building needed that kind of heavy duty stuff. Hence my question about commercial use, I was actually thinking a mill or store than a hotel. I wish I could find a picture with those heavy shutters still in place, I know there are a few around, but I dont have a picture and cant find one by trawling google images

[cgutha]

My only guess is to help insulate from winter. Maybe strong winds.
Another guy says that he thought he remembered some kind of metal mechanism that held the shutters open.
ceg

[phil]

I don't see why the hinges couldn't have just been a bit overbuilt. Not much more work for the blacksmith. Having them the size of a brick was a good way to make a very permanent attachment. it looks nice.
In Europe I had one hotel room that had these heavy steel shutters. they had a funny latch and it was rusted up and wouldn't work and hadn't for a while. I used shampoo as a lubricant and got them working so I could leave the window open with the room securely locked. If I hadn't been able to really secure that window I wouldn't' have wanted to leave it open so it seems kind of normal that the hotel might have had heavy iron shutters, or that the original builder didn't want to incur weight restrictions on the hinges when it was building built. This would have been a minor cost as compared to the rest of the building. you could use them to stick flag pole holder things in..

Phil

[cgutha]

if anyone does find pictures, let me know. It seems as if there are some kind of latch mechanism on the hinge, a manual bar holding them open, or never installed and dogs are required.
ceg

[Mick_VT]

if anyone does find pictures, let me know. It seems as if there are some kind of latch mechanism on the hinge, a manual bar holding them open, or never installed and dogs are required.
ceg

Not exactly what you were asking for above, but I am wondering if I have solved the mystery as to what was there. https://patents.google.com/patent/US522 ... e=19100101 This shows a patent for fireproff shutters for brick buildings, using a cast iron hinge very similar to yours. I wonder if there was a need or ordinance for fireproof shutters when your place was built. This also fits with Portland Maine, as after a devastating fire the city made strict ordinances on fireproof methods of construction - which probably included fireproof shutters on those wharfs.

I have read that in many cases, often after similar circumstance, towns or cities mandated similar measures.

[Gothichome]

Now hat would make scence. Back then whole city cores would go up in flames if there was a singularly large uncontrollable fire on the block. A building code to incorporate fire stop methodes in close proximity buildings would not be too hard a sell.

[cgutha]

my understanding is that there was a building across the ally.
ceg

[bfarwell]

The fire prevention thing sounds right; a lot of the cast-iron era buildings in nyc have these, typically on the windows that are facing other buildings (which sounds like that's where yours are too). I couldn't find a good picture online, but I'll try to snap one next time I'm downtown. Warehouses usually had them on all the windows, but a lot of commercial ones had them on the secondary facades.

Here's an image from google street view of the iron shutters on the Hollister flagship store in Soho. These windows originally opened on to a light shaft before the adjacent building was torn down to widen the street.

Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 4.20.57 PM.png (212.76 KiB) Viewed 795 times

[cgutha]

We know the shape they would be by the shape of the window. The window also gives us the size.
The design (I kind-of like these) and the hinge type and style is a question.
ceg