gazebos

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oaktree
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gazebos

Post by oaktree »

Very random question...but does anyone here know much about the history of gazebos?
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Casey
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Re: gazebos

Post by Casey »

Garden houses go back at least to the 17th c. in england. There were ones meant to be looked at as scenery, and ones meant to be sites from which to view the rest of the scenery (or both combined). Then there were teahouses and belvederes and boscos in the 19th c.
Gazebos as we experience them are like miniature municipal bandstands, not as elevated. The ones I like are the rustic-styled ones that were advanced by Downing and Davis in the 1840-60 period. The railings and stuff were tree branches, the posts small tree trunks.
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Corsetière
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Re: gazebos

Post by Corsetière »

You might like to look at a book called Garden Ornament. I seem to remember seeing some entries in there about gazebos

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Ornament- ... n+ornament

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Gothichome
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Re: gazebos

Post by Gothichome »

Casey wrote:Garden houses go back at least to the 17th c. in england. There were ones meant to be looked at as scenery, and ones meant to be sites from which to view the rest of the scenery (or both combined). Then there were teahouses and belvederes and boscos in the 19th c.
Gazebos as we experience them are like miniature municipal bandstands, not as elevated. The ones I like are the rustic-styled ones that were advanced by Downing and Davis in the 1840-60 period. The railings and stuff were tree branches, the posts small tree trunks.
Casey


Just had to look up the word its self, fits nicely with your description Casey. And with all things proper, it's off to The Oxford dictionary.
Home British & World English gazebo

Definition of gazebo in English:

gazebo
NOUN

A small building, especially one in the garden of a house, that gives a wide view of the surrounding area.
Example sentencesSynonyms
Origin
Mid 18th century: perhaps humorously from gaze, in imitation of Latin future tenses ending in -ebo: compare with lavabo.
Pronunciation
gazebo/ɡəˈziːbəʊ/

Never gave them a thought till now. It makes sense 'to gaze at the future'. Large English estate homes with vast landscaping reaching off into the distance, to be viewed as works of art from the balconies and grand patios of the house. From the other side of the landscape looking back to the house, the privileged class could look back and sit under their gazebo and contemplate their view of the house.

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Lily left the valley
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Re: gazebos

Post by Lily left the valley »

And of course I had to look up what a lavabo was. :D Somehow that never came up in my early years of Catholic teachings.
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oaktree
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Re: gazebos

Post by oaktree »

thanks everyone for the info! if I learn more, I will share!
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Manalto
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Re: gazebos

Post by Manalto »

Lily left the valley wrote:And of course I had to look up what a lavabo was. :D Somehow that never came up in my early years of Catholic teachings.


When I was a little kid, there was a brief lavabo fad in home decorating. (at the time, I wondered why they were pronouncing "bowl" that way - and, of course, how it worked)
It consisted of a half-round tank and spigot mounted on the wall, with a half-round basin hanging beneath, like this:

ImageLavabo by James McInnis, on Flickr

(The basin was the perfect receptacle for artificial greens, spilling artfully. :roll:) My super-practical Italian immigrant grandmother, of all people, acquired one for her living-room wall, which the aunts admired with breathless excitement. Maybe it was the connection to the church that drew an otherwise sensible woman to this bit of non-functional frivolity.

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Re: gazebos

Post by Olson185 »

I could not think of the word so I searched, "garden structures on estates", and was rewarded with the word I couldn't remember: "Folly". I needed that word to write, "Gazebos became popular as a folly based on small temples of ancient Rome and Greece."
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Gothichome
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Re: gazebos

Post by Gothichome »

Yup, then landed British gentry were big into follies during the late Georgen period and it reached craziness during Victoria's rein. They all wanted to have a Norman ruin some were on their estate. If they did not, why not just build a new Normal ruin. Follies and grottos, they loved their grottos as well.

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