Off the Beaten Guide Book

There are many kinds of domestic architecture which are not commonly featured in architecture guides. These include Ranch and Cape Cod-style houses.

Ranch-style houses are almost exclusively single story buildings. They all have pitched roofs and attached garages. The garages often make an "L" shape when it intersects the rest of the building.

Cape Cod-style houses are another form of domestic architecture which would not be found in an architecture guide. This style of house is often one and a half stories tall. It has pitched roofs and the garage is unattached. This style of house also is often covered in wooden shingles.

A Quick View of Buffalo Architecture Styles

With time being what it is, I browsed through realty listings for the city of Buffalo. There are many kinds of architecture styles which are present within the city. These included multiple styles of Victorian architecture.

This is an example of a Victorian-style house that I came across. I believe this best represents the "Queen Anne" version of Victorian architecture. I believe this is shown through the relatively ornate decoration which is on the exterior of the building.

I believe this house also displays the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture. I believe this to be the case, mainly because it does not fit into the other categories of Victorian which we were presented with, yet is still clearly in the Victorian style, as evidenced by the tower which is visible on the right side of the structure. With the asking prices of these buildings both being in the six-figure area, one would have to assume that the buildings are built in high-income areas.

The listing for this house, which is located on Keystone Road, describes the house as "bungalow" style. I would more likely attribute this to a Vernacular style. From the images available, and the relatively low price of the structure ( from what I could tell, the asking price for the building is $9,500), I would have to assume that the building is in the middle of a low-income area.

The listing for this house describes it as "Colonial", however, I think it fits more into the style of a foursquare-style house. I believe this fits because of the sharp corners, and the relatively square shape of the building. Like the first two buildings, the asking price of this house is in 6-figures. This shows that it is likely in a high-income area.

Crafted Time

Europeans are looking for different things than Americans when visiting other places. For example, Europeans are searching for wide-open, natural spaces. Most European tour sites that I encountered touted the National Parks system in the United States For example, parks and natural spaces such as the Grand Canyon.

On the other hand, when Americans are looking for a European experience, they search for age. Most tours of Europe that I came across that catered to Americans emphasized sites that have a long history behind them. These include such sites as the Eiffel Tower in France, and Stonehenge in England

I believe the American focus on European age stems from the fact that The United States is only a little over two hundred years old. Americans are likely interested in the fact there is a history that goes deeper than the two centuries of American history.

The opposite is likely true of tourist sites in America that appeals to Europeans. The newness and vast expanse is what attracts Europeans. Similarly to what attracts Americans to Europe, space and newness is something that is extremely rare in what is called the Old World, after all.

Panorama Investigation

European cities have are both similar and dissimilar to American cities in terms of their overall appearance. This can be seen in the panoramic views of New York City and Paris.

Above is a panoramic view of Paris at dusk. It shows the winding streets of the City of Light, with the Eifel Tower in the background. More easily observable in the foreground than in the back, one can see that the buildings are all about the same height.

This photo shows New York City at night. One can see in the foreground that the streets are aligned in a grid pattern in an attempt to regulate traffic within the city. Also, the buildings of the city are not the same height, as can be easily seen in the lower left of the photo.

The difference that jumps out at me first is the arrangement of the streets within both cities. Despite Paris' origins as a Roman conquest town, which was built on a grid, the city grew into a sprawling city with winding streets which go off from each other at different angles. This is in stark contrast to the photo of New York City which clearly shows the grid system of street organization.

Another stark difference between the two views is the relative size of the the buildings in both cities. The average building in Paris, according to the view from the photo, is not much larger than a few stories high. The average structure in the New York City photo, however, is a skyscraper, with many more floors than the average building in Paris.

One striking difference between the city which stands out to me is that the largest structure in the photo of the city of Paris is a public monument, which when it was built was likely not intended to be a large generator of income for the city. This is in contrast to New York, where the largest structures pictured were built solely for economic purposes. This tells me that, in Paris, when these buildings were constructed, they did not want to blatantly advertise what the purpose of the building was.

Chinatown at a Glance

Sometimes the ethnic identity of an area hides itself within the architecture of the area. Other times, it throws it right in your face. The latter is the case when looking at Chinatown in San Francisco, California. This area establishes its identity, on the simplest level, through its architecture.

This is one example of the area presenting its identity to the outside world. This is a gateway to Chinatown in San Francisco. It shows that the area has no bones about showing who resides here. If they did not want people to know who lived there, they would not have built distinctly Asian architecture in the area.

This is another example of the the area using distinctly Asian architecture in its design. This was done to project and present their ethnic identity to the world. The distinctive architecture can be seen in the light posts on the left, and the signage, which can be seen on both sides of the street.

I can't help but wonder whether or not this is an accurate representation of Chinese culture. For example, what is often passed as "authentic" Chinese food is, more often than not, changed drastically for American tastes. Whether or not this architecture is Americanized as well I can't be sure, however, it does make me pause before accepting the architecture as genuine at first glance. If it is the case that the architecture is not completely genuine, it would be likely that it was presented in this way to attract customers who are looking for a "genuine" experience.

Racing the Yellow - A brief history of traffic lights

The first traffic signal, as we would recognize it, was not installed in the United States. In fact, it was placed outside the Parliament building in London, England in 1868. This signal was what is known as a semaphore signal, with arms that read "Stop" and "Go". It was operated by hand by a police officer who was stationed at the intersection.

While this is a newer example of a semaphore traffic signal, it still shows the arms which tell traffic to either stop or proceed.


 The first electric traffic lights in the United States were installed in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1912. These were the first to use the now familiar red and green lights. These signals, however, did not use the modern amber light that we have become accustomed to. These signals contained only red and green lights, forgoing the middle amber.

This is an example of an early traffic light. Instead of containing the three-light system that we are used to today, it uses only red and green.

The yellow light that we are used to was not introduced until much later in traffic signal usage. Even then, amber lights did not have the same meaning as they do today. Proposed meanings for the yellow light included using that color as a cue to clear the intersection, signal for left-hand turns, signal pedestrians to go in all directions, as well as it as used today - as a warning that the light is about to change. Early on, the meanings of the colors of traffic lights were not standardized. Relatively quickly, there was a push to standardize the meanings of the colors, in order to prevent accidents. There were even concerns over the use of yellow lights. It was believed that if drivers knew when the light was going to change, they would try to anticipate the light, which would cause accidents. This is somewhat surprising, as a similar phenomenon occurs at modern intersections with modern lights.


The push to use automatic traffic lights was sparked to free up police officers. Prior to automatic signals, signals had to be operated by a police officer by hand. This caused many intersections to be unattended during an emergency situation. If the lights were controlled automatically, the intersection wouldn't be insecure. Another reason automatic signals became popular over manned intersections were that they were cheaper, per year, than a manned one.

The synchronization of lights was also seen as important very early on. They knew that if timed lights were used, they would eventually slow down traffic unnecessarily. They realized that if the lights were synchronized, a driver could continue down a road unimpeded. This is interesting because the synchronizations of lights is still used, as is seen in downtown Buffalo.

Main Street, Williamsville

Main Street in Williamsville is a busy street that wants to feel small. This is not to say, however, that there are not things to be noticed just below the surface, or in this case, above it.

For example, this building currently houses the offices of The Amherst Bee. The curious part of this building however, is that it has a window that faces directly into the wall of the building next to it. I believe this shows the progression of construction in the village along Main Street. You would not build a building with a window that faces directly into another building. Therefore, the yellow building must have been built first.

Like the previous building, the second floor of this building shows the progression of construction in the Village of Williamsville. This time, however, the new construction is incorporated in a single building. The brick building on the right is likely the original structure, with the brown building on the left most likely being built afterward. This is easily seen on the building's second floor, where one of the chimneys of the brick structure juts out of the brown building. Like many of the buildings along Main Street, this has been converted into a law office out of a private home. The upper floors are likely more offices of the law firm.

That there are old buildings on Main Street does not mean that there are only old buildings on that road. This structure, for example is likely a relatively recent addition to the small skyline that is Main Street. I make this assumption because of what appears to be vinyl siding on its exterior. The purpose of the second floor of this building is not in question, however, as it advertises its use on its facade.

 This building shows the most obvious evidence of refurbishing. Looking carefully at the chimney, you can see that it appears to be of a much earlier time than the rest of the building. This is unlikely, however, as you likely would not put an old chimney into an new building. Because of this, it is likely that the building underwent renovation in order to become what we see at present.

The second floors of the buildings on Main Street reveal a great deal about the purposes of the buildings on top of which they reside. This is true whether or not they overtly say it or not.