Project Background
The Carter-Randall-Parker House is a two story, three-bay I-house constructed in 1862. It displays the Greek Revival style and remaining faces of the Italianate style. This structure is located within section 20 of Perry Township in Monroe County Indiana approximately 3 miles from the courthouse square.
The original porch structure was removed some time in the early 1900’s and replaced with four square columns that extended to the roof soffit on the second floor with a simple railing to produce a Georgian type porch style. The Georgian styled porch stood for many years but was removed due to a large tree that demolished it during a strong storm one year. For the longest time, the existing structure sat without a porch and all that remained was an existing concrete porch slab. The client contacted us to provide them with detailed construction drawings in order to fully restore the porch to it’s original state.
The Existing Structure
This photograph shows the Carter-Randall-Parker home’s exterior facade as it currently stands, with the original front porch completely missing. This image was taken as part of a building survey conducted to prepare for the porch’s reconstruction. The survey was a crucial first step, as it provided a baseline for our work, showing us the existing conditions and the void that our historically accurate reconstruction would fill.
Historic Architectural Details
This is a close-up of an original photograph of the Carter-Randall-Parker house’s porch, taken sometime in the 1950s. While the image quality and angle make it difficult to discern fine details, particularly on the corbels, the shadows cast by the afternoon sun were a critical source of information. These shadows provided a clear idea of the basic shapes and profiles of the original architectural elements, allowing us to accurately reconstruct the design. This photograph, though imperfect, was an invaluable piece of the puzzle in our historical restoration efforts.
Recreating the Details
This 3D conceptual model of the Carter-Randall-Parker porch details, shown here without the roof structure, was created for client and historic preservation board approval.
To accurately recreate the porches former architectural details, we conducted extensive research. Many hours were spent analyzing the shadows and details in the original pixelated photographs. We also meticulously measured the shape ratios of other structures in the area built during the same historical period. All this work was necessary to ensure the design was historically accurate and would be approved by the local preservation commission.
Project Completion
This is a final look at the Carter-Randall-Parker historic porch project before the last coat of paint is applied. The original photo provided by the client was pixelated and hard to read, but after researching local historical architecture books and consulting with a member of the historic preservation board, we were able to bring this porch back to its original glory. The final result looks great.
