Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gables
Along the rooftops, Amsterdam's famous gables are false
fronts to enhance roofs that are, generally, sharply pitched.
Gables come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes decorated
with animal and human heads, garlands, urns, scrolls, and
curlicues. Despite the infinite variety, you can recognize sev-
eral generic types.
A simple point gable just follows the triangular shape of
a normal pitched roof. A bell gable—there's one two doors to
the right of the skinny house—is shaped like (duh) a bell. Step
gables, triangular in shape and lined with steps, are especially
popular in Belgium. Spout gables have a rectangular protru-
sion at the peak. Neck gables rise up vertically from a pair of
sloping “shoulders.” Cornice gables make pointed roofs look
classically horizontal. (There's probably even a clark gable,
but frankly, I don't give a damn.)
class; these
Heren
functioned as the town's aristocracy. Even
today, the Herengracht is a high-rent district. (Notice that zoning
here forbids houseboats.) The house that's kitty-corner across the
bridge (Herengracht 150) fronts the canal, giving us a cutaway of
its entire depth—the long white side. Most Amsterdam buildings
are much bigger than they appear from the front. On the roof,
rods support the false-front gable (which originally supported a
rich merchant's ego).
Parking is a problem in a city designed for boats, not cars.
