House Vs US Custom House

683 Words2 Pages

The U.S. Custom House borrows many architectural features from ancient Roman temples. The U.S. Custom House and the Maison Carrée bare many architectural similarities. With similar ornamentation decorating the front and sides of the building, the buildings’ floor plans differ. The U.S. Custom House is symmetrical from front to back and can be accessed from both sides. The Maison Carrée resembles the traditional floor plan of a Roman temple. The U.S. Custom Houses is used for governmental purposes instead of a temple like the Maison Carrée. Both buildings rest on podiums with entrance steps leading up to the portico. The U.S. Custom House’s podium is made from ashlar masonry while the Maison Carrée’s podium is smooth. The stylobate on both buildings contain six free standing columns across the front with two engaged columns resting on the corners of the façade. However, the U.S. Custom House has four Corinthian pilasters on the front of the façade while the Maison Carrée does not. The Maison Carrée has a full peristyle surrounding the portico and a plinth incorporated into the base of the column, whereas the U.S. …show more content…

Custom House has a simple entablature while the Maison Carrée is more ornate, but many of the ornamentation across the architrave has been destroyed on the Maison Carrée. In between the architrave and the frieze, the Maison Carrée has an egg and dart pattern whereas the U.S. Custom House has a modern rendition of the egg and dart molding. Dentilations project under the cornice and around both buildings. In the Maison Carrée, dentilations, egg and dart moldings, and decorated brackets align the perimeter of the pediment. Egg and dart molding is the only ornamentation to decorate the perimeter of the pediment on the U.S. Custom House. The Maison Carrée contains dentilations underneath the cornice while the U.S. Custom House has both brackets and dentilations. The buildings contain no other ornamentation or sculpture on the center of the

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