What Was This?

The trip around the back roads of Iowa County Wisconsin continued. We were somewhere south of Mineral Point when the eagle landed and we came across the subjects of the next two photos. All within a half a mile or so on a very quiet and isolated country road.



This building was out in the middle of the countryside quite removed from anything. It is now being used as a barn but I’m sure that was not the original intent of this structure. Like many buildings in that area it was constructed of limestone. If you look closely you can see the façade of the building is constructed of squared and faced limestone (click it) where the sides are just straight running stone. This building was something. As you can see it is right up against the road. There was a large pair of doors flanked by large windows coming out of the lower level in the front. There were also doors coming out of the second story so there must have been a porch structure on the façade at one time. You can see nice cornice moldings above the front windows. I question the pitched roof. I’m thinking that was an afterthought and the original structure had a flat roof. I’m guessing it was a combination livery stable and hotel. Or maybe a Burger King.



Just down the road was this pretty little stone house. That is what is so interesting about this area. The rural countryside is dotted with historic structures that are very well preserved. Well maybe not the livery - hotel - Burger King but what could he do. The guy needed a barn.



The wood shafts on the Show Gig were shaped this morning. I really like the look of this 30 degree bevel on shafts. It is deep enough that the proportions are right for the size of the shaft and it really adds dimension to the vehicle.



The tails of the shafts are shaped with a simple but elegant bevel edge design to add some additional eye appeal to the frame itself.



The body is now in hard coat sealer and ready for sanding in the morning. Once we have the entire vehicle back together this body will then be ready to begin primer coats.



Each end of the seat base will have a wood valance trim. It takes a little to set up the saw to cut this molding so Bob has been working on that. He has it figured out and plans to make and install those this afternoon. This is a traditional design that we are duplicating from seats used on antique sporting carriages. It makes a very attractive detail.

Yesterday the majority of the clock tower on our historic City Hall was painted. It is looking beautiful. The weather is pretty shakey looking again today so I have my doubts that they are finishing it today. I'll post some pictures as soon as it's done.

Have a great day!
T