More Finials

A bell tower bereft.

Further South on Hoover, a magnificent "turned" finial (note what resembles a series of ice-cream scoops). The late 19th century featured lots of great woodturning. The lathe, a spinning tool not unlike a potter's wheel, was newly motorized; resulting in a stream of wood shaped products: spindles, bead-and-stick designs, balustrades, finials.

By the middle of the Craftsman epoch, finials, roof crests, and the like, had disappeared from the home building lexicon. They were to make a comeback however as weathervanes during America's Spanish Revival craze. Medieval crafts, including metal working and wrought iron techniques (as opposed to cast-iron processes) were re-discovered and marvelously paired with the new vernacular in grilles, railings, door hardware, etc.