Coded Architecture
Fun Regional Examples
“A picture’s worth a thousand words, but a word ain’t worth a dime.”
— Sturgill Simpson
An upside down pineapple means swingers are welcome.
But a right side up statue of a pineapple was a sign of wealth in colonial America.
Walking the streets of historic Charleston, South Carolina this week inspired me to reflect on other examples of coded architecture.
Here are some of those architectural status symbols in Charleston.
And if you’d rather watch than read you can see a dozen other examples of coded architecture here.
Haint Blue
This example popped up in Charleston video comment section quite a few times.
I had to Google “haint”, that’s a new word for me. Apparently it’s slang for ghost or evil spirit in the South.
Some believe the sky blue appearance wards off “haints”, others from the South seem to believe the color is a deterrent for wasps and other bugs..
I’m not sure this color does the trick for either problem.
But the color is endearing.
Witch Window
Apparently a slanted second story window is common enough in Vermont to call this a “Vermont Window”.
This can also be found in New England in general.
And the lore surrounding this architectural feature can go a couple ways.
Either witches can’t fly into crooked windows
Or a ghost needs a crooked window to escape
There’s actually a third possibility, some call it a coffin window citing the need to remove a coffin from the third floor. But somehow this seems like the least likely possibility of all…
Leg Lamp
There is one place in the U.S. where a leg lamp is on display year round, Cleveland, Ohio.
The iconic “A Christmas Story” was filmed there in 1983. And although the movie was set in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana, the people of Cleveland have carried the torch for this classic.
You can even spend the night there.
What are the other examples?
Check out this video with a dozen more examples of coded architecture.