The project in Clarence Victor Derr's carriage house

[acmespaceship]

This is my great-grandfather Derr, late in the 19th Century.  I have no idea what the model is for, or who built it (though I can make a pretty good guess) or if it's supposed to be a representation of an existing structure, or what.  C.V. Derr was not an architect; he sold sewing machines.  Has no garage in my family ever been used to house vehicles!?

Comments

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

As a modeler, and a frequent judge of other people's models, I find that this one has a familiar look. The ambitious project that doesn't quite have the planning, accuracy, and craftsmanship to match its size. It's just wonky enough for me to think it's supposed to be the US Capitol, but that the modeler didn't quite understand scaling, and didn't have proper drawings, and sort of did it on the fly.

[acmespaceship.livejournal.com]

I could buy it as the U.S. Capitol, but what are the two side domes? Maybe he was suggesting renovations. C.V. was a kid when they finished the dome during the War, and being from Frederick and Cumberland he probably visited D.C. at some time and saw the Capital in person. I could imagine him motivated to build a model. The Derrs were Unionists. Some other branches of my family would certainly NOT be modeling the U.S. Capitol in that generation.

Good to get a modeler's perspective. All I could think was the scale's too small for a dollhouse.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those side domes are wrong, but there are two small, round (cupola?) thingies projecting from the roof at those locations. Nowhere near as tall, sure, but they are there. They might have made an out-of-proportion impression on him when he saw the building in person.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Here's an old engraving where the side domes look domier: http://ushistoryimages.com/images/us-capitol-building/fullsize/us-capitol-building-1.jpg