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The exterior architectural features of the Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District are as follows:
(a) Massing and Composition. The compositions of the building facades reflect the different architectural functions of the building. For the most part, building facades in the district are two- or three-part vertical compositions consisting either of a base and a shaft, or a base, a shaft and a capital. In more elaborate designs, transitional stories create a stacked composition, but the design effect is similar.
In addition, the facade of a building is often divided into bays expressing the structure (commonly steel and reinforced concrete) beneath the facade. This was accomplished through fenestration, structural articulation or other detailing which serves to break the facade into discrete segments. A common compositional device in the District is an emphasis placed upon either the end bays or the central bay.
The massing of the structures is usually a simple vertically oriented rectangle with a ratio of width to height generally from 1:2 to 1:4. This vertically oriented massing is an important characteristic of the District. In addition, continuous streetwall heights are a characteristic of most blockfronts.
Almost without exception, the buildings in the Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District are built to the front property line and occupy the entire site. Where buildings have not followed this rule, they do not adequately enclose the street. The massing of structures often reflects unique or prominent site characteristics. Corner buildings often have rounded corner bays to express the special requirements of the site and to tie its two blockfronts together.
(b) Scale. The buildings are of small to medium scale. The bay width is generally from 20 feet to 30 feet. Heights generally range from four to eight stories on lots 40 feet to 80 feet wide, although a number of taller buildings exist. The wider frontages are often broken up by articulation of the facade, making the buildings appear narrower. The base is generally delineated from the rest of the building giving the District an intimate scale at the street.
(c) Materials and Colors. Buildings are usually clad in masonry materials over a supporting structure. The cladding materials include terra cotta, brick, stone and stucco. Wood, metal and metal panels are not facade materials, although painted wood and metal are sometimes used for window sash and ornament.
The materials are generally colored light or medium earth tones, including white, cream, buff, yellow, and brown. Individual buildings generally use a few different tones of one color.
To express the mass and weight of the structure, masonry materials are used on multidimensional wall surfaces with texture and depth, which simulates the qualities necessary to support the weight of a load-bearing wall.
(d) Detailing and Ornamentation. This area has been the heart of the retail district since it was reconstructed after the fire. Buildings use the expression of texture and depth on masonry material (e.g., rustication, deep window reveals) to simulate the appearance of load-bearing walls. The buildings are not constructed in a single style, but with ornament drawn from a variety of historical sources, primarily Classical and Renaissance. Gothic detailing is also well represented. Popular details include, arches, columns, pilasters, projecting bracketed cornices, multiple belt-courses, elaborate lintels and pediments, and decorated spandrels. Details were used to relate buildings to their neighbors by repeating and varying the ornament used in the surrounding structures.
(Added Ord. 414-85, App. 9/17/85)