Corbels in the West End. Yeah, Corbels.

According to Wikipedia, and really, who doesn't use Wikipedia?:  In architecture a corbel or console is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket.  A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the structure.

I was not always into corbels.  That's a fairly recent phenomenon for me.  While redoing our kitchen, I came across the need for some kind of bracket to hold up a bar and started looking online.  That's how I got into corbels.  I found what I was looking for fairly quick but then, having my senses tuned into corbels, I started noticing them everywhere during my walks around town.  Big corbels, small corbels, intricate and simple corbels.  If you walk around an older neighborhood like Portland's West End, you'll see corbels on many of the houses.  Even the dumpy homes have some really cool architectural features, complete with corbels, from back in the day before there was such a thing as section 8 and all homes were built by craftsmen who took some kind of pride in their work. 

Here's a small sample from a short walk taken by my not-an-I phone.

 So there you have it, all in just a 2 block walk in the west end.  And be advised that these were not super fancy million dollar homes.  Most were multi-unit dwellings where regular folk live.  Maybe I'm a little nuts but I think corbels are cool.  Next time you're walking the neighborhood take a look at all the corbels around you and I'm sure you too will become a fan.