9.1 Replacement Windows.
Several window manufacturers offer one or more lines of “replacement windows,” which may be wood, clad wood, aluminum, or vinyl. “Replacement windows” usually refer to new windows that mount within the frame of the existing wood window. They are typically made without a structural frame; instead, they rely on the strength of the original window for support.

Wood replacement windows are offered in a range of qualities, design features, and costs. The best ones may be ordered custom-sized to the sash opening of the original window. The sashes may be ordered with genuine muntins or with muntin grids that are applied to the interior and exterior face of a single panel of sealed insulating glass. This type is marketed as a “simulated divided light” window.

Aluminum replacement windows are available with “panning,” that is, extruded aluminum sections that cover the exposed face of the original wood window frame and window sill. Panning is used so that the entire window assembly requires no field painting. Several manufacturers offer a range of “historical profiles,” that is, aluminum extrusions that are similar in shape to the outside face and brick mold of a traditional wood window. The panning is also available in custom extrusions that replicate historic wood brick molds very closely, but are economically feasible only on larger projects (more than 50 windows).

Vinyl replacement windows are typically the least expensive of the three basic material types. Because of the low strength of vinyl, sash components such as stiles (the vertical members) and rails (the horizontal members) are thicker than they are in either wood or aluminum.

With such a range of options, the following guidelines apply to the West Chester Historic District:

Replacement windows should be considered only as an option to replacing severely deteriorated historic wood sashes. Replacement windows are not a panacea to avoid future painting and maintenance of exterior woodwork.

Replacement windows are not justified in the Historic District as a method of improving the thermal performance of windows. Storm windows are the appropriate method of achieving that goal.

Vinyl replacement windows are not recommended in the Historic District.
Aluminum replacement windows with “historical” or custom panning are appropriate only on large buildings.

Any proposed replacement window should be custom-sized to the original sash opening. Applying filler strips around the perimeter of a replacement window reduces the size of the glass area, makes the frame members awkwardly wide, and is not appropriate in the Historic District.

For original sashes with multiple panes, the replacement window should match the existing pane configuration. True or simulated divided lights are recommended in the proposed replacement window. Snap-in grids, whether interior or exterior, are not appropriate. Muntin grids applied between layers of sealed insulating glass are also not appropriate.

9.2 Window and Door Hardware.
Visible window and door hardware should be compatible with the architectural character of the building. Buzzers, intercoms, and mailboxes should be located to have minimum visual impact on the building or located within a recessed vestibule if possible. Modern devices should be painted to match the background material on which they are mounted.

10. Storm Windows and Doors
Improving the thermal performance of historic wood windows and doors is often desired by owners of historic buildings. The specific solution to each thermal upgrade problem depends on numerous factors, and no single approach is applicable to all conditions. Traditionally, storm windows were constructed of wood and glass. Many house owners had two sets of removable panels: wood-and-glass storm windows for the winter season, and wood-and-screen panels for the summer season. Cleaning and changing the screen and storm panels were spring and fall rituals. Few houses retain their wood screens and storm windows, and fewer still are changed seasonally. Many residences are now equipped with triple-track storm windows that allow for a complete layer of glass over the entire original window or an insect-screen panel over half of the window.

10.1 Triple-track Storm Windows.
For buildings with double-hung sash wood windows, aluminum triple-track windows with a factory color-coat matching the window trim are appropriate. While at first thought this may be surprising, the metal storm window preserves the original wood sashes as well as improves the window thermally, and at the same time is entirely reversible. Mill-finish aluminum is not an appropriate storm-window finish. The storm panels should be glazed with clear glass. The horizontal rails of the storm window should align with the meeting rails of the original window. Storm windows should be sized exactly to the historic wood window.

10.2 Interior Storm Windows.
Interior storm windows, usually fabricated with a narrow white aluminum frame and clear plastic (acrylic) glazing and mounted on magnetic strips, are suitable for applications where the building is fully air conditioned and windows are not opened for ventilation. Interior storm windows are especially desirable for buildings with multi-pane sashes, because the pattern of broken light on multi-pane sashes is an important visual feature that is lost when covered with one-over-one triple-track storm windows.

10.3 Storm and Screen Doors.
To avoid the need for a storm door, most historic houses in the district have interior vestibules to buffer the winter cold. The paneled front door was a symbol of hospitality and security. Concealing the original front door by a storm door or screen door is not recommended. On secondary facades, however, storm and screen doors are appropriate. Storm or screen doors should be as simple as possible, with a plain glass or screen insert. While wood storm and screen doors are preferred, simple aluminum doors that are finished with a baked enamel finish matching the historic wood door paint color are also acceptable. Scalloped edges and cross-buck patterns on aluminum storm doors are not appropriate.

11. Shutters and Blinds
Historic shutters (solid panels) and blinds (louvered panels) should be preserved (Figure 51). Historically, shutters and blinds were employed to provide night security and shading from the sun. Paneled shutters were used on the ground floor and louvered blinds were used on upper floors. Where historic exterior shutters and blinds survive, they should be carefully preserved and repaired. If no shutters or blinds are present but there is evidence that they once existed (as evidenced in either historic photographs or surviving pintle hinges), their replacement as part of any proposed rehabilitation project is encouraged. If no vestige of shutters or blinds exists, they should not be added to a building.

Replacement shutters and blinds should be painted wood, properly sized, and appear operable (Figure 52). Plastic and metal shutters are not recommended. Shutters should measure one half the width of the historic sash, and match the height of the opening. Shutters and blinds should be mounted on hinges or pintles and held open with shutter turns or shutter dogs (see Figure 51). Mounting shutters or blinds directly onto any historic wall material is not appropriate.

12. Street-Address Numerals
Street-address numerals should be simple in style, with characters not more than 4 inches high. Script styles and the spelling-out of the address should be avoided (Figure 53).

13. New Openings in Existing Walls
Creating new openings in a principal facade is generally not appropriate. New openings in secondary facades are discouraged but may be acceptable. The conversion of an existing window to a door opening or a door to a window opening will be considered only on secondary facades, except when the modification of the element reconstructs its historic form. On secondary facades, allowed proposed new openings in walls should be compatible with the historic character of the building. Large-paned, sliding glass patio doors are not appropriate (Figure 54). French doors with divided lights, bay windows, and oriel windows will be considered only on secondary facades.

14. Historic Storefronts
Storefronts are a prominent part of the character of the Historic District (Figure 55). On narrow streets, the first-floor character of buildings largely defines the visual experience of the pedestrian. Storefronts are vital to both the visual character of the streetscape and a successful retail shopping environment in West Chester’s downtown. The scale and architectural detailing of historic storefronts create a richness and sense of visual satisfaction that is lacking in automobile-oriented retail settings (Figure 56).

Historic storefronts in West Chester date from 1870 to 1930. Earlier shop windows were essentially large house windows, with sashes fabricated from many small panes of glass. The development of plate glass in the 1850s coincided with changes in retailing brought about by the industrial revolution. As more manufactured goods became available, competition for customers led merchants to increase their storefront display area. Existing buildings were altered to make the ground floor as transparent as possible, and new buildings were constructed with iron columns and beams that supported the upper-floor masonry walls without reducing the storefront.

14.1 Preserving Historic Storefronts.
Existing historic storefront windows and doors should be retained and repaired. In addition to many historic late nineteenth century wood-and-glass storefronts, the West Chester Historic District has numerous early twentieth-century metal-and-glass storefronts. These latter storefronts were built during West Chester’s retail heyday — the second quarter of the twentieth century — and often featured complex plans with recessed entrances that maximized shop-window display space (Figure 57).

14.2 New Storefronts in Existing Buildings.
In existing buildings, new storefront design should be based on the historic storefront that formerly existed at that location, as evidenced by surviving physical evidence and historic photographic views (Figure 58). Where no evidence exists, the new storefront design should be appropriate to the construction date and style of the building. The detailing of new storefronts should be traditional architectural woodwork, with genuine stile-and-rail doors and bulkhead panels. Pent roofs and plywood panels with applied moldings are not appropriate (Figures 59 and 60).

15. Historic Porches and Stoops
Historic porches and stoops are important character-defining features of the streetscape and architecture of West Chester (Figure 61). Porches were often added to earlier structures, and are significant additions warranting preservation. The original materials, configurations, details, and dimensions of a historic porch or stoop should be preserved or restored. Where components are severely deteriorated and require replacement, new components should replicate the original in material and design. Replacement porches and stoops should be based on physical or pictorial evidence. If this evidence is not available, a simple design that avoids elaborate detail should be employed. Replacement vinyl railing systems, and railings fabricated from unpainted pressure-treated wood are not recommended.

16. Building Accessibility
Building accessibility for individuals with disabilities should be achieved without compromise to historic materials or to character-defining features of a historic building or site. A ramp or vertical access lift should not be placed on the front or prominent side facade of a historic building where it can be avoided (Figure 62). If the only feasible placement of a ramp or lift is on a front facade, efforts should be made to minimize its visual impact on the facade, and the building owner should work with the HARB and the Borough Zoning Officer to achieve accessibility without visual intrusion. Accessibility devices can sometimes be effectively concealed within a traditional building element. For example, a vertical platform lift could be built within what appears to be a traditional porch, or a ramp can be integrated into an entrance terrace.

17. Signage
Signs should be compatible with the scale, proportion, form, and architectural detailing of the building to which they are applied (Figure 63). Projecting signs (hung perpendicular to the wall on a decorative bracket) and wall-mounted signs that are rectangular, square, or oval are appropriate to the majority of historic buildings. Free-standing signs are appropriate for buildings that are set back from the front lot line and fronted by landscaping. A traditional sign type such as wood with either carved or painted lettering is highly encouraged. Signs should not obscure any architectural detail. Appropriate colors for signs were traditionally intense versions of building colors — high-gloss bottle green, olive, golds, and burgundies. Black lettering on a white background is not recommended, nor are metallic paints other than gold.

On commercial buildings with a storefront, signs should be placed in the signboard area located above the storefront windows and below the upper-story windows. Where historical photographs indicate that a building historically had a larger sign than is currently allowed by the Zoning Code, and the proposed building sign is based on the general size and design of the historical precedent, the HARB will consider the merits of the application without regard to its conformance with size limitations of the sign ordinance. If approved, the HARB will also support the application in the owner’s appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Corporate logos and standard corporate lettering styles that are non-traditional should be de-emphasized in the signage design for a historic building. While it is recognized by the HARB that corporate identity is important to the historic commercial building user, the visual dominance of corporate logos that are visible in automobile-oriented strip shopping malls is not appropriate to the Historic District. Creative graphic solutions, in which the corporate logo or corporate lettering style is a secondary element, are encouraged.

Where signage lighting is required, small gooseneck or hidden lights are recommended. Internally illuminated signs are not recommended, except for channel letters at appropriate locations.

18. Awnings
Awnings should be appropriate to the design of the storefront or building facade. Awnings traditionally provided protection from the weather for shoppers and shaded the shop windows from direct sun (Figure 64). Nineteenth-century awnings in West Chester were often wood-and-metal canopies that extended from the top of the storefront to the street curb, where the front edge was supported by iron or wood posts.

New awnings should be designed to relate to the architecture of the storefront or building facade (Figure 65). Building features such as arched transom windows should not be obscured by the awning design. Awnings should be constructed of suitable fabrics supported by metal frames. Fabric design should be striped or solid color, using colors appropriate to the period of the storefront, and should avoid non-traditional effects. Awnings should not be internally illuminated.

19. Hardware, Electrical, and Mechanical Devices
The mounting of ventilation louvers, registers, exhaust fans, alarm devices, cable boxes, utility meters, satellite dishes, security cameras, and other mechanical, electronic, and/or electrical devices should be avoided on principal facades. To minimize their visual impact, devices mounted on secondary facades should either be painted to match the color of the material on which they are mounted or screened by landscaping features. Air-conditioning condenser units should be screened from public view.

20. Lighting
Where historic light fixtures survive, they should be preserved. Reproduction exterior lighting on historic structures should be simple in style, in scale with the building, and appropriate to the character of the building. Polished brass, “colonial style,” and other overly ornamental light fixtures are strongly discouraged. Simple period fixtures or unornamented modern fixtures such as wall sconces, pendants, and post-mounted lamps can be compatible in the Historic District. If exposed conduit cannot be avoided, it should be painted to match the background material on which it is mounted. Exterior floodlights and spotlights should be avoided on principal facades. Lighting for signage on historic buildings should be inconspicuous and should be restricted to reasonably low light levels. Yard lighting and parking lot lighting should be post-mounted on maximum 12-foot posts, or mounted on the building. Industrial light fixtures that produce yellowish or pinkish light are not appropriate. Low-wattage metal halide or mercury-vapor sources are acceptable, subject to the general requirements contained in this paragraph.

Copyright © Frens and Frens, LLC 2002. Visit the 'About this Site' page for other information. Visit the 'Acknowledgements' page for other important notes about contributions to this project.