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word of the week: ACROTERIA

2010 January 31
by Caroline Nye Stevens

Acroterion at the Harold Washington Library

ACROTERIA: ornament (or pedestals for ornament) at the corners of a pediment.  They are typically small classical accents as seen on the pediment of the Art Institute of Chicago, but can be extremely large as seen on the pediments of the Harold Washington Library.  (singular: acroterion)

Notice the owl — symbolic of wisdom — framed by the acroterion on the Harold Washington Library.

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