Paleo Retiree writes:

The estimable Blowhard, Esq. and I are involved in a quest to direct the attention of architecture fans (and potential architecture fans) to the modest pleasures of what are called “arbor gates” — trellised, usually overgrown, garden gates, that are often to be found in front of Craftsman-style bungalows and cottages. Here’s Blowhard, Esq.’s latest find. Here’s mine:

What a goofy, sweet, lopsided beauty, eh?

I find that the message these structures convey is a pleasing combo of “stay out” and “welcome,” “open” and “contained,” with the tangled-but-shaped vegetation and the hand-hammered wood conveying a nice human/creaturely touch: the structure and rationality of the manmade world interacting generously with the wildness, abundance and irregularity of nature. Something like that, anyway.

FWIW, I feel that I run across these charming micro-structures far more often on the West coast than on the East. I wonder if that’s really the case, and if so, why.

Another question: Who was the genius architect who came up with the arbor gate? That’s a trick question, actually, because the answer is: as with many architectural wonders, we don’t know. The general lesson I’m dying to share: architecture is like cooking, a practical art/craft to which many, many thousands of practitioners, most of them unknown, have made positive contributions. God how I love it when the arts clearly happen in a bottom-up, self-organizing way.

Here’s another, if only half-related, thing I often wonder about. Although I’ve been a fan of architecture and urbanism for decades, I’ve always had a terrible time remembering architectural terms. Even the term “arbor gate” is a tough one for me to recall. I’ll reach for it and come up with something like “trellised arched entryway” instead. Why? Why?

Any idea why it’s so hard to recall architectural terms? Do you have that trouble too?