I’m told that it is customary in the U.S. for buildings in excess of 13-stories tall, not to designate the 13th floor as the 13th floor. If true; what is the 13th floor usually designated as: the 14th?
What was he first U.S. tall building to comply with the custom; where and when?
What is the estimated per-cent of buildings that follow the practice?
What do the original architect plans show the 13th floor as?
Was this stricture practiced elsewhere prior to the U.S.? Did the Soviets do it first?
Similar–to me odd–customs in tall U.S. buildings? For example, in tall oriental owned U.S. buildings; do any have a zag in the front entry passage so “bad spirits” can’t get in?
I think the Empire State Building, and perhaps the Chrysler Building also, has pseudo “historical” gar-gals (spell-check is not helping here) guarding them? What are they guarding against ?
Not necessarily. It’s common in hotels, but AFAIK most non-residential buildings do in fact have a 13th floor. Buildings lacking a 13th floor often skip to 14 or designate it 12A or M (the 13th letter of the alphabet). There may also actually be a 13th floor but it’s not open to the public and used as a mechanical floor.
Most highrises that I visit are in Chicago, but I think the “custom” of not having a 13th floor applies to less than 20 percent of buildings, mostly older ones.
San Francisco’s First - Forty-eighth Avenues skip over Thirteenth and call it “Funston.” People there often refer to “Friday the Funston” and suchlike.
As an Architect I have done half a dozen high rise residential towers and they always had a 13th floor, both in our drawings and in practice. So it might occur occasionally but I don’t believe it is that common of a practice to omit it. The only time I can think of that came close was a 13 story building I did that had the top two stories as a two story penthouse. So my drawings indicated it as the 13th floor (for code purposes) but the unit was just numbered 12xx since the upper floor was part of the unit and didn’t have an elevator to it.
Right now I am working on a 24 story building and it has a 13th floor. Can’t help with the rest of your questions though.
Gargoyles. The chrysler building definitely has some kick-ass ones, along with some additional auto-themed items–hubcaps, hood ornaments and such. I don’t believe the empire state building has any.
I don’t know what they are guarding against–takeover from foreign investors maybe?
I agree that this was an older practice that is mostly ignored today. In fact, I wonder if the accessibility rules forbid such a thing. How would a blind person listening to the dings as the elevator passes floors know that the building went from twelve straight to fourteen? That wasn’t a problem back in the days when all elevators had human operators.
I can’t find a Cecil column that addresses this specifically. Many on buildings or the number 13, but not together. Should this be moved?
I currently work on the 13th floor of a brand new building. I moved from a building that went from 12 to 14. I agree with the prevailing opinion that most tall buildings do have a 13th floor. Ones that don’t are frequently older buildings (though not always, the one I just moved from is less than 20 years old).
Moderator Note: I can’t find a column in the Archives, but in the back of my memory is the dim recollection that this might have been in one of the Straight Dope books. I’m away from home, so unable to check until late next week.
focusoninfinity, if you could please provide a link or way to reference the column whereupon you comment, that would be helpful to other readers.
I doubt it. I live in a building where the elevator doesn’t ding for each floor, and I can’t remember ever being in an elevator that dinged like that. It sounds like it would be really annoying.
When I stayed at the Sahara in Las Vegas in 2004, the first thing I checked was whether there was a 13th floor. There wasn’t. The elevator went from 12 to 14.
To follow up on Foghead’s post, do a Google image search for “Chrysler Building gargoyles” and you’ll see some really nice pics of its projecting Art Deco stainless steel Eagle heads…there aren’t any gargoyles on the Empire State Building.
I couldn’t find a direct reference to this in my SD volumes. Return of the Straight Dope does address why 13 is considered an unlucky number, as well as the proper way to refer to a 13 sided object. But I couldn’t find anything on buildings.
Spell-check just would not tell me how to spell “gargoyles”. Is it a Latin or Greek word? Is it the same word in French, English, Spanish, German, Greek, and Latin.
Wendell is so correct, the Wikipedia link on gargoyles is outstanding, especially the word etymology section. I do use Wiki, but just keep forgetting how much is there. It’s almost unhelpful because it is too helpful. Mentioned is gurgling gargoyles: I’ve seen and heard “gurgling” or burping water pitchers; do any building gargoyles actually gurgle or burp? I wish I could get my animal “spitter” in my yard water-fountain to audibly gurgle. I think this effect could be built into yard fountains?
In the normally not viewed Wikipedia comments section of photographic terms and the French ship “Pelican” that brought my 1704 ancestors to Mobile, Alabama, to meet my 1702 Maj. Francois Trudeau, already there, I added comments. In the photo terms section it was “nose grease” used to fill minor scratches for printing black and white negative films. I, as were my ancestors, am of the old days and olden ways. My sister’s children can not believe I remember before daily TV. To contemporary youth, there’s BTV and ATV, Before and After TV.