Abstract
Three civic buildings in Boston carry carved ornament that was read, at the time, as an argument about who the city belonged to. This entry treats that ornament as rhetoric rather than decoration.
Research question
What rhetorical work does carved ornament perform on a civic facade, and for whom?
Method / Sources
Building permits, the architects' own published statements, and two contemporary newspaper accounts, read against measured photographs of the surviving carving.
Findings
The carving concentrates where the public body meets the street, and thins sharply above the second storey – the argument was addressed to a pedestrian, not to the skyline.
Conclusion
Reading ornament as address rather than ornamentation changes what counts as its audience, and what is lost when a facade is cleaned without record.
References
[Full reference list to be added.]