Awidow's walk, also known as awidow's watch orroofwalk, is a railedrooftop platform often having an innercupola/turret frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. The name is said to come from thewives ofmariners, who would watch for their spouses' return, often in vain as the ocean took their lives, leaving the womenwidows.[1] In other coastal communities, the platforms were called captain's walks, as they topped the homes of the more successful captains; supposedly, ship owners and captains would use them to search the horizon for ships due in port.
However, there is little or no evidence that widow's walks were intended or regularly used to observe shipping.[citation needed] Widow's walks are in fact a standard decorative feature ofItalianate architecture, which was very popular during the height of theAge of Sail in many North American coastal communities. The widow's walk is a variation of the Italianatecupola.[2] The Italianate cupola, its larger instance being an archetypalbelvedere, was an important ornate finish to this style, although it was often high maintenance and prone to leaks.[3]
Beyond their use as viewing platforms, they are frequently built around thechimney of the residence, potentially creating access to the structure. This allows the residents of the home ready access to the roof of the home to poursand down burning chimneys in the event of achimney fire in the hope of preventing the house from burning down.[4][5]
