Types

haciendas

Large Spanish landed estates common to 17th century Seville used as farms, or ranches. Also applies to Spanish-American estates and the main building of such a complex.

halfway houses

Temporary residences of former convicts, drug users, or mental patients that serve as a transition environment between confinement and a return to society; for long-term residential environments, which reproduce the circumstances of family life for persons requiring continuing supervision due to special needs, use "group homes."

hall churches

Churches with side aisles as high or nearly as high as the nave; popular in Germany.

hall houses

Houses containing a large central space as the principal ground floor or upper floor living area; normally restricted to Great Britain where in early examples the halls were usually open to the roof, and in later examples the halls, similar in position and function, had ceilings. For the main residential buildings of farms or large estates, prefer "farmhouses" or "manor houses" when emphasizing the buildings' function.

halls (interior spaces)

In general refers to rooms large in proportion to rooms for domestic functions, circulation, or storage; may be used specifically for the principal rooms of a Medieval house and for large central rooms from the 19th century onward in certain English and American houses.

halls of fame

Buildings set aside to honor outstanding individuals as in a profession, locality, or nation.

hamlets

Small rural centers which contain basic community, education, and religious facilities and which generally do not exceed 250 residents; may also refer to the smallest incorporated units of a municipal government.

handball courts

Courts marked for playing American handball and that include at least one smooth wall.

hangars

Structures for the shelter, service, and repair of aircraft.

harbors

Well-sheltered inlets of water affording protection from wind and sea and sufficient depth to allow anchorage for vessels.

hardware stores

Originally referred to ironmongery shops, where tools made of iron were sold and often also made. Today the term refers to shops or stores that sell tools and other items and products needed for home maintenance and repair, such as hammers, saws, nails, plumbing supplies, paint, insecticides, etc.

haunted houses

Refers generally to houses seeming to be inhabited by ghosts or other apparitions.

haylofts

Upper-story storage spaces for hay in stables or barns.

headhouses

Parts of railroad passenger terminals providing accommodations for persons waiting for trains.

headstones (tombstones)

Refers to the upright stones placed at the head of graves, that is, over the head of the interred body, generally the site of an inscription noting the name and life and death dates of the deceased.

healing gardens

Gardens designed to improve or maintain the physical and mental health of the ill or injured, including gardens serving as clinical tools in horticultural therapy. For gardens designed for use by the handicapped or the elderly, use "enabling gardens."

health clubs

Establishments offering facilities for exercise and active physical conditioning, whether or not on a membership basis.

health facilities

Buildings, other structures, and complexes of structures whose primary function is health care.

health resorts

Resorts specializing in maintaining or improving the health or rejuvination of its clients, often including dietary and exercise instruction, bathing in mineral waters, breathing of fresh air, and formerly, extended exposure to sunshine (which was formerly considered healthy). Resorts specializing in maintaining or improving the health or rejuvination of its clients, often including dietary and exercise instruction, bathing in mineral waters, breathing of fresh air, and formerly, extended exposure to sunshine (which was formerly considered healthy).

heating systems

Assemblies of interrelated equipment designed to provide heat to buildings and other structures.

hedges

Plantings of bushes or woody plants in a row as a formal element of a landscape or as a barrier.

heiaus

Sacred temples of worship of native Hawaiian people, typically rectangular in shape and situated on hill tops or mountain slopes. Heiaus have carved designs of deep symbolism. For similar structures from East Polynesia, use "maraes."

helipads

Designates helicopter takeoff and landing surfaces, usually without commercial facilities.

helm roofs

Roofs of four steeply pitched faces, forming a spire; the four ridges rise from the peaks of four gables, the roof faces being set diagonally in relation to the gable faces.

helms (built works)

Vernacular British structures of uncertain construction and purpose, possibly temporary and made of wood with an earthen floor and used for storage of produce, equipment, or animals, popular from the 16th to the 19th century.

hemicycles

Rooms or divisions of rooms that are semicircular in plan.

henges

Designates circular areas bounded by a ditch and an enclosing embankment, the whole usually surrounding a circle or circles of standing stones or wood posts. For prehistoric circular enclosures of well-spaced large upright stones only, lacking bordering features, use "cromlechs."

herb gardens

Gardens in which primarily herbs are grown, often for flavoring food or making perfumes and medicines. For buildings or areas within buildings containing a systematically ordered collection of preserved plants, use "herbaria."

herbariums

No description is available for this term.

heritage trails

Organized and labeled trails laid out to follow points of interest concerning the local history of a region.

hermitages (religious communities)

Dwelling places of solitary hermits or of groups of religious in a relatively secluded setting.

high schools (buildings)

Buildings housing schools forming the third level of (usually compulsory) education for children, entered after elementary school and middle or junior high school; differing by school district in grades covered.

high schools (institutions)

Educational institutions for the third level of (usually compulsory) education for children, entered after elementary school and middle or junior high school. The grades or forms included in high schools vary by location, but often include grades 9 to 12. If the school district has no middle or junior high school, high school may include grades 7 to 12.

high-rise buildings

Buildings over nine or ten stories and served by elevators, especially when such buildings stand out in a skyline.

highways

Refers to major, high-speed, high-capacity roads between urban areas. The original meaning of "highways" referred to Roman roads that were raised above the ground level; for this meaning, use "elevated roads."

hill stations

Hill top resorts and places of refuge, especially in Asia, built by colonial administrators as an escape from the hot climates or politally unstable conditions.

hill towns

Settlements situated on a hill.

hillocks

Small hills, small elevations in the earth's surface, or small mounds or heaps of earth or stones.

hippodromes (Greek sports buildings)

Oblong enclosures curved at one end and built for horse and chariot racing, usage is typically restricted to such structures in Greek cities of the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine eras; meaning overlaps with similar structures in ancient Rome itself, "circuses (Roman arenas)." For sports structures used for horse racing in more modern contexts, use "horse racetracks."

historic buildings

Buildings that are significant in the history of architecture, that incorporate significant architectural features, or that played significant historic roles in local cultural or social development; may or may not be officially designated. For buildings that are abandoned but not considered necessarily historic, use "abandoned buildings."

historic display space

No description is available for this term.

historic districts

Former administrative or electoral districts that have been designated by a modern governing body as being culturally or historically significant, or embodying distinctive characteristics of a period, method of construction, or inhabitants. For historic areas of a city or town, use "historic quarters."

historic farms

Farms that are considered historical because they preserve methods of rural life and farming from past centuries, whether for tourists, historical preservation, or to produce crops or livestock. For former farms that have been abandoned, use "abandoned farms."

historic gardens

Gardens designed to reflect a period in history, either in form or through the use of heirloom plants.

historic house museums (buildings)

Houses with historical importance locally, regionally, or internationally that have been restored and opened to the public as museums.

historic house museums (institutions)

Museums in houses with historical importance locally, regionally, or internationally that have been restored and opened to the public.

historic houses

Houses with architectural, social, or cultural significance; may or may not be officially designated.

historic landscapes

Cultural landscapes that are significant in the history of landscape architecture or gardening or that were developed as a result of historic use of natural features; includes shaped areas of land and sometimes structures.

historic monuments

Refers to monuments with local, regional, or international political, cultural, or artistic significance.

historic sites

Parcels of land with historic significance due to historic events, architectural, engineering or archaeological activities, etc.

historic towns

Towns designated by a governing body as being culturally or historically significant, or embodying distinctive characteristics of a period, method of construction, or inhabitants.

historical parks

Areas containing properties and buildings of historical significance, and extending to include significant natural features as well.

historical societies

Groups formed to study and disseminate information about the history of a place, usually a town, city, county, or state; such groups often maintain a museum or research institute.

historical society museums (buildings)

Buildings housing museums administered by a historical society, which is a group formed to study and disseminate information about the history of a place, usually a town, city, county, or state.

history museums (buildings)

Buildings for any of a wide variety of museums where collections are amassed and typically presented to give a chronological perspective of the history of a city, town, region, group of people, etc.

history museums (institutions)

Any of a wide variety of museums where collections are amassed and typically presented to give a chronological perspective of the history of a city, town, region, group of people, etc.

hitching posts

Fixed posts to which horses can be fastened to prevent straying.

hog houses

Enclosed buildings for keeping hogs, usually with pens and other facilities for breeding.

hogans

Navajo single-family dwellings, generally low and roughly conical, usually constructed of logs and sticks covered with mud, sod, or adobe.

hoists

Any mechanical devices for lifting loads.

hollows (landforms)

Small valleys.

home offices (workspaces)

Workspaces in the home set aside exclusively for income-producing businesses; for reading and writing spaces used for household accounting or recreational purposes, use "studies (rooms)."

homes for the aged

Long-term care facilities, originally for the older segment of the population and now generally restricted to those over 80 years old, in which some medical care is offered, but is not a major component of the care available to residents.

homesites

Lots or portions of land sufficient for and intended to be used or currently being used as the site of a house.

homesteads

Designates the dwelling, land, and outbuildings, if any, where a family lives.

hoppers

Top-loading, bottom-discharging funnels or storage bins, as for crushed stone, sand, or food stuffs.

horse barns

Distinguished from "stables" by their barnlike appearance and their use as housing primarily for farm stock, feed, and associated maintenance equipment.

horse farms

Farms primarily engaged in the keeping, feeding, or breeding of horses for by-products, livestock increase, or investment.

horse racetracks

Racetracks designed or used for horse racing. For ancient Greek or Roman oblong structures designed for horse and chariot racing, use "hippodromes (Greek sports buildings)" or "circuses (Roman arenas)" respectively. Racetracks designed or used for horse racing. For ancient Greek or Roman oblong structures designed for horse and chariot racing, use "hippodromes (Greek sports buildings)" or "circuses (Roman arenas)" respectively.

horticultural buildings

Describes structures devoted to the cultivation of plants.

hospices (public accomodations)

Lodging places providing a variety of amenities for travelers and often maintained by a religious order.

hospital wards

Divisions, floors, or rooms of hospitals for a particular type or group of patients.

hospitals (buildings for health facility)

Buildings housing institutions that are built, staffed, and equipped for the diagnosis of disease, for medical and surgical treatment of the sick and the injured, and for their housing during this process. The modern hospital also often serves as a center for investigation and for teaching.

hospitals (buildings for pilgrims)

Buildings that house establishments, often charitable institutions, for the reception, housing, and care of pilgrims, travellers, or the needy. The term was originally reserved for the similar establishments of the Knights Hospitallers.

hospitals (institutions, health facility)

Institutions that are staffed and equipped for the diagnosis of disease, for medical and surgical treatment of the sick and the injured, and for their housing during this process. The modern hospital also often serves as a center for investigation and for teaching.

hostels

Public houses of lodging for strangers and travellers, typically distinguished from an inn or hotel by being inexpensive and providing communal accommodations, with several beds in a single room and shared bath facilities.

hot springs

A spring whose water is much warmer than the surrounding air because it has been heated by geothermal energy.

hot tubs

Large bath structures filled with hot aerated water, originally made of wood but more frequently constructed with plastic or fiberglass impregnated with resin. Typically used for recreation or physical therapy.

hotels (public accommodations)

Buildings where travellers or tourists are provided with overnight accommodation, meals, and other services; often distinguished from inns and other forms of temporary lodging for travellers by their larger size and range of facilities, in modern times often equipped with a restaurant, bar, conference rooms, and leisure facilities.

housebarns

Dwellings that house humans and livestock under a single roof. Housebarns include rectangular buildings sheltering animals and people at opposite ends, often with a common entry, and two-story buildings with people living on the top story and livestock below. Such houses have been used since the Neolithic period, especially in the colder climates of Europe and North America.

houses

Individual dwellings designed to be occupied by a single tenant or family. May also refer to a building for human occupation, for some purpose other than that of an ordinary dwelling; with this usage, "house" is generally prefaced (e.g., "cowhouse," "almshouse").

houses of correction (buildings)

Buildings that house institutions of confinement and correction, using hard labor and strict discipline with a view to reformation of the inmates; especially those dating to the 16th century and later in Europe and colonial America. For general reference to buildings housing any institution of correction, use "correctional institutions (buildings)."

housing (concept)

Collective concept referring to the types of living arrangements of a particular group. For the specific structures or groups of structures designed for these arrangements, use the descriptors collocated under "dwellings", <housing complexes>, or "settlements."

housing complexes

Buildings or complexes providing housing and related facilities.

housing developments

Commercially developed real estate tracts commonly consisting of one- to four-unit dwellings.

housing for the elderly

Housing designed or used primarily for people over 55 years old.

housing projects

Planned residential developments, generally publicly built and operated, intended for low- and moderate-income tenants.

Howe trusses

Planar trusses of various configurations in which the diagonal members are in compression and the vertical members are in tension; when the diagonals are in tension and the verticals are in compression, use "Pratt trusses."

hunting bases

Operational centers of any size used for activities surrounding hunting; may be contemporary or prehistoric.

hunting lodges

Temporary residences used during hunting trips.

huts (houses)

Simply constructed or small and humble dwellings, generally of natural materials.

hydroelectric dams

Dams built on rivers to harness the energy of waterpower to produce electricity.

hydroelectric power plants

Power plants in which electricity is produced using the energy of flowing water.

hyphens

Use to designate the elements connecting the central block with the outlying wings of a building of five-part Palladian form.