Types

mill towns

Designates industrial settlements in which the primary employment is in factories for the manufacture of, for example, paper, steel, or textiles.

millraces

Artificial channels in which water flows to and from mill wheels and other similar hydraulically operated machinery.

mills (buildings)

Refers to buildings designed and fitted with machinery for the purpose of performing some task or making a product, including grinding of grain into flour or running a loom to make fabric. For the machinery itself, independent of the building, use "mills (equipment)."

mimetic buildings

Buildings that physically illustrate their name or function in their plan or elevation, for example a dairy stand shaped like a milk bottle.

minarets

Tall, slender towers of a mosque, from which the faithful are called to prayer.

mine buildings

Buildings associated with a mine, which is series of pits or tunnels made underground for the extraction of metals or other materials.

mine shafts

Vertical or near-vertical tunnels accessing underground mines.

mine structures

Industrial structures built to support mining activity.

mines (extracting complexes)

Excavation or systems of excavations, including pits or tunnels, made underground for the extraction of metals, metallic ores, coal, salt, precious stones, building stone, clay, or another substance, or an open-air excavation for the extraction of such substances.

miniature gardens

Tiny landscapes laid out in planters, window boxes, terrariums, or similar containers, consisting of dwarf plants and often tiny replicas of land forms, bodies of water, and models of buildings, bridges, temples, and other structures.

mining centers (inhabited places)

Communities of any size that have economies based largely on the activities of mining.

mining towns

Communities, relatively modest in size, that grew up around or have economies centered on the activities of mining.

ministries (government)

Buildings housing the body of government officers known as "ministers," typically ministers of state or secretaries of state, who are high level officials responsible for the administration of a country or state.

mints (buildings)

Buildings where currency and special medals are produced under government authority.

missile silos

Underground structures hardened against attack and designed for the storage and firing of missiles.

mission churches (buildings)

Buildings housing churches located within a mission, which is a self-sustaining frontier or outpost settlements created by a religious organization to evangelize abroad.

missions (complexes)

Complexes of buildings comprising the permanent establishment of a Christian missionary post or station. Buildings may include the central church, structures for the housing of the friars or other personnell, kitchen, storage, barns, surrounding grounds, and possibly other buildings.

missions (settlements)

Self-sustaining frontier or outpost settlements created by a body of persons sent out by a religious organization to evangelize abroad, and often to aid in the administering of colonial wilderness enterprises. They are sometimes established under the protection of a government, as with the Spanish settlements of America. Missions typically include buildings for housing the people and activities of the group, including a church.

mixed use

Use to describe projects or buildings when there is a highly site-intensive mixture of several different, major, revenue-producing functions involved.

mixed use development

No description is available for this term.

mixed-use developments

Relatively large-scale real estate projects incorporating several revenue-producing functions, having a highly intensive use of land, and developed from a coherent plan.

moated castles

Castles surrounded or partially surrounded by a moat, which is a wide defensive ditch.

moats

Refers to deep, wide defensive ditches surrounding towns, castles, or houses and usually filled with water.

mobile home parks

Distinguished from "trailer camps" by being only for infrequently moved prefabricated structures designed for year-round living.

mobile homes

Portable residential units that possess their own chassis with wheels, are designed for year-round living, are infrequently moved, and are larger than travel trailers; use "travel trailers" for portable vehicles designed for travel and recreational purposes and for frequent towing. For motorized trucklike vehicles equipped as traveling living quarters, use "motor homes."

model cities

Urban areas or communities within them whose design incorporates innovative attempts at solving specific social and physical problems; often applied to the redesign of existing settlements in the 19th and 20th centuries. For 19th-century cities built with prescribed forms to fulfill specific military or economic ideals, use "ideal cities."

model farms

Farms of wealthy landlords employing the latest and best agricultural techniques and technologies and designed by architects, often built as exemplars for local farmers; found, especially in England, from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century.

model houses

Houses built to demonstrate to the consumer the layout and features that will or could be included in manufactured houses, often in a subdivision.

Modern (style or period)

Period and styles of painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and architecture dating from the late 19th century to the present date and characterized by a rejection of traditional artistic forms and conventions. It typically reflects changing social, economic, and intellectual conditions. Modern art includes numerous movements and theories. It differs from contemporary art, which does not carry the implication of a non-traditional style, but instead refers only to the time period in which the work was created. 'Modern' and 'contemporary' are inherently fluid terms. The term 'modern' sometimes more narrowly refers to art up until the 1960s or 1970s.

monasteries (built complexes)

Built complexes for religious retirement or seclusion from the world for monks, who are people living a celibate life according to the rule of a particular religious order and adhering to vows, especially of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

monitors (roof appendages)

Raised central portions of roofs, along the ridge, having louvers or windows on the sides for ventilation or light.

monograms

Ornamental arrangements of the initials or letters of a name, often used to indicate ownership or patronage.

monorails

Railway systems employing a single rail either above or beneath the railway cars. Monorail systems first appeared in the early 20th century and have usually been propelled by conventional electric traction motors. Railway systems employing a single rail either above or beneath the railway cars. Monorail systems first appeared in the early 20th century and have usually been propelled by conventional electric traction motors.

monuments

Structures or edifices of importance or historical interest, typically erected in memory of the dead or of an important event.

moorings

Semi-permanent anchorages consisting of a heavy anchor, chain, mooring buoy, and pennant.

moraines

Rock debris deposited by a glacier.

morgues

Buildings or parts of buildings designed or used for the hygienic temporary storage of corpses prior to disposal. A morgue typically contains large refrigerated drawers or other areas for storage of individual bodies, and tables and equipment for the identification and examination of the corpses. The term derives from the proper name of a particular building in Paris in which the bodies of the dead were kept until identified.

morning rooms

Sitting rooms, sometimes reserved for women, used during the early part of the day; popular from the early 19th century to the early 20th century, especially in England.

mortuaries

Buildings housing facilities for the care, planning and preparation of human remains for burial or cremation. While the meaning may overlap in common usage with "funeral homes," generally mortuaries have more extensive facilities for preparing the body and funeral homes have a parlor or other area for formal viewing of and services for the deceased. In modern usage, the term "mortuaries" may also refer to facilities that prepare the bodies of pets for burial or cremation.

mosaics (visual works)

Images or patterns composed of small, regularly shaped pieces of durable material, usually stone or colored glass. Distinguished from "opus sectile," which is composed of individually shaped pieces of durable material, usually stone or glass, which conform to the design or pattern.

mosques (buildings)

Muslim places of worship. Public mosques consist of an area reserved for communal prayers, frequently in a domed building with a minaret, and with a niche (mihrab) or other structure indicating the direction of Mecca. There may also be a platform for preaching (minbar), and an adjacent courtyard in which water is provided for the obligatory ablutions before prayer. Since representations of the human form are forbidden, decoration is geometric or based on Arabic calligraphy.

motels

Overnight public accommodations for motorists generally characterized by long low-rise buildings consisting of rows of attached individual sleeping quarters and having direct access between the rooms and parking spaces without an intervening lobby.

motion picture theaters

Theaters designed and equipped for the presentation of motion pictures to the public, or any buildings in which films are shown.

motor courts

Public accomodations having an orderly array of individual cabins set alongside a highway and having an internal system of driveways, parking spaces, and a clearly visible and distinctly articulated office near the complex's entrance; especially popular in the United States from the late 1920s to the early 1950s.

mounds

Piles of earth heaped up for landmarks, monuments, or as bases for other structures; for piles of earth and other debris resulting from successive superimposed occupation sites, use "tells." For piles of earth built over grave sites, use "burial mounds." Use "cairns" for purposely erected piles of stones.

mountain ranges

A series of mountains or mountain ridges closely aligned in formation, direction, and age.

mountains

Prominent landforms rising considerably above the surrounding area, typically having steep slopes, a sharp summit area, and large mass. Mountains rarely occur individually, and in most cases, are found in ranges, chains, or systems.

moya

Cores of buildings, the parts placed directly underneath the main part of the roof; usually an odd number of bays wide and 2 bays deep. Sometimes used to refer specifically to the central part of a Buddhist temple.

mud rooms

Vestibules or other peripheral spaces of houses in which wet and muddy clothes or footwear can be removed prior to entering the house.

multiple dwellings

Dwellings containing two or more complete residential units, each usually occupied by separate households.

multiplex cinemas

Buildings or groups of closely spaced buildings housing four or more individual, usually small, motion picture theaters, generally with a common lobby, ticket booth, and concessions.

multipurpose buildings

Use only for buildings designed to be flexible enough to serve different purposes at different times.

multispan bridges

Bridges containing more than one span, typically with a superstructure comprising a row of elongated single-span girders arranged end-to-end and supported at their ends on vertical support columns.

multistory buildings

Buildings having multiple floors, usually reserved for buildings having more than two floors and that are not single family dwellings.

municipal buildings

Buildings occupied by the principal offices and departments of city or town governments.

municipalities

Urban political units having corporate status and a local self-government. Municipalities can be towns, cities, or districts.

mural paintings (visual works)

Painted decorations or scenes that dominate a wall (or ceiling) surface. For works in other media that dominate a wall (or ceiling), use the more general term "murals (any medium)".

murals (general, decorations on wall)

Refers to decorations in any medium that dominate a wall (or ceiling) surface; most often refers to works executed on the wall, but may also refer to works done separately and affixed to the wall. For paintings specifically, see "mural paintings."

museum shops

Commercial spaces in museums or separate buildings staffed by museum personnel and selling primarily museum-specific souvenirs and related merchandise, the proceeds of which help to support the operating museum.

museum storerooms

Spaces within a museum where objects are stored when not being exhibited.

museums (buildings)

Refers to buildings, groups of buildings, or spaces within buildings where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artifacts are housed and displayed for public benefit.

museums (institutions)

Institutions that maintain places where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artifacts are housed and displayed for public benefit. An institution devoted to the procurement, care, documentation, study and display of objects of lasting interest or value.

music conservatories (buildings)

Generally designates buildings that house independent professional schools of music emphasizing advanced instruction in performance for singers, conductors, and musicians; usually granting certificates.

music halls

Public buildings, with seating for an audience, emphasizing musical and variety entertainment but also serving drinks.

music rooms

Rooms devoted primarily to the playing of musical instruments or the giving of recitals, as in houses and hotels.

music schools (buildings)

Buildings that house schools, generally associated with universities, sponsoring degree-granting programs in a broad range of subjects pertaining to the field of music.

naoi (chambers)

Principal interior chambers or architectural cores of certain religious buildings or sanctuaries. Among examples are ancient Greek architecture, where the naos was the main sanctuary of a temple; in Byzantine architecture, where the naos was typically the area of a centrally planned church reserved for the liturgy; and in Egyptian architecture and art, where the naos was a shrine housing the god or carried in miniature by the god.

narthexes

Entrance porches in early basilican churches, and for interior vestibules across the western end of later churches. For narthexlike spaces at the west end of some English and French Romanesque and Gothic churches, often used as chapels, prefer "galilees."

national cemeteries

Burial grounds established and maintained by a nation for the interment of military persons, civilian leaders, and other important national figures. In the United States, an official designation for 139 burial grounds established by the Congress of the United States in 1862 for the interment of armed forces servicemen and women whose last service ended honorably, but also containing the remains of certain civilian leaders.

national forests

Forests under supervision of a national government.These are tracts intended for purposes of conservation of water, plant and wildlife, and public recreation. In the United States, national forests are administered by the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture.

National Historic Landmarks

Buildings, sites, districts, structures, or objects that possess national cultural significance, according to criteria established by the National Park Service of the United States.

national libraries (buildings)

Buildings housing libraries that are maintained out of federal government funds and serving the nation as a whole.

national monuments

Places of historic, scenic, or scientific interest set aside for preservation, usually by presidential proclamation.

national museums (buildings)

Buildings or spaces for museums that are owned or administered by representatives of a nation, or that specializes in exhibitions from a given nation.

national parks

Areas of special scenic, historical, or scientific importance set aside and maintained by a national government especially for recreation or study.

Native Americans

No description is available for this term.

natural history museums (buildings)

Buildings housing museums containing collections dealing with the properties of natural objects, plants, or animals, such as preserved specimens of birds, mammals, insects, and plants; rocks, minerals, and fossils.

natural landscapes

Designates land and water areas where human effects, if present, are not ecologically significant to the area as a whole. Use to contrast with "cultural landscapes," areas which are significantly altered or modified by human actions.

nature centers

Grounds and complexes designed to educate visitors about animals, plants, weather, and the environment, often including structures for educational activities and outdoor grounds containing native plant communities, wildlife habitats, walking trails, and other facilities.

nature reserves

Areas established for the purpose of preserving distinctive natural communities of plants and animals.

nature trails

Footpaths through nature reserves or other area of countryside for the observation of plants, animals, and natural phenomena, frequently marked by posted signs and discussed in associated descriptive literature.

naval air bases

Land-based military airbases for the military aviation division of the navy of a nation.

naval bases

Area naval commands normally including a seaport, which integrates shore activities that provide local logistic services to the fleet.

naval museums (buildings)

Buildings housing museums dealing with navies, warships, or ships in general; distinct from "maritime museums," which deal with the sea in general, navigation, or shipping.

naval shipyards

Naval bases that build, repair, dock, or convert warships, and are manned by civilian engineers and workers and administered by engineer duty officers.

naves

Refers to the main central part of an interior divided into a high center with lower side portions divided by columns or piers, usually but not always in a church. Use also for the main part of a church without aisles but with a distinct chancel.

needle spires

Thin spires rising from the center of a tower roof, well inside a parapet, protecting a pathway upon which scaffolding could be erected for repairs.

neighborhood parks

Parks set aside for the habitual play of residents of urban neighborhoods; usually smaller and with fewer activities than "community parks."

neighborhoods

Residential areas within a larger town or city, more or less cohered into integral communities having their own shops and other facilities, and other distinguishing characteristics.

neonatal intensive care units

Intensive care units designed for newborn infants under the age of one month.

new towns (modern settlements)

New, essentially self-sufficient settlements, usually modest in size, which are built in a previously undeveloped area. Their purpose is typically to provide residential, commercial, industrial, educational, recreational, and public facilities for larger urban areas. The term is often reserved for such settlements sponsored or approved by a government and created in a rural or undeveloped area to absorb overspill population from a nearby large city. Examples of new towns are the planned communities of the New Towns Movement in the United Kingdom after World War II, for which communities were purposefully planned, developed, and built to alleviate overcrowding in large cities.

newsstands

Stands or stalls for the sale of newspapers, magazines, and other printed material.

nightclubs

Establishments offering evening entertainment, such as floor shows or comedy acts, providing space and music for dancing, and usually serving liquor and meals.

novelty shops

Stores selling articles that are chiefly decorative or amusing, whose appeal is often transitory, often relying for their appeal on the newness of their design.

novitiates (dwellings)

Buildings within a religious community complex in which novices are housed and trained during their period of probation.

nuclear power plants

Facilities that create and distribute power obtained from nuclear reactors, which initiate and control a self-sustaining series of nuclear fissions.

nuclear reactors

Apparatuses in which a chain reaction of fissionable material is initiated and controlled as for generation of heat for power or for the production of plutonium from uranium.

nuclear test sites

Locations where nuclear devices are experimentally exploded.

nurseries (horticulture)

Horticultural facilities where trees, shrubs, and plants are grown for sale and transplanting elsewhere or for use as stocks for budding or grafting.

nursery schools (buildings)

Buildings that house schools for children too young for kindergarten and compulsory education, but old enough to take part in certain educational and social activities.