Balconet. Although the word “balconet” may not be in your vocabulary bailiwick, you could probably figure out its meaning even without seeing a photograph. A balconet projects from the façade of a building just below or just above the window sill typically. The balconet in the photograph, one of several on the building, rests on the terra cotta beltline and below a beautiful original window of the former Granada Theater, former G. C. Murphy, and current Murphy Art Center on Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square.
The Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture defines the word “balconet” as “a pseudo-balcony.” Unlike a true balcony, a balconet is purely decorative and not intended for use. Romeo and Juliet might have remained star-crossed lovers never destined to meet if the Capulet family had added balconets rather than balconies to their Italian villa.
