Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
QUOINS
QUOINS. Quoins are cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins give the impression of strength and firmness to a building. Rough-finished or rusticated masonry is also used for foundation layers of buildings to give the same impression. If structural, quoins are usually part of load bearing walls. If decorative, they may be made of brick, stone and wood.
The most common form of decorative use for a quoins uses an alternative pattern of rectangles that wrap around the wall, mimicking the pattern of stone blocks or brick as they would wrap around a corner and join the two walls. In GEORGIAN REVIVAL ARCHITECTURE, wooden quoins were used to suggest stone.