limestone
A sedimentary stone composed mainly of calcium carbonate, commonly used in natural stone building facades.
Pictured: City Hall and County Courthouse
Limestone is a sedimentary rock used very frequently in building facades. Its suitability for polishing depends on the variety; some limestones can take a polished finish. It is used very frequently in buildings of the art deco and early modern styles.
The sedimentary stone is distinct from marble, which has undergone metamorphism. Commercial use of the word marble does not by itself establish that geological change.
The use in art deco and early modern buildings is common rather than a style restriction. Limestone on a facade of another architectural style remains the same material.
limestone Photos
Related definitions
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alabaster
A translucent gypsum or calcite stone, usually decorative indoors but occasionally used as a facade material. -
basalt
A dark, generally fine-grained igneous facade stone formed when lava cools and solidifies at the surface. -
gabbro
A dark, visibly grained intrusive igneous facade stone formed underground, here also including finer-grained diabase. -
granite
A hard, visibly grained igneous facade stone formed from magma cooling underground, used rough or polished. -
marble
A brittle rock formed from calcite crystal and prized for its mottled patterns. -
quartz
A hard crystalline mineral occurring in many colors, normally clear or whitish when used on building facades. -
quartzite
A hard natural facade stone formed by the metamorphism and recrystallization of sandstone under heat and pressure. -
sandstone
A natural sedimentary facade stone made of cemented sand grains, commonly quartz, with varied colors and textures. -
serpentinite
A green metamorphic facade stone composed mainly of serpentine minerals, often selected for its color and pattern. -
slate
A metamorphic stone that splits into sheets, used as facade sheets or shingles outside roof surfaces. -
soapstone
A soft, talc-rich metamorphic rock with a slippery feel, used as a natural stone material on building facades. -
suevite
A composite rock formed in a meteor impact containing glass and fragments of rocks. -
travertine
A calcium-carbonate stone deposited from water, used as decorative natural stone and sometimes called travertine marble. -
tuff
A relatively soft volcanic rock made from consolidated erupted material, used as a textured natural facade stone.