[L.N. Smithee]

"A crescent is part of architectural vocabulary. It's a generic form used in design," said Paul Murdoch, one of the winning architects. "We don't see any one group having ownership of it."

I am not an architect, but when I first read this, I did a Google search of online architectural glossaries. NOT ONE OF THEM LISTED THE WORD "CRESCENT." NOT ONE.

If it is used in an architectural sense, it certainly is not used widely and certainly could not credibly be called "generic."

I smell a rat.

[Windcatcher]

Who is the U.S. Rep in that district? In that part of the state, it has *got* to be a Republican. I think that might be a good place to start building an outcry.

[The_Reader_David]

Actually it is possible the architect is just an idiot. Whatever your Google search turned up "crescent' is a fairly standard architectural term. In Britain, there are lots of Georgian period 'crescents': semicircular arrangements of townhouses around a curved street or park.

That being said, if it's not the architect, it's the Evil One at work, especially with the choice of orientation.