Widow's walk

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A widow's walk (or roofwalk) is a railed rooftop platform, typically on a coastal house, originally designed to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses' return. In some instances, the ocean took the lives of the mariners, leaving the women as widows. The women would often thereafter gaze out to sea wishing beyond hope that their loved ones would return home and hence the name widow's walk was born.

Also beyond their use as viewing platforms, they are frequently built around the chimney of the residence, thus creating an easy access route to the structure. This allows the residents of the home to pour sand down burning chimneys in the hope of preventing the house from burning down.