Brown-stone? Not Exactly
A reader sends us this picture with the succinct text, “WTF is up with this violet brownstone on Garfield between Polhemus and 8th Avenue?” Our thoughts exactly. How long has this place had its distinctive color? GMAP
A reader sends us this picture with the succinct text, “WTF is up with this violet brownstone on Garfield between Polhemus and 8th Avenue?” Our thoughts exactly. How long has this place had its distinctive color? GMAP
It doesn’t hurt anyone to have thier house painted a certain color, but in a historic neighborhood like Park Slope which is so noted for it’s brownstones, to have one painted pink is so out of place.
In my opinion, which is probably worthless, I think the house is totally disgusting. It shows absolutely no taste whatsoever. It ruins the whole entire block. It is an eyesore, I feel bad for the neighbors across the street that have to see this horror everyday. This is not the Carribean, it is Brooklyn.
Not candle smells and an orange awning! Somebody should call the police! This is outrageous! OH MY GOD!!! Yes, this is a city, and it used to be an interesting city, where people did different and interesting things, burned the metaphorical flags of the establishment, and marched to their own drummers. But not anymore… Now it’s all about money and property values and “luxury condos,” and the only flag-burning going on is of the last remaining freak flags, being reduced to cinders by torch wielding villagers in $300 jeans and $500 haircuts. Would I paint my house bright pink? Probably not. To be honest, I’ve never been that bold or that interesting. But I’m proud as hell that *somebody* is still holding out against the tide of mind-numbing, bourgeois conformity that has blanketed this city.
Why can’t he just paint his house whatever he wants? How does it hurt anyone?
In New Hampshire when we saw a house painted a color like this, we would smile knowingly at each other and mutter “darned Frenchies!”
This is a very good example of one of the problems with the landmarks department;if anybody did want to try to “do the right thing” they would get so caught up in red tape, delay and frustration, that it is much less stress, money & WTF to keep it purple.
via gothamist:
Like a seasonal allergy, the pink brownstone of Park Slope seems to pop up in conversations, blogs, or newspapers every couple months. The Daily News spoke to the owner, Bernie Henry, a 90 year old man who said he first painted the Garfield Place house in 1968 (the district was deemed a historic district in 1973) upon his wife’s wishes. Henry said, “When I went to get the paint, I thought it was the same [shade], but it came out a little different. But what could I do? I bought $4,000 worth of paint.” There’s also a very cute quote from neighbor David Alquist, who doesn’t mind the unusual color: “One mom told her kid, ‘No, you can’t eat it.’ I think the kid thought it was frosting.”
And because the Gap has used footage from Funny Face in their new skinny pant commercials and basically bastardizes Audrey Hepburn’s hepcat dance, we urge you to see the movie yourself, especially Kay Thompson’s showstopping “Think Pink” sequence.
VIOLA!! As in VIOLET?? Hmmm..
I think that propertyshark date may reflect a second mortgage or a passing on of the property.. Paint on Brownstone very bad for the stone, traps moisture underneath and erodes the stone quicker.
I have to laugh about this. I agree that this would look lovely if it were a Victorian, in the carribean or on a candy cottage like on Martha’s Vineyard…NOT on a brownstone in Brooklyn. It looks like Bazooka gum!
This house appears to be within the Historic District. I beleive the rules for painting the facade require an application only if the color is going to change. So as long as they keep painting it the same color, they are playing by the rules.
If this house was this color before July 17, 1973, it’s ‘grandfathered’. One could argue that being violet for 30+ years is a significant part of the house’s history.
It’s interesting to note that apparently, according to Property Shark, this house was sold on 12/12/05 to someone named Viola.