Going for the Gold on 9th Street
The folks at this 9th Street brownstone in Park Slope aren’t letting the recession, or the sudden cultural distaste for gilt and glamour, get in the way of their renovation. They’re restoring their bracketed cornice to all its gold leafed glory. Such attention to detail!
The folks at this 9th Street brownstone in Park Slope aren’t letting the recession, or the sudden cultural distaste for gilt and glamour, get in the way of their renovation. They’re restoring their bracketed cornice to all its gold leafed glory. Such attention to detail!
Going a ways back in the thread, actually Inigo you’re wrong, the painted ladies were not painted colorfully for the first time ever in the 60’s. It’s just wrong to think any use of color is never original to the Victorian era. I would not be surprised at all to learn cornices and front doors on brownstones here were painted with colors.
This from Wikipedia:
“bout 48,000 houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 (with the change from Victorian to Edwardian occurring on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901), and many were painted in bright colors. As one newspaper critic noted in 1885, “…red, yellow, chocolate, orange, everything that is loud is in fashion…if the upper stories are not of red or blue… they are painted up into uncouth panels of yellow and brown…”[5] California Architects and Builders News, April 1885.
It goes on to describe how starting in the 60’s homeowners returned these houses to their bright colors. Which means the painted ladies were being RESTORED to their ORIGINAL colorful exteriors. If people are painting them bland colors again as somebody claimed, it’s actually not original.
It does look to be in tough shape nowadays Heather. I went by it 2 nights ago and wasn’t impressed.
The yellow house, Dave? I think you should aim higher. That Masonic Temple is sort of dingy the way it is.
A lot of those churches would be amazed at what their “church pewter” that they sold off years ago is worth today. I’m a collector and a Johann Christopher Heyne chalice sold for $50k last August.
I was interrupted, let me finish my thought:
Brooklyn used to be known as the Boro of churches before it became known as the boro of condos.
Happy New Year to all.
Can’t argue with you there.
well Dave, we church types are fighting an uphill battle in terms of the cost of maintaining these old places of worship. They are huge caverns that are really expensive to maintain. If you can get a restaurant in there to pay you some rent, go for it! Even the low-church Methodists would not begrudge the Episcopalians their rental income to maintain that enormous Byzantine pile on Park Avenue.
I think many of the huge old churches are doomed. There just are not enough folks around to support them. Brooklyn used to be known as the Boro of churches.
Wasps never boil, they only simmer. Like a good stew. QOTD
I don’t know how St. Bartholomew’s on Park Ave in Manhattan gets away with that restaurant and all the craft stalls during the holidays on that front terrace of theirs!!!
That high church Christmas Eve mass regalia they have is practically Catholic but the crowd is better dressed.
The Lutherans can knock’em back, if you get my meaning.
The original Puritans in Brooklyn turned into either Congregationlists or Unitarians. They are the true heart of WASPNESS. The Episcopaleans may as well be Catholic for heavens sake, especially the high church crowd. And now this controversy about gay Episcopal priests has them in a simmer. Wasps never boil, they only simmer. Like a good stew.