Polemicist,
As a real estate consultant you should really learn more about architecture. The limestones are the culmination of the Neo-Renaissance style. In a style that embraces detail work but never to the detriment of classical proportions, these homes are as quintessential examples as you will ever find. Encompassing both unifying themes such as a common cornice and low front wall, the design also embraces a diversity of rounded and straight walled bay windows with each home having its own motif theme (e.g. the lily house second from the left). The 3 brick houses made less than a decade later show the changing architectural preferences of the era. Aside from being beautiful buildings in their own right the 3 brick buildings provide context.
You say there “must be thousands” of houses like these in Brooklyn. I would defy you to find 100 or even 10. The row is almost as significant for setting as for its architecture. Not many homes in Brooklyn have a 30 foot deep garden between the property line an the porch. There just isn’t enough space on most streets. The hundred foot width of Ocean Avenue allows those walking the perimeter of Prospect Park a clear view. There aren’t many limestones in Brooklyn that afford you the space to enjoy them as thoroughly and as not only individual homes, but as an ensemble.
If you think that people who live in apartments inherently dislike the homes you obviously were not at the Community Board 9 meeting last night. In many ways (visual and otherwise) the row is an anchor for the block. The people who own the homes want land marking and the others in the neighborhood want the land marking. Outside profiteers bent on taking by hook or crock are the only ones with a real interest in preventing this.
Polemicist, if you really care about architecture and not just turning a quick buck, please come and enjoy the vista the camera cannot convey.
Polemicist,
As a real estate consultant you should really learn more about architecture. The limestones are the culmination of the Neo-Renaissance style. In a style that embraces detail work but never to the detriment of classical proportions, these homes are as quintessential examples as you will ever find. Encompassing both unifying themes such as a common cornice and low front wall, the design also embraces a diversity of rounded and straight walled bay windows with each home having its own motif theme (e.g. the lily house second from the left). The 3 brick houses made less than a decade later show the changing architectural preferences of the era. Aside from being beautiful buildings in their own right the 3 brick buildings provide context.
You say there “must be thousands” of houses like these in Brooklyn. I would defy you to find 100 or even 10. The row is almost as significant for setting as for its architecture. Not many homes in Brooklyn have a 30 foot deep garden between the property line an the porch. There just isn’t enough space on most streets. The hundred foot width of Ocean Avenue allows those walking the perimeter of Prospect Park a clear view. There aren’t many limestones in Brooklyn that afford you the space to enjoy them as thoroughly and as not only individual homes, but as an ensemble.
If you think that people who live in apartments inherently dislike the homes you obviously were not at the Community Board 9 meeting last night. In many ways (visual and otherwise) the row is an anchor for the block. The people who own the homes want land marking and the others in the neighborhood want the land marking. Outside profiteers bent on taking by hook or crock are the only ones with a real interest in preventing this.
Polemicist, if you really care about architecture and not just turning a quick buck, please come and enjoy the vista the camera cannot convey.
Posted by: QUEST at October 24, 2007 12:21 PM in response to Ocean's 13: Landmarking Against a Ticking Time Bomb