shinglesSince we’re going to be out of town this weekend and unable to photograph any themes or neighborhoods for next week, we thought we’d ask the readership to pitch in. We’ve always been drawn to the occurrence of shingles in a city dominated by stone and brick. Next week, we’d love to be able to exhibit examples of shingled structures in Brooklyn. So if you’ve got your digi with you this weekend, we’d appreciate any and all submissions along with a note about the location. We’ll post the results throughout the week. Thanks a mucho.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Actually, here’s a link to some photos of the house I’m talking about.

    For the first link, it’s house number 15, which you can click on for a larger image. Don Wiss has great photos of a bunch of Victorian Flatbush homes – I plan to do my own version of this once I replace my camera…

    http://www.donwiss.com/pictures/FlatbushHouses/#26

    Another shot of the house in question – which is a beautiful house – just a shame about the decision not reshingle. And Landmarks permitting them not to…

    about.http://www.pratie.com/archive/000015.asp

    It’s the top pic.

  2. No, Lucy – it’s not that house, although a reshingling of that place would be most welcome. Every day I walk past it I just shake my head. It has such beautiful lines and is kept up incredibly well in other respects. That siding, though… it’s a travesty.

    The house I’m talking about is further down on Alberarle, maybe corner of Argyle or Stratford, on the same side of the street as the house you mentioned on the corner of Marlborough. According to the permit applications, they were trying to get permission to either put new siding on or replace old siding with new siding. They spent a bomb refinishing the house in other respects, sanding and repainting the football field long bannister on the front porch etc… It has a large turret on one side – which now looks like the shuttle about to take flight. This siding job happened just a few months ago. I don’t understand why Landmarks let them do this.

    As I’ve posted before, all of Victorian Flatbush needs to be landmarked (there are many great homes outside Ditmas Park/PPS that need to be protected). The whole area needs to be preserved. And reshingled!

  3. There’s a shingle revival going on in Ditmas Park, where nearly all the houses have/originally had shingles (sometimes clapboard or a mix of the two). There are some interesting variations and patterns to be found – half moon shaped shingles on a house in PPS, radiating designs, etc…

    Fortunately, more and more people are removing the nasty asbestos and asphalt shingle and aluminum siding that has crept into the neighborhood over the years. I do have to mention a particular home on Albermarle Road in PPS, which after an expensive renovation, chose to put SIDING on, instead of re-shingling the place. It’s a Queen Anne with a turret. Nothing destroys the lines of a gracious, curvilinear home like siding! The turret looks like a rocket ship. I checked and they applied to Landmarks for a dispensation, and after several years of trying, got it. What’s the point of landmarking?