Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Matt Damon Is Brooklyn Bound, Could Set Record

Historic Clinton Hill Mansion, One-Time Civil War Veterans’ Spot, Coming Down for Apartments

A curious survivor, a freestanding Second Empire mansion at 489 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill, will soon vanish, to be replaced by an apartment building. Workers were demolishing the upper floors of the already gutted house before Labor Day weekend, knocking holes in the roof and walls.

_

Actor Matt Damon Snaps Up Splashy Penthouse in Superman’s Brooklyn Heights Building

Actor Matt Damon is in contract to buy a penthouse condo in The Standish, at 171 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, according to the Wall Street Journal. If the deal closes for the asking of $16.645 million, it will set a new record for real estate in the borough.

_

Live in Victorian Splendor (With Seven Fireplaces) Along the Hudson River Waterfront for $525K

The picturesque house looks ripped right from a “what is Victorian” architectural guide book — there’s a polychrome mansard roof with intricate iron cresting along the roofline, dormers, a bracketed cornice and bay windows. Located a block from the Hudson River at 4 3rd Street in Athens, N.Y., the photogenic property has a wealth of original interior details to match.

_

Four Historic Charmers to See This Weekend, Starting at $1.6 Million

Labor Day’s in the rear-view mirror and the nights are getting cool, which means several things: school is back in swing, we’ll soon be barraged by pumpkin spice, and the housing market is back in full gear. Lots to choose from this week, after the doldrums of August, and we’ve got four prime specimens four you, including a mews house, and who doesn’t love one of those? That one’s in Cobble Hill, the others are found in Crown Heights and Bed Stuy.

_

Bed Stuy Brownstone With Original Details, Potential Asks $1.75 Million

This Bed Stuy brownstone needs work and may come with other issues as well, but its original details are intact and awaiting someone ready to take on a restoration project. It’s at 596 MacDonough Street, between Ralph and Howard avenues.

Related Stories

• Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Quirky Carroll Gardens Condo, a Chic Clinton Hill Reno
• Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Danish Design Company Hacks IKEA, Viewing the Eclipse
• Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Guide to Fire Island, A Renovated Park Slope Manse

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.