Tracking 56 Cambridge on My Brownstone
We were happy to see that the owner of 56 Cambridge decided to step it up a notch and continue the discussion of the renovation of his 1863 Neo-Tudor woodframe house. He’s put up seven photos of the house in its current state (including this one of the temporary wood beams used to shore up…
We were happy to see that the owner of 56 Cambridge decided to step it up a notch and continue the discussion of the renovation of his 1863 Neo-Tudor woodframe house. He’s put up seven photos of the house in its current state (including this one of the temporary wood beams used to shore up the ceiling) and plans to keep us current as this exciting restoration progresses. Though we haven’t figured out how to add a Comments section to My Brownstone, we’ll do periodic posts here on the front page which should provide adequate room for discussion. We encourage other people embarking on renovations to follow suit and set up an account on My Brownstone.
The Haunted House [My Brownstone] GMAP
Starting Work at 56 Cambridge [Brownstoner]
Shahn Anderson wrote: “P.S. Did you notice that the building on the corner of Gates and Grand is starting to look like there might be some life there? There was a red pickup truck parked inside of the fence and some very contractor looking people trouncing around. Does anyone know the story of this house? It’s five stories and looks to be more than 20 feet wide.”
That house was only empty for a few years–maybe 5? There have been workmen there sporadically for about a year.
This is what I heard about it from a friend who lives just down the block. An older lady used to live in this house, and when she died, her mentally ill son inheirited the property. He lives in an SRO in Harlem and was not dealing with the property.
There were squatters in the place as recently as last year. But I guess someone finally convinced him to sell. It is an incredibly beautiful house, I just hope it wasn’t too damaged/stripped in the interim.
P.S. Did you notice that the building on the corner of Gates and Grand is starting to look like there might be some life there? There was a red pickup truck parked inside of the fence and some very contractor looking people trouncing around. Does anyone know the story of this house? It’s five stories and looks to be more than 20 feet wide.
You are right actually, those beams aren’t remporary shoring, but an attempt at a drop ceiling from many years ago that wasn’t ever completed. There is one other medallion that is completely intact, but other than that, there really aren’t any other details left. This building was stripped of anything of real value some time ago. There is one marble fireplace that was left behind because it was broken in half when someone was trying to remove it.
I didn’t put up any pictures of the temporary shoring yet, but I’ll have them shortly if you’d like. The DOB permits will be posted on the building in the next few days, and I’ll post the name of the architect and contractor (which are a matter of public record as they are on the permits) at that time. I just want to ask them if they mind me putting their name online before I post it here. Thanks for the encouragement on the house.
The red house with shutters was taken off the market and the owners have been renovating it themselves, presumably to turn around and sell once complete.
Holy haunted house, Batman! And I thought we had some rough stuff to deal with. I hope it all turns out great. Keep us updated along the way.
we have the same thing in our house except the drop ceiling is intact. when we took a look up there we were excited to see remnants of the old ceiling and a near salvageable medallion. the rest of our plaster has sustained too much water-damage to repair.
On behalf of the neighborhood, kudos to the owners for taking on this project and letting the rest of us share in the progress – the old lady deserves that respect.
Does anyone know what happened to the neighboring house – the red one featured by Brownstoner earlier in the year, next door to 56 (which used to have shutters)?
Those beams don’t look like shoring to me. I’d say it was furring for a later ceiling that was put up to cover the damaged original. Looks like enough of the medallion is there to make a cast for repair. That’s at least one salvageable piece!