Walkabout with Montrose: Faces I Remember

I collect faces. I’ve got some great ones: Vikings, African warriors, Indian Chiefs, handsome turbaned fellows, and chaps with bad teeth.

I’ve got guys holding up buildings, and ethereal ladies looking serene and peaceful, as well as warrior women I wouldn’t advise you mess with. I’ve got a couple of creepy children and even a demon or two.

Shakespeare is here, and so is Abe Lincoln. Courtiers and kings grace our buildings, as do ordinary looking Moms and Dads.

Naturally, I’m referring to photographs of the many individuals whose countenances grace the buildings of Brooklyn.

Once you start noticing these images, you really do see them everywhere, because they ARE everywhere. Almost any building built between 1885 and 1940 is a candidate for portraiture, whether historical or imaginary.

The architects of our borough had great imagination, access to some incredibly talented stoneworkers, and in many cases, a strong sense of humor.

The examples are in stone or terra cotta, from reliefs to three dimensional busts. Take a look at some of the best, from all over Brownstone Brooklyn. I’ve got many, many, more, and find new ones every time I walk about in our amazing Brooklyn neighborhoods.

[Photos by Suzanne Spellen]