Greystones vs. Limestones
Jus thte other day, I heard an Old Timer refer to a group of row houses in South Brooklyn as Greystones, rather than Limestones. What gives?
Jus thte other day, I heard an Old Timer refer to a group of row houses in South Brooklyn as Greystones, rather than Limestones. What gives?
Mine was actually granite as were the rest on my block in Andersonville. There are a few PA marble places on Decatur St just east of Stuyvesant Ave.
Greystone VS Limestone
As defined by the Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative, a greystone is a brick building with a limestone façade. Largely built during the Greystone Era, 1890 to 1920, these multi-unit buildings were designed to house Chicago’s growing population.
Because greystones were more expensive to build than frame buildings, they were the choice of the middle and upper classes. Many greystone mansions border the city’s boulevards and parks, while two-to-six unit greystones line Chicago’s side streets.
Limestone is a soft stone that is easy to carve. Builders made the most of this quality, adding simple or ornate flourishes to greystone facades, giving each one its own look.
House Insurance
There is a section of greystones on President St that look like they are marble or limestone. In Chicago, greystones were all faced with limestone from Indiana. I know, because I used to live there and I googled it: http://stories-in-stone.blogspot.com/2010/05/greystones-chicagos-answer-to.html
In Chicago we called them greystones but they were granite, not limestone.
Maybe elderly limestone home-owners?
or Tarzan 😉
maybe He-Man lives there.