Check Out These Early Brownstone Revival Books for Some Renovation Inspiration

While buying a Brooklyn brownstone isn’t exactly the inexpensive housing option for the DIYer that it once was, these how-to manuals, histories, and neighborhood guides can still offer some inspiration in addition to a look back at old house renovation in the 20th century.

Some offer practical advice while others are valuable for a view into the language of the time regarding urban renewal, gentrification, and changing Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Here is a roundup of a handful of interesting volumes published between 1968 and 1980. Almost all of them are out of print, but can be found in libraries and used bookstores, and some have been digitized and are available online. If you want a dip into that era of renovation via film rather than the written word, check out the digitized films of the era in the collection of the Center for Brooklyn History.

The Brownstone Revival Committee’s Guide to New York City Brownstone Neighborhoods
By Brownstone Revival Committee
Published by Brownstone Revival Committee, 1968 to 1979

After Everett and Evelyn Ortner went on a tour of houses given by the Park Slope Civic Council in the early 1960s they ended up moving to the borough and began their decades-long involvement with promoting Brooklyn’s housing stock. The couple helped found the Brownstone Revival Committee (later Coalition) in 1968 and early on the group galvanized behind the issue of redlining. The group also produced their first homebuyer’s guide in 1968 with information on neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx with housing stock that might appeal to a old house buyer. The organization would publish four editions between 1968 and 1979; the 1969 edition can be read online. In the intro of that edition, the committee notes that brownstone “has become a generic term” for houses that have “potential for graceful living at modest cost.”

Bricks and Brownstone
By Charles Lockwood
Published by Abbeville Press, 1972

A must-have for New York architecture enthusiasts, this ambitious and exhaustively researched work was first published in 1972, in the midst of the brownstone revival. A first of its kind resource, it provided details on original floor plans, interior ornamentation, and architectural styles for the city’s row houses. A highly anticipated update was co-authored by Patrick W. Ciccone and published by Rizzoli in 2019. It includes new color photos, additional historic images, citations for sources, and new chapters exploring early 20th century row houses.

You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Own a Brownstone
By Joy and Paul Wilkes
Published by Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973

It’s an attention grabbing little volume, thanks to the now-dated promise of its title and its singular dust jacket showing the authors staring out from the cover garbed in 19th century-inspired attire and amidst renovation rubble. The then-married couple purchased a house in Park Slope (488 2nd Street, to be exact) in 1969 with friends Louis and Jane Gropp, and commenced with a “budget renovation.” The slim volume offers potential buyers detailed advice on how to select a neighborhood, questions to ask when looking, and how to finance a purchase. The financial details might be of most interest to modern readers who may find the “real costs” of renovation intriguing. There are some before and after photos of their own renovation, and the final chapter includes renovation stories from other publications that were covering the emerging brownstone phenomenon. Read through the appendix for descriptions of some Brooklyn neighborhoods and housing prices.

Buying and Renovating a House in the City: A Practical Guide
By Deirdre Stanforth and Martha Stamm
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1974

While this 1970s volume covers the passion for renovation outside of New York City, it does not ignore Brooklyn, noting “renovation fever has caught on and spread in Brooklyn like an epidemic.” Like other books on this list, it quotes the work of writer L. J. Davis, who restored a home in Boerum Hill and also wrote about the renovation trend and Brooklyn neighborhoods. He also reviewed this book, noting it contains a “nice photograph of my parlor ceiling” and surveys restoration efforts from 1920s Turtle Bay to “today’s amazing activity in Brooklyn.”

Old House Journal
By Clem Labine et al
Published by Old House Journal, 1973 to present

First published from Park Slope in 1973, Old House Journal began as a newsletter filled with helpful info for homeowners who were joining the renovation movement just like founder Clem Labine. There were in-depth looks at architectural styles, tips on where to find restoration supplies, and photos of a “remuddling of the month.” Important for DIY homeowners were the plethora of how-to articles for everything from repairing stairs to relining a chimney. Until the late 1980s, the monthly newsletters were compiled into a yearbook with an index. Still published today in the form of a glossy monthly magazine, Old House Journal was sold in 1987 and moved out of Brooklyn. While some of the materials and techniques in restoration have changed over the decades, the advice in the early volumes is still helpful. If you can’t find a copy of a yearbook, many of the newsletters are available online.

The Phoenix Brownstone Guide
By Michael A. Armstrong and Betsy Kissam
Published by The Phoenix Newspaper, Advocate Press Inc., 1980

If you are looking for the flavor of Brooklyn during the brownstone era, this guide, published by Brooklyn community newspaper The Phoenix Newspaper in 1980, details the businesses, cultural organizations, and events to be found in the borough alongside some fun ads and photos. The then-new Albee Square Mall on Fulton Street gets a mention as does the shopping on Atlantic Avenue. There are tips on buying a brownstone and neighborhood descriptions. There is also a special section on “emerging areas” such as Dumbo and Red Hook.

[Images via Susan De Vries unless noted otherwise]

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• Another Look at the Ortner House
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