The Charming Paint Peeler Reincarnated
Last spring, we lamented the loss of a sweet, albeit somewhat dilapidated, wood-framed Windsor Terrace House (apparently the previous owner had been there for over two decades without undertaking a lick of maintenance); it was bought and torn down in March. Well, here’s what went up at 1518 10th Avenue instead. Charming Paint Peeler, RIP…
Last spring, we lamented the loss of a sweet, albeit somewhat dilapidated, wood-framed Windsor Terrace House (apparently the previous owner had been there for over two decades without undertaking a lick of maintenance); it was bought and torn down in March. Well, here’s what went up at 1518 10th Avenue instead.
Charming Paint Peeler, RIP [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Paint-Peeling Charm in Windsor Terrace [Brownstoner]
I don’t find the design all that bad considering what’s been going on in other part’s of the neighborhood.
The only problem I have is with the Lack of planting’s or an actual front yard. This will probably mean the owner intend’s to park a car on that left side of the house.
I’ve seen it in 2 or 3 other house in the neighborhood in the past year. A homeowner on East 3rd street turned his property into a 3 family rental.He paved over the front yard(illegaly) and actually advertised the parking space as coming with the apartment. He’s been fined a few times and actually had a neighbor’s(lagally parked) car towed from in front of the house. Some Homeowner up the block from me on east 5th cut the curb a few years back put in a double gate and put up a no parking sign. if thats not crazy enough for ya, The man does’nt have a car, and his front yard is so small I’d be suprised if a smart car would fit in there.
The cool thing would have been to build an updated version of the original design (the one pictured in the inset), or to renovate the home to its original look. That said, it’s not bad of this kind.
I’m ashamed to say that I kind of like it. It’s not pretty but has a kind of brutal practicality to it.
Also if you plastered the left wall and painted it white, you’d have a phenomenal screen for a projector – instant drive-in movie theatre!
OH MY GOD! This place is packed with retards…. this place looks a million times better than the ramshackle of a place it replaces.
And would you rather the USUAL yellow brick, bensonhurst/bay ridge beauty?
Whoever did this actually took some effort to create something that looks nice… not just the cheapest things available.
AAARGH!!!!
As mentioned above, it looks to me like maintaining the setback was entirely for parking purposes. No homage to what was there. That said, I have an unexpected fondness for new construction that awkwardly tries to evoke fancy dancy historic styles.
I hope all the buildings like this that have been built over the last two years are the last to sell, so that when the next building boom comes along the motto will beautiful buildings sell first ugly building sell last. Of curse this would pre-suppose some decimation on the part of the buyers.
It looks like a bad stage set in a Tudor play.
Architectural illiterates made manifest.
Shelter from the weather.
^Not unreasonable at all. Masonry construction is expensive, so it makes sense to plan ahead rather than get this result. Many problems with this facade could have been addressed if someone had simply drawn it first.
There’s a reason why the carpenters say “measure twice, cut one” — the first time you envision the facade should not be when the masons are done making their openings!
What you have here instead is a facade generated by the plan: a plan for cars on the ground level, and minimum light and air requirements above. The plan says window here. What size? What’s in the catalog? What’s the minimum for air? OK, we’re done here.
***
The Flintstones style, IMBY. A bastardization of random rubble facades from fifties ranch homes or garden walls in suburbia. “My uncle knows this mason / you’ll never have to paint that” etc.
Now OTOH random ashlar can look good.
Come on guys – I think you’re being a little unreasonable here. Sure, the stairs and door are ugly, but the windows and roof look pretty nice. The builder could have just slapped up another generic fedders buildling, but it looks like some thought actually went into this one.
Tough Crowd!!
Also saw this one from start to finish… Brownstoner the old photo you provide above, is that the tax photo from 20+ years ago because what was left of the actual frame house couldn’t have been anything more than sawdust, lead paintchips, and the DNA (read body fluids) of the family that lived there. If the inside looked anything like the outside, which I can’t even imagine, they did the right thing.
An Arch. in Brooklyn, question. What’s the style called in that part of Windsor Terrace where they incorporate rocks into the brick face? There seems to be a lot of these styled homes in the area.