Comments on: Cheek By Jowl On Quincy Street

By: Charlie

Charlie — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:38:02 +0000

In picture 4 (the construction from Mars): The house to the left of the tree is one of a group of three that more or less look as they did in a picture my mother had that was taken about 1885, barring different paint jobs and siding. “Our” house (number 187) is where my grandfather and mother grew up, and I lived to the age of 2. We moved to Long Island in 1930.

The “Martian” house replaces number 189, which burned down in 1950. The lot stood vacant for 50 years, and then this house was built. While its architecture doesn’t exactly blend in, its consruction does represent a degree of revival in the neighborhood.

In my grandfather’s youth (c. 1880) there was a house on the south side of the block, possibly the one in picture 2, whose yard went to Bedford Avenue and had a fountain in it. In my mother’s youth (c. 1910), house 2 was occupied by a Civil War general named Grant (not Ulysses!), and later there was a tea room in it.

She remarked on the variety of architecture on the block, and thought it meant that this was the original center of the village of Bedford. Actually, I don’t think this is exactly true, but it is a unique one among the many stretches of row houses in the neighborhood.

By: mollie

mollie — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:28:47 +0000

We’ve been doing a whole lot of walking around Brooklyn, looking at houses lately. And I’ve started to notice the same thing- that while nyc loves its brownstones, it hates it Victorians. I too glazed over the many Victorian homes in Brooklyn for years because I didn’t realize what I was looking at.

There is a fantastic renovation going on in Williamsburg- n. 10th? somewhere around there. Maybe it will inspire others to tear off the aluminum siding and see what’s underneath.

By: Alexa11221

Alexa11221 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:14:09 +0000

House # 5 has some kind of mural or street art on the second story (above the brick addition). I don’t know if you can see it from the street though, you might need to be in a car (I just noticed it recently while taking a cab home and even then I could just barely glimpse it).

I wonder why the lots on that block of Quincy are zoned differently from others? I think that Bed-Stuy has more architectural variety that any other neighborhood. It’s like an urban building lab!

By: newbedstuy

newbedstuy — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:52:16 +0000

great pictures

By: The Changeling

The Changeling — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:44:00 +0000

This is amazing. I never “saw” these because I never knew what was beneath all of the siding and ugly additions. I like the brick Victorian with the porch and garage additions because it looks like it could be returned to it’s former glory rather easily.

By: amzi hill

amzi hill — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:53:09 +0000

That block has always been a bit of a strange mix of architecture. Other than the new crap I kinda like it. I do wish I could see whats under that aluminum.