{"id":534226,"date":"2024-11-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/?p=534226"},"modified":"2024-11-21T01:40:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T06:40:14","slug":"brownstone-revival-history-brooklyn-ortner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/brownstone-revival-history-brooklyn-ortner\/","title":{"rendered":"Brownstone Revival: The Rebirth of the Brooklyn Townhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many, the brownstone is the quintessential symbol of Brooklyn, as much an icon as the Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, other boroughs also have attached masonry row houses, but the Brooklyn brownstone beats them all. <\/p>\n

As the urban centers of the United States grew, so too did row-house neighborhoods, their housing based on centuries-old European forms. People of every income level poured into Brooklyn, all seeking a better life and the creature comforts being touted everywhere. Brooklyn was branded the \u201ccity of homes and churches,\u201d as good a catchphrase as any invented today. Brownstone Brooklyn\u2019s neighborhoods grew by leaps and bounds. <\/p>\n

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Brownstone facades at 65-71 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights photographed by Berenice Abbott as part of the Federal Art Project’s “Changing New York” in 1936. Photo via New York Public Library<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Fast forward, things began to change during the 1920s and into the Depression years. Brooklyn\u2019s wealthy set began their exodus from their Brooklyn townhouses to new luxury apartment buildings or the upscale suburbs of Westchester and Long Island. <\/p>\n %<\/span><\/span> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> Single Page<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Still going strong today, a back-to-the-city movement wasn’t for whites only.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11099,"featured_media":534527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_html":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_src":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7646],"tags":[],"districts":[],"class_list":["post-534226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Brownstone Revival: The Rebirth of the Brooklyn Townhouse","url":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/brownstone-revival-history-brooklyn-ortner\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/brownstone-revival-history-brooklyn-ortner\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/park-slope-215-berkeley-place-1973-LPC-photo-collection.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/park-slope-215-berkeley-place-1973-LPC-photo-collection.jpg"},"articleSection":"History","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Spellen"}],"creator":["Suzanne Spellen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Brownstoner","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-11-27T15:00:00Z","datePublished":"2024-11-27T15:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-11-27T15:00:00Z"},"rendered":"