Brownstones

Did you know....

In the period prior to the 1830′s or so, most of the rowhouses being constructed in New York had either brick or wood facades. Alternatives such as marble existed, of course, but these were far too costly for most homeowners to consider, especially since the stone had to be cut by hand and transported long distances. With the growth of the new urban middle class came a desire for something more sophisticated in appearance than simple brick, and more durable than wood. Brownstone, a type of sandstone, was readily available from quarries located in New Jersey and Connecticut. A form of sedimentary rock which frequently contains fossilized footprints of prehistoric animals, it owed its unique dark brown color to high concentrations of iron, which turned color with exposure to water. Using barges, it could be shipped easily to New York, where it quickly became popular. In Brooklyn, brownstone houses could be found anywhere from Bedford Stuyvessant to Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens. Houses themselves were not constructed of brownstone, but rather a veneer less than a foot thick was placed on the front of each home, which was actually constructed of brick. The mark of a good brownstone mason was his ability to cut and assemble the blocks of a facade so carefully that it almost appeared to be a single mass of stone.
  [Nero Wolfe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harlem_02.jpg

Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

By casaCara

Photographer: William Waldron

By:Inhabitat.com

Some like to go for the "modern" look:

Everyone has their own taste when it comes to decorating a home. Personally, I think it is a shame to rip out the classic, hand carved wood interior and turn the rooms into an antiseptic environment. But that's just me.