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Narrow golden brick and terra-cotta ornament an 1890s house in Bed Stuy. Photos by Susan De Vries.
Brooklyn Brick: History and Care
by CATE CORCORAN
One of the pleasures of walking Brooklyn’s streets is seeing
the glorious brickwork in all its many hues, shapes,
textures, and patterns. Here, a brief history of brick in
the borough of homes and churches and tips for keeping
vintage masonry in good condition.
“No matter the size of a brick building, you can always
see evidence of the craftsmanship, you can relate to its
human scale, and you immediately understand that
it was built by hand,” says Brendan Coburn, founder
of CWB Architects, and an expert on Brooklyn’s
nineteenth-century brick buildings.
RENOVATOR’S TOOLBOX
Bricks typically came from the Hudson Valley, a center
of brickmaking in the nineteenth century thanks to
abundant clay on the banks of the Hudson. Early bricks
were handmade; advances in brickmaking and firing
led to stronger bricks over the years, particularly after
the 1870s. It was standard practice to use poorer quality
bricks for rear walls and high quality bricks for front
facades in Brooklyn at least as late as the 1890s.
Brick in Federal houses, such as some 1820s examples
still standing in Brooklyn Heights, was typically laid
in the Flemish bond pattern, which alternates the short