Popular culture in the United States has made the already iconic brownstone house even more famous. You can find these beautiful homes and their quintessential stoops featured in everything from television’s Sesame Street and Sex in the City to movies like Moonstruck, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and more.
While brownstones are common in New York City and their many boroughs such as Brooklyn, they can be also found all over other Northeastern cities like Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and further into the Midwest. So what makes a house a brownstone? Why are these properties so desirable? And what are the pros and cons of living in a brownstone house? Read on to find out more.
History of the brownstone house
The brownstone house was initially made from brick with a brown sandstone facade. The sandstone was quarried in Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and typically transported on the Great Lakes and down major rivers by barge. Brownstone was a popular building material from the late 1700s into the 1800s as it was a more affordable alternative to popular building materials like limestone, granite, and marble.
Due to the cost and fire resistance, brownstone became popular as a building material in New York City in the 19th century. In an 1880 federal building census tally, 78% of stone buildings in New York used brownstone in their construction. New York City’s Upper West Side, Park Slope, and Brooklyn Heights have some of the largest concentrations of brownstones today. Initially, these four- or five-story buildings housed an entire family, most of which were not divided into apartments.
With the permanent closure of the Portland Brownstone Quarry in 2012, the building material has become scarce, driving up the cost and value of brownstone houses. As a result, brownstones have become a symbol of wealth as many of the remaining homes are over 100 years old.
Characteristics of a brownstone house