The 2012 Brooklyn Heights Assn. Landmark House & Garden Tour, which takes place Saturday May 12, has announced the five privately owned historic townhouses that comprise the annual event.
Highlights of the five homes include:
* A four-story townhouse circa 1873, designed in a classical revival style. After decades as a multi-unit building, it was updated by a gut renovation, preserving what few original elements remain. It is now a spacious home to a family of five.
* A three-story brick and sandstone carriage house constructed in the 1870s. During the 1940s, this building was a social club cum gym, owned by a famous boxer. The current owner’s attention to detail is evident throughout this inventively designed family home.
* A Federal-style row house built in 1826. There is an unusual rear addition dating from the Victorian era, featuring stained glass windows, oak paneling and basket-weave floors. Top floor bedrooms feature charming vintage wallpaper and wide plank original pine floors.
* Built in 1848, this Greek Revival townhouse—from the 1890s to early 1900s—was the home and office of Dr. Robert Latou Dickinson, a pioneer in women’s reproductive health, then became the Alpha Chi Ro Fraternity house, and was later rented by church groups during the Second World war as a hostel.
* This grandly proportioned 1856 Renaissance Revival style brownstone offers unmatched views of New York harbor, the lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The entrance foyer offers red marble floors, Fortuny-covered walls, Tang dynasty horse and Empire-style pedestals featuring Wedgewood basalt heads of Paris and Mercury.
The go-at-your-own-pace, self-guided House & Garden Tour, from 1-5 p.m. is $40 for general admission, and $30 for BHA members who reserve in advance. Tickets, which support the Brooklyn Heights Assn. are tax-deductible, and available (along with much more info, including interior pics) here.
