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Brownstone is a brownTriassic–Jurassic[1][2]sandstone that was historically a popularbuilding material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to atownhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material.
Brownstone was a popular building material because it is unusually easy toquarry and carve; these qualities also make structures clad in it susceptible to weathering and damage over time.[3]
In the 19th century,Basswood Island,Wisconsin was the site of aquarry run by theBass Island Brownstone Company, which operated from 1868 into the 1890s. The brownstone from this and other quarries in theApostle Islands was in great demand, with brownstone from Basswood Island being used in the construction of the firstMilwaukee County Courthouse in the 1860s.[4]
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Hummelstown brownstone is extremely popular along the East Coast of the United States, with numerous government buildings throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and Delaware being faced entirely with the stone, which comes from the Hummelstown Quarry inHummelstown, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Hummelstown Quarry is the largest provider of brownstone on the east coast. Typically, the stone was transported out of Hummelstown through the Brownstone and Middletown Railroad.[5]
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Portland brownstone, also known as Connecticut River Brownstone, is also very popular. The stone from quarries located inPortland, Connecticut, and environs was used in a number of landmark buildings inChicago,Boston,New York City,Philadelphia,New Haven,Hartford,Washington, D.C., andBaltimore.
Quarries from thePassaic Formation in northernNew Jersey once supplied most of the brownstone used in New York City and New Jersey.[7]
Devonian agedsandstone is commonly used in SouthernWales.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Brownstones appear throughout numerous New York City neighborhoods, especially in theBrooklyn areas ofPark Slope,Clinton Hill,Fort Greene,Cobble Hill,Carroll Gardens,Boerum Hill,Gowanus,Windsor Terrace,Prospect Heights,Crown Heights,Brooklyn Heights,Bedford Stuyvesant, andSunset Park. Smaller concentrations exist in parts ofBay Ridge,Williamsburg,Bushwick,Greenpoint, andProspect Lefferts Gardens.
Brownstones are also scattered throughoutManhattan from theLower East Side toWashington Heights, with notable concentrations in theUpper West Side,Upper East Side,Harlem andEast Harlem. In Queens and The Bronx, the historic districts ofLong Island City andMott Haven also host many brownstones. Brownstones also predominate in someHudson County neighborhoods directly across theHudson River from Manhattan, especially inHoboken[8] and aroundPaulus Hook,Van Vorst Park,Harsimus Cove,Hamilton Park andBergen Hill inJersey City.[9][10][11] New York City brownstones can cost several million dollars to purchase. A typical architectural detail of brownstones in and around New York City is thestoop, a steep staircase rising from the street to the entrance on what amounts to almost the second-floor level. This design was seen as hygienic at the time many were built, because the streets were so foul with animal waste.[12]
It has become fashionable to use the term "brownstone" to refer to almost any townhouse from a certain period, even though they may not have been built of brownstone. For example, many townhouses inBoerum Hill in Brooklyn are built of brick, but have concrete masonrycladding which resembles stone. There are also many brick townhouses that have brownstone-built stoops throughout the outer boroughs. Such neighborhoods that consist of these homes areBorough Park,Dyker Heights,Bensonhurst,Bath Beach,Sunset Park,Kensington,Flatbush,Midwood,East New York,Cypress Hills in Brooklyn,Ridgewood,Glendale,Astoria,Woodhaven in Queens, andLongwood andMorrisania in the Bronx.[citation needed]
TheRittenhouse Square andFairmount neighborhoods ofPhiladelphia also include examples of brownstone architecture. Many of these homes have been converted into apartment buildings.[citation needed]
Back Bay, Boston, is known for itsVictorian brownstone homes – considered some of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States.[13]
Although some brownstones exist in Chicago, a similar residential form known as "greystones" is far more prevalent. Agreystone is a type of residential structure that utilizesIndiana limestone for itsfacade, regardless of its overall architectural style. As in Brooklyn, there is a "Greystone Belt" in Chicago, with large numbers of such structures located in the south and northwest quadrants of the city. It is estimated that around 30,000 of Chicago's greystones built between 1890 and 1930 are still standing.[14]
Brownstone, also known asfreestone because it can be cut freely in any direction, was used by early Pennsylvanian Quakers to construct stone mills and mill houses. In central Pennsylvania, some 1700s-era structures survive, including a residence known as the Quaker Mill House.[citation needed]
Brownstone was prized bytombstone carvers in southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic region during the Colonial era. Table-type memorials in particular were often carved out of brownstone as well as regular headstones. Especially valued for being easy to carve, those same characteristics often resulted in stones being less durable and prone to heavy erosion and wear over time, especially when compared toslate orschist gravestones of the same time period. Brownstone began losing popularity among carvers during the first few decades of the 1800s owing to the rising popularity ofmarble, though it continued to be used for obelisks and other grave monuments until much later. Brownstone used for headstones was usually quarried from theConnecticut River Valley andNew Jersey, and many carvers especially in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey Worked with it.