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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, yesterday’s New York Times had an article in the Real Estate section about rare wood-frame houses in New York City. Living in one of these often-freestanding relics can feel very much like living in the country, the article points out, with a porch, perhaps; a backyard; and often a garage or other outbuilding.

Of course, I relish the few wood-frame houses remaining in Manhattan and Brooklyn whenever I see them, but I was interested to read a lot of things I didn’t know:

  • In Brooklyn, where groups of wood-frame houses were built by developers in the mid-19th century, they’re somewhat less rare than in Manhattan, where they are serendipitous one-off survivors of a semirural past.
  • Wood frame houses were banned for fire-safety reasons as the 19th century progressed.
    • There’s one on the market now, on East 53rd Street in Manhattan, for $3.54 million (it’s the yellow one, top – tiny!)
    • The one below, on Adelphi Street and Lafayette Avenue in Clinton Hill, sold recently after its asking price was knocked down to $795K (it needs a lot of work; so what else is new?)

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