Tuesday, April 8, 2014

ARCHITECTURE: HARLEM'S OLDEST HOUSE CIRCA 1932


Harlem's oldest standing residential house (as far as we know) was built in 1864 but did not look like it was in good shape by 1932.  The side streets around upper Fifth Avenue still has a handful of old wood frame houses but they are mostly in deteriorating condition.  In recent years, Number 17 East 128th Street has been nicely restored and is a testament that spending some extra dollars will really help make any rough looking property a sparkling gem once again.

Archival photo courtesy the Museum of the City of New York

3 comments:

  1. What kind of siding does that house have?

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  2. Is it wooden siding or a man-made material?

    It would be hard to keep wood siding in good shape. It's amazing that all the wooden details on the porch lasted so long.

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