REDEMPTION COMES FOR A BOY FIREBUG (1913)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** (Ed.’s Note: A few weeks ago we received a letter from out of the blue. The writer claimed something fantastic – something astounding. It was a coincidence that spawned a story which gave life to an incredible – but true – tale. A story that we had written in a Brownstone Detectives blog several months earlier had recently popped up in this gentleman’s Google search about his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather, though, was no ordinary Brooklynite. For months in 1899 he had set fires in the houses – and fear in the hearts – of the Brooklynites of the Eastern District. He had also set the city to talk about, theorize on, and fabricate what had been causing the fires and where they would blaze next. The story you will read lays out the very particulars and the characters involved in the case. It is written by a particularly credible and relevant source of the information, information that was uncovered through some keen and dedicated detective work. For the gumshoe detective work behind this piece of crime investigation was performed by a man who only last year came to learn of this fantastic and amazing tale – fantastic because it was about his family, and amazing because no one in his family […]
BROWNSTONE DETECTIVES & SORDID HISTORY!
This week, the Brownstone Detectives were featured in an article in Brick Underground, entitled “Curious About Your Townhouse’s (maybe sordid) History? Call in a Detective!” For the story, Brian Hartig, lead historian for Brownstone Detectives, was interviewed as he discussed some of the more interesting (and strange) stories he’s uncovered while researching clients’s Brooklyn homes. From the first woman executed in an electric chair in the U.S. (she lived on Hancock Street), to the story about Brooklyn’s very own Boy Arsonist (who lived in Williamsburg and was known as the Boy Firebug), to one of Stuyvesant Heights’s baseball Hall of Famers (on Gates Avenue) – the stories are endless. As an “extra,” the Brick Underground article also features some exclusive Brownstone Detectives tips on how to go about doing research on your own home, revealing some of our most guarded sleuthing techniques!!! 😉 Follow @BrownstoneDetec ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives The story you have just read was composed from extensive historical research conducted by The Brownstone Detectives. We perform in-depth investigations on the historic homes of our clients, and produce for them their very own House History Books. Our hardbound books contain an illustrated and colorful narrative timeline that will bring the history of any house to life. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
BROWNSTONE DETECTIVES IN THE NY POST!
“Because Brooklynite Brian Hartig delves into the history of old New York homes every day, he comes across a few ghost stories,” wrote New York Post writer, Emily Nonko. Hartig, who creates House History Books containing the full histories of his clients’ Brooklyn houses, was told recently that his house was haunted by a benign spirit. (Read the rest of the story at the New York Post website.)
GIVE THE GIFT OF BROOKLYN HISTORY…
We’ve all been there. Each holiday season, you have that one friend or family member on your list who challenges your abilities to find the perfect gift for them. They defy description. They have eclectic tastes. They don’t fit squarely into any box or category. In short – they’re very difficult to shop for. Well, if that person has an historic bent and lives in an historic Brooklyn home, then let the Brownstone Detectives help you this holiday season. We’ll build them a: BROWNSTONE DETECTIVESHOUSE HISTORY BOOK WHAT IS A HOUSE HISTORY BOOK? Our House History Books are home-grown bespoke Brooklyn creations, each telling the complete story of a single historic house or property. To build one, we perform original research on every aspect of a property and its former owners/residents, starting with the original land owners (the arrival of the Dutch) and ending with the current owners of the land and structure (your friend or family member). Then, we get to work on writing your book. WHAT’S INCLUDED IN YOUR HOUSE HISTORY BOOK? • Colorful stories (Did intimate friends of Abraham Lincoln really own your house?), • Richly detailed maps (How did your neighborhood look when your house was built?), • Architectural drawings (Was that addition on the back of your house original?), • Photographs (What did your house look like on the inside in the 1950s?), • Interviews with former owners/residents (What stories are hidden within your home’s past?) • A well-researched, documented, and attributed 50-150 page narrative, […]
BROWNSTONE DETECTIVES GETS AN ILLUSTRATOR
Please help us to welcome David Weitzman to Brownstone Detectives! David writes and illustrates books that evoke another time. And he has been doing so now for more than 30 years. He grew up in Chicago and as a child admittedly spent more time drawing than studying. This behavior, as if often does, landed him in art school. He received a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1952, and later, perhaps to atone for his grammar-school sins, both a BS and MA in history. By the early 1970s he had moved to Covelo, California, where he began to write and illustrate children’s/young adult books about history. Around 1980 he began to specialize in historically-accurate juvenile fiction about American industrial archeology. He has written on airplanes, ships, iron foundries, metal workers, canals, windmills, bridges and subways, but has returned to the subject of steam power a number of times. David joins us to offer freehand and line drawings of our clients’ houses, many of which will grace the covers of their Brownstone Detectives House History Books! David’s first Brownstone Detectives creation is his rendering of 738 Macon Street! Maybe yours will be next! Let us know what you think! Follow @BrownstoneDetec ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives This story was composed from research performed by The Brownstone Detectives. Let us do an in-depth investigation of your house and its former owners and produce your very own House History Book. Your hardbound coffee table book will include an illustrated and colorful narrative […]
