Photo of a house in Victorian Flatbush via mercurialn's Flickr.
Brooklynometry has a heartwarming tale from the days of old New York. The story is of one anonymous Brooklynite's family home in Victorian Flatbush which was about to be lost during the Depression when a west coast well-wisher stepped in and purchased it for $1 (plus taxes). The catch was that she promised to leave it to the family in her will.
Thankfully she was an honest person, and she did just that, so the house is now back in the family. Between the early 40's when this deal took place, and the time of her death in the late 70s, she turned the house into a boarding house. Sailors, soldiers, merchant marines, businessmen, and even a few businesswomen (including my mother when she was in her early 20s) rented rooms there. It was run very strictly; no visitors allowed upstairs, and doors had to be left unlocked during the day so the homeowner could come in and clean up/make the beds. She also made breakfast for the roomers.
This woman was quite smart, she got a house for $1 and made a profit off of it! When she died in the 1970s, the family got ownership of the house again. This would so not happen these days.
Victorian Flatbush was home to many boarding houses, now defunct Brooklyn Bridge magazine recounted the tale of one. And speaking of old houses in Flatbush, have you checked out the Wyckoff House lately? The museum is open through March 31st, and it's the oldest building in New York City! Built in 1652, it's also one of the oldest wooden structures in the country, and has thankfully dodged development in the area. Get there soon, it won't be long before someone realizes that Wyckoff House Luxury Condos has more of a 21st century ring to it!
