An Article a Friend Might Enjoy? - Send it!

Something I do on a regular basis is sending articles I've read to people I know.  In our busy world, it's refreshing to get an article via email or regular mail not to mention the thought behind it. I try to make sure it's enjoyable or interesting for the person.

Recently, a good friend sent me a newspaper clipping of a building in my former Brooklyn neighborhood. This friend and I lived directly across from the dwelling for many years. It was abandoned during much of my time there although I did witness the transformation to condominiums.

A few paragraphs from the New York Times article are below:

The 4.5-story building, known more popularly as the Graham Home for Old Ladies, was the creation of John B. Graham, an apparently generous 19th-century lawyer who financed the living quarters “in consequence of his sympathy with the indigent gentlewomen who had, by previous culture and refinement, been unfitted to accept willingly the public asylum provided by the state,” according to the Clinton Hill Historic District Designation Report of 1981.

Back in the 1800s, to be accepted as a resident, “a lady had to be over 60 and bring satisfactory testimonials of the propriety of her conduct and the respectability of her character,” according to an article in The Fort Greene Association Newsletter, published in 2001, the year the building was converted into 25 condos, “and come provided with a good bed and furniture for her room.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/realestate/31Deal1.html?scp=1&sq=a+refuge+lives+on+as+a+condo&st=nyt

Next time you come across an interesting article, take a few moments to email it to someone or drop it in the mail. I don't receive many in the aforementioned manner although when I do, it always brings a smile to my face.

I encourage you to read this historical piece particularly if you have lived in Brooklyn.   Thanks for sending it T!

Happy Gswede Sunday!

Condominiums today, this is how it appeared in the 19th century.