Before and After

This pair of houses on Union Street near Van Brunt have always held a unique place in the Brooklyn neighborhood surrounding Columbia Street west of the BQE. In a sea of flat-tops, they have sharply peaked roofs, giving them a quaint, Swiss-chalet air.

For years, though, they've languished, untended, their odd coats of pink and green paint peeling slowly away. Until this year. Someone apparently bought the (formerly green) building on the right and gave it a major polished. The old paint was scraped away, and the original charm of the structure was restored. I'm particularly impressed with the careful work done on the scalloped molding bordering the roof, and the restoration of the single arched window on the third floor. Now, if someone would just do the same to the pink jobbie.