There is perhaps no greater real estate redemption story than that of the classic American brownstone, a once-humble row house that now represents extreme wealth and architectural prestige in some of the country’s priciest cities.
Today, the brownstone home is arguably a cultural icon, at least in New York City, having been featured in a myriad of pop culture hits, from “Sex and the City” to “Home Alone 2,” with each appearance on screen only adding to its allure.
Yet, in the 19th century, when brownstones first started popping up in cities along the East Coast—including Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC—the uniform sandstone structures were seen as anything but opulent, having been conceived as a cheap alternative to the grand marble estates that the wealthy resided in…