From New York Times writer Christopher Gray: "Herkimer Street, from Bedford to Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is a perfect urban jumble: old frame houses smothered in aluminum siding; apartment buildings jammed in next to tiny brownstones; an empty mansion; a Baptist church in the Islamic style. Development reached Bed-Stuy after the Civil War, and most of the block’s buildings went up around 1880, including the standard brownstone row running from 13 to 27. There is a corresponding brownstone row on the south side, Nos. 18 to 26, still fairly unchanged. Over time, each one was treated to a different color: salmon, ivory, buff, gray, a chromatic miscellany far more charming than the original uniform brown. Back on the north side, the long row at Nos. 45 to 55 are two-story brownstone dollhouses with arched windows.The usual tall rowhouse imposes a tyranny on its owner -- lots of space, but just where you don't need it, four or five flights up! The two-story version is an exceptionally civilized solution. A curious thing is these were built in 1880, just like the taller houses on the street -- usually the smaller the building, the older it is. " Full article here. (Photo credit: Michelle Agins.)