Head for the Hills

A few weeks ago Tim and I took a stroll in Kingshighway Hills to giggle at the outrageous details of the English Tudor Style (or Revival) homes.

In the 60s my Aunt had an apartment on Oleatha. When we visited my sister and I ran out of her building to skip along the novel interior sidewalk that cuts through the middle of the block.

5245 Lindenwood.
The door is carved and has a leaded glass window. It's for sale, click on the post title to view the interior.


Brick and limestone mosaic under an arch.

Crazy details abound: A massive limestone lentil over a window with brick work that cuts into the stone.

This house is completely made of Clunker bricks and borders one of the sidewalks.


Brick and stone with black vitrolite and a winding side walk:

Black vitrolite surrounds leaded glass windows with flower pots and a plant:

Crescent moon rising over a setting sun.

House with turret and crazy details:


See that 'trumpet' window below? When we first walked by we thought a kid had stuffed its big white plush dog against the glass. After admiring the house for a few minutes, the toy moved! It was a huge dog that had crammed itself into the space.
Check out that sheared brick work above the window.

Celestial details are everywhere. Click to enlarge to see the crescent moon and star leaded glass window.

Severe gables:


A few of the house have Roman tile roofs:


Below: One of the two sidewalks that are doubled in size to accommodate pedestrians, strollers, and wagons.

Dyed Mortar and Lava Brick

The range of color in these bricks is astounding. Most delightful is that just one brick can present with many colors.

The mortar was dyed a a deep beige to resonate with the brick. The color is consistent on the building.

Here's the building:

Granitoid sidewalk

When I was a child a hundred years ago this is how the sidewalks looked throughout the city. They presented a cohesive path for walking to school but were hell on roller skates.

They also didn't age well. Water would snuggle between a piece of granite and the mortar, freeze during the winter and float the rocks out in the spring rains. By the 70's sidewalks were being replaced. I remember the brass sidewalk markers on our street that read Laid 1910 and the red and yellow fire alarm box in the corner of McDonald and Roger.

Granitoid sidewalk, Kingshighway Hills:


Iron in granitoid curb

Sarah & I go to Uncle Bill's then stroll Kingshighway Hills

Sarah came to visit over the holidays and suggested we go to Uncle Bill's. Now she's back in NY working on a masters in Neuroscience while this rocket scientist realizes I neglected to take a photo of her.
Love you, Sarah!

The corner of the building is actually an angle so the bricks cut a corner (my frst brick joke.)


Original mortar.


Wall sculpture in the Ladies

Then we took a walking tour.



Sarah thought this was a bricked in window but it's original to the building.
The brick bonds in K. Hills are superb.

What makes this building exceptional (other than the crazy brick bonds) is the popped out front that encloses the front doors. The first floor tenant gets the extra bonus of a stained glass window in the entry.

The copper roof rocks too.

Pop Quiz: Name the various courses of brick used on this house (no reading ahead).

Help me decide which is better, the herringbone brick bond or the leaded glass window.


Kennard School with its intricate glazed terra cotta.



/s320/k+hills.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291417410750759634" />

Beau is shocked

Holy cats! Someone painted their concrete side walk pink.

Beau contemplates lifting a leg.

Art Deco Four Family Redux

Click on the title above to see photos of my first sojourn to this building.

We had the good fortune to meet an exiting resident of this building today and he invited us in to view the interior.

Plaster walls gently curve to meet the ceiling.

Kitchen grotto: Probably designed as a resting spot for the phone which would have been Bakelite.


Deep mint green tile with a black border that resonates with the black vitrolite on the exterior of the building.

Matching bathtub.

The best: The brass peep hole on the back door of the apartment. There's a U track below the slates with a brass ball.

Slide the brass ball to either side and the slates open.

Kingshighway Hills

Most of the buildings along Oleatha in Kingshighway Hills are two and four family apartments.

They all have matching garages and the face brick covers all four walls, not just the front of the buildings. Black vitrolite, fancy ass brickwork, glass block windows, and elaborate limestone details each building.



Dreamy white brick!






This brick column was added:


Matching garages,