From mansions to tenements, when it comes to housing, New York has it all. This New York Public Library collection examines housing in New York since the mid-19th century, with a particular focus on vernacular and wood-frame structures across the five boroughs.

This large Colonial Revival building was constructed in 1899 as the home for Thomas Brush, a Brooklyn builder. The architects were a Connecticut architectural firm of brothers George and Charles Palliser. They designed this home to compliment the one at 1000 Ocean Avenue next door, the home of Thomas Brush's son-in-law. The home was so lauded when built that it was written up in the magazine Scientific American, which detailed the sculptures by famed Boston sculptor Charles Emmel and the silver plated exposed pipes in the bathrooms. The original owner lost the home in 1913 when it when into foreclosure, and then it went through a series of owners until 1929 when it was bought by a Jewish congregation. Temple Beth Ohr owned and used the building until the mid 1990s when it was sold again, this time to a Pentecostal church. During their ownership the building deteriorated greatly. But since 2008 it has been restored and it houses a number of doctors offices.