Want To See How Your Apartment Was Originally Marketed?

Columbia University Libraries has posted a collection of old real estate materials online and it gives a revealing look at how some of the buildings in our neighborhood were marketed in their early days.

Of the nearly 60 buildings in the archives, the brochure for Patio Gardens is the most lush. Where promotional materials for places such as 45 Hawthorne, 145 Lincoln Road, or Maple and Flatbush are 5-page, black & white leaflets with sample floor-plans and (in some cases) lists of amenities, Patio Gardens gets an elaborate package with ad copy, an elegant photo and spot color.

Of course, it's been a good long while since Patio Gardens' opening. The fortress-like entrance is a little foreboding today, but I suppose that's helpful if you're living on Flatbush Avenue. That said, I've been in one of the apartments and found it quite lovely.

Comments

[Matt]

This is fabulous! Thanks!

[jessica]

Interesting to see that the overwhelming majority of apartments in all of these buildings appear to be one-bedrooms.