Mr. Gray,

I remember at some distant point in memory being shown a catalog of "historic
reproduction" vinyl siding elements by a member of the NY Landmarks
Conservancy. If the building has vinyl as an integral part of its heritage
then preservation of vinyl is a legitimate consideration. I look forward to a
continued career in EIFS restoration, why not vinyl?

In older Williamsburg Italian neighborhood that I first lived in Brooklyn all
the houses seem to have acquired aluminum siding at one time. These were
mostly victorian shingle houses, I suspect from the occasional unsided
building, that at one period received faux brick asphalt siding. The fading
pastel reds, greens and whites of the aluminum are now a part of the
character of the neighborhood. It feels right if you live there. I'd like to
know how it came about that the community as a whole switched to aluminum
siding... I think it predates the craze for vinyl siding, and has certainly
outlasted the communal impluse to switch to a newer siding material. Was
there a mad aluminum siding salesman that was Italian, or did the frugal,
hard working community believe that they were doing the right thing for the
money? What were the problems with the original wood shingle siding to lead
to the faux brick siding, and what the problems with the faux brick siding to
lead to families in a community parting with their silver for aluminum?

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