Most of Boston's important early 19th century building were painted originally, or very early. It us though that they were painted to dress up the masonry to make it look more even, or to make it look like stone. Some early buildings were sandpainted, and some were masticked and scored to look like stone. These buildings (State House, Old State House, most c. 1900 churches) were painted multiple times/color schemes according to the change in fashion in the 19th century. In the early decades of the 20th century, the buildings were stripped of paint, and most the icons have remained unpainted since. Dr. Judith E. Selwyn Preservation Technology Associates, Inc. 285 Reservoir Road Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 617 598 2255 fax 617 277 3389 [log in to unmask] _____ From: The listserv where the buildings do the talking [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 3:19 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [newsletters] Re: [BP] what is "Baltimore brick"? In a message dated 2/16/2010 2:31:08 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Brick buildings were painted to look like brick for these reasons; 1) to cover up an advertisement, perhaps for soap or Coke, 2) to make an end wall with bricked-in windows have a uniform appearance, 3) to hide a sloppy pointing job (especially common on the oldest buildings with narrow joints), 4) to hide repairs to the knee wall, 5) to brighten up the neighborhood, and, 6) to keep up with the Liturskis. The foregoing refers, of course, to later painting of brick which was originally painted. Just to be clear: I am interested in the painting of brick buildings ab initio, in the 19th century - which may or may not have happened. LPC has documented a case of some pointing on a West 83rd Street house as being, originally, painted (white!) There are some 1880s houses by Rafael Guastavino on West 78th Street which were, it strongly appears, originally painted. I have run across glancing references to such a practice in other 19th century sources. Of course, in the 20th century washes and other paint-like coatings were applied to certain buildings for, I believe, an "antique" effect, although perhaps that was not explicit. (India House, a brownstone mid-19th century building in lower Manhattan, was given a coat of whitewash in the 1910s by Delano & Aldrich.) Christopher -- **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html -- **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>