Goodbye Broken Angel House
If the dreary weather hasn’t already dampened your mood, then this certainly will: Clinton Hill’s favorite high-art eyesore, the Broken Angel House, is officially no more.
Yesterday, DNAinfo reported that the once-habitable art project, which consisted of layer upon layer of plywood and glass laid in gorgeous fractal patterns, was finally torn down to make way for eight units of condos. Non-Brooklynites may recognize it as the house that appears in the background of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.
The project began in 1979 when self-taught architect, Arthur Wood and his wife, Cynthia, purchased the home, working on the ambitious project while raising their two children in it. In 2006, a fire consumed the house and the Department of Buildings condemned it. Within a year, the house went into foreclosure and, despite several attempts to save it, was sold for a cool $4.1 million to Barrett Design and Development in 2012. The condos should be complete by 2015.
For a more in-depth look at what we’ve lost, read Hyperallergic’s 2013 story on the Broken Angel House here.
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