BROWNSTONE - 241 CLINTON AVENUE, CLINTON HILL
Being the richest man in Brooklyn, Charles Pratt did many fine and philanthropic things with his money, building nearby Pratt Institute, for one, and this home in 1890 for his son, Charles Millard Pratt. Today it is residence of the Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn. Designed as a Romanesque Revival masterpiece in rich red Roman brick, with a dark green Mediterranean tile roof. The most striking feature of the house is the magnificent arched porte-cochere. The house is adorned with incredible brownstone and terra-cotta ornament, including the Byzantine leaf panel with CMP entwined in it, as well as some faces and other fanciful design. Opus was commissioned to restore many decorative elements of the building, one being the broken ornamental brownstone located at the front entrance of the driveway.

BEFORE / AFTER

Weathered and deteriorated brownstone elements. Opus started the restoration work by cutting out the failed pieces and squaring off the edges (left).

By creating a silicon rubber mold of a nearby duplicate section, Opus cast a new piece, installed, hand carved the seams and color matched the stone to its original; ending up with a completely restored brownstone ornamentation (right).

BEFORE / AFTER

Detail of prepared brownstone (left).

Detail of completely restored brownstone ornamentation (right).