Documenting a Brownstone's Rebirth

In 2018, the New York Times published a story about an unusual Carroll Gardens brownstone for sale. 12 Second Place had been painstakingly restored during the brownstone revival movement of the 1960s and 70s, and had been owned by the same couple, Jane and Thor Rinden, ever since. Moreover, the Rindens had documented their five-year renovation process (1968-1973) in a charming and intimate scrapbook filled with photographs and memories. Fascinated by this story, I left a comment on the article, and fortuitously enough, the Rindens' estate decided that the scrapbook should come to the Brooklyn Public Library.

Both Rindens were poets, and Thor was a visual artist. The scrapbook showcases their talents. The cover is handpainted, presumably by Thor, and depicts the brownstone's tall windows.

The dedication page has an abstracted representation of the home's signature spiral staircase.

The dedication reads: "For B.D.H., whose understanding, confidence, great generosity, muscle and love made an old house smile proudly again. XXX J.L.R., T.W.R. and M.R. [Jane, Thor, and their dog Mushroom] 1977." "B.D.H." is presumably Bernice Deibler Herb, Jane's mother, who had her own bedroom in the house.

The Rindens bought their house for $28,000 on September 13, 1968 from John Ferriolo and Rose Capuano (a photograph of whom is included in the scrapbook), whose late mother had previously owned the house. Their real estate agent was friend and neighbor Carol Salguero. At the time, the neighborhood was redlined, and they could not secure a mortgage from a bank. Jane's parents, however, offered them a mortgage. The Rindens moved in on November 18, 1968. In December, they adopted their dog, Mushroom, on whom they doted. This photo is captioned "father and son":

One of Thor's abstract paintings hangs in the background (Architectural Eight, 1969). Thor's artwork makes several appearances in the scrapbook.

Next to this one, he wrote, "To photograph new paintings, we had to take them through the kitchen to the sunlight of the back garden. Here is one awaiting a sunny day." The painting is Architectural Ten, 1969.

In this photo, Thor is drinking champagne in a suit in his mother-in-law Bernice's bedroom as they celebrated on the day she moved in. His painting Untitled (white, green, and aluminum) works perfectly with her green furniture.

The focus of the scrapbook, however, is the renovation work the couple undertook to restore their 19th century home to its former glory. This included taking up the wood parquet floors piece-by-piece so that the floor could be leveled (and the sagging around the staircase corrected), then replacing the parquet as carefully as they had removed it. Jane undertook this project, and there are several photos of her hunched over the floor hard at work.

Jane also took the lead on many decorative decisions. Here she is trying out some drapes on the house's tall windows, which the couple restored to their original height after a former owner had shortened them. They even scavenged in abandoned homes in Williamsburg for the necessary counterweights to recreate the historic window machinery.

I was also struck by how contemporary the finished rooms felt. For example, this photograph of the front sitting room could easily have been taken in a Brooklyn brownstone today, right down to the (currently exceedingly trendy) globular ceiling light.

The couple also worked hard to landscape their front and back gardens. The scrapbook documents several iterations of the unusually deep front yard, a hallmark of these particular blocks in Carroll Gardens. The iron work is a mix of original and salvaged.

The backyard featured an appealing serpentine path, handcrafted by the Rindens with pink bricks salvaged from construction work at the Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill. Jane had noticed the bricks being discarded on her walk home from her job teaching English at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights.

The scrapbook notes that the backyard was blessed with "rich black soil," and the Rindens grew beautiful flowers and enormous vegetables, of which there are many images in the scrapbook.

Throughout the scrapbook, Jane and Thor Rinden's fun and vivacious personalities show through, from goofing off while working on the house, to hosting guests and get-togethers, to their fashionable wardrobes.

In addition, it's clear how much the Rindens were intertwined with their neighbors and the whole Carroll Gardens community. Many neighbors and friends make appearances in the scrapbook's pages, including Joe Cupo, Paul E. Paddock, Ousman Sallah, Yura and Bernie Mohr, and Mary Tyl and neighbors Alex Vella and Carolina Salguero. Several other friends and neighbors are noted only by first name, and mention is made of the family next door, the Sabatinos.

The scrapbook also came with a set of black and white photographs of Second Place and the surrounding neighborhood.

The finding aid for the Jane and Thor Rinden scrapbook and photographs (BCMS.0093) is now live, and we encourage you to visit us to take a look at it any time during our opening hours. We also hold a collection of Thor's handmade greeting cards (also available as a book), as well as Jane's memoir and a book of Thor's poetry. You can see more of Thor's art on his artist website.