Brooklyn's Broken Angel Building

We've long been obsessed with Clinton Hill's Broken Angel building. It sits on the corner of Downing and Quincy, just a few blocks South of Pratt, but it's visible from a bunch of spots around the neighborhood. The building is a work-in-progress by Arthur Wood, a "self-taught" architect and painter. It resembles a Brooklyn tenement version of a Antoni Gaudi building-- compare the exterior to the Sagrada Famiia church, or Casa Battlo in Barcelona. According to this Times article from 2002, Wood bought the building in 1971 for $2000, and has been working on it ever since.

If you've never seen Broken Angel, you're in luck. Corie sent in this link to a 111-picture Broken Angel set on Flickr. JimmyLegs says the pix were taken by Arthur Wood's son! The set is full of amazing interior shots complete with dusty dolls, strange stained glass, and half-completed walls. There are also cat-shots! Check them out.

Clinton Hill's Broken Angel Burning

Tuesday, October 10, 2006, by Lockhart

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[Photo by Reidab on Flickr via Gothamist]

It's a day of destruction in the once-peaceful borough of Brooklyn. First a crane came down at Red Hook Ikea; now, legendary Clinton Hill building Broken Angel has caught fire. The building, a previous Rumblings notable, was described here last year as an "in-progress work of art and residence of Arthur Wood, and Best Urban Folly of 2001." Curbed tipsters whispered at the time that it's a mess inside. Hmmm.

This Flickr photoset, via Gothamist, makes it appear the damage is restricted to the upper turrets of the building.
· Oh No! Broken Angel is Burning! [Gothamist]
· BREAKING: Broken Angel on Fire! [Brooklyn Record]
· Rumblings & Bumblings: Brooklyn Angels [Curbed]

Condos, Not Chappelle, to Save Brooklyn's Broken Angel

Photo: NYTimes.com

Last time we checked in with Broken Angel — the Clinton Hill building that sprouts a code-defying crown of striking annexes — its owners' son was trying to line up Michel Gondry and Dave Chappelle for benefit shows, and Chappelle was saying he was willing to help. Now it seems like Chappelle's help may not be needed. The answer to Broken Angel's woes could be, well, the answer to absolutely everything these days: more condos.

The owners, Arthur and Cynthia Wood, reached a deal with a local developer who will convert the building into residences. The Woods will keep an apartment and an art studio in it, and the ground floor will house some sort of "community space." The Broken Angel stands on a sturdy foundation of a former Brooklyn Trolley HQ; the big question, of course, is whether anyone will get to live on its upper floors, with their junkyard-Gaudi stained-glass windows, and whether those windows will even survive the conversion. Of course, maybe the Woods will get really lucky and Dash Snow will deign to ejaculate on the thing. Those condos would be worth a fortune.

Video: Broken Angel Clips from 'Block Party'

With the fate of Cynthia and Arthur Wood hanging in the balance, we thought this would be a good time for everyone who hasn't seen Dave Chappelle's 2003 movie Block Party to check out this excerpt that provides a close-up of the idiosyncratic building and its unique owners. According to a Daily News article today, the couple was ordered out of the building by DOB but the order has not been enforced yet."This has put my wife into a distraught state and also myself because this is like Nazi Germany as far as I'm concerned," said Wood, 75. "It's emotional terrorism."