Broken Angel is one of our favorite buildings in Clinton Hill that is often overlooked as it’s located on a quiet, infrequently traveled sort of cul de sac. This architectural marvel began as a 4-story tenement building and was transformed into an impressive 9-story structure made by hand and carefully curated from found materials including glass bottles.
As the structure stands today, the upper floors were sadly lost in a fire but the remaining building is gorgeous.
As the Story goes…
Artists Arthur and Cynthia Wood bought the former Brooklyn Trolley headquarters at a city auction in 1979. They paid a mere $2,000 for the four-story, 10,000-square-foot building. And then they began to turn it into art. This architectural marvel had expansive floor through rooms, a waterfall and hot tub in the basement and various levels with makeshift atriums and the addition of five stories complete with camera obscura. Found materials included a multitude of stained glass and re-purposed glass bottles to make up the many window surfaces and glass walls.
The best-known element of Broken Angel was on the roof: the Woods constructed a spectacular 40-foot wood-and-glass sculpture on a mirrored platform, which made the whole structure seem to be floating in the clouds.
A fire in 2006 sparked the end of Broken Angel where many legal battles were lost forcing Arthur and Cynthia to seek refuge in their car when their home was deemed an illegal structure.
It is now rumored that this famed property (as also seen in Dave Chapelle’s Block Party) will be ultimately turned into condominiums much like of the rest of the neighborhood.
The cache is not placed on the Broken Angel property and we urge you to admire the building but not disturb it. While this is a quiet stretch of street, it is residential and also home to a busy Salvation Army so extreme stealth is required.
Congratulations to *Jeremy*, datzme11 and LegInfantry for FTF