Architectural Historian Francis Morrone Wants to Teach You His Job

When Francis Morrone, 53, began his career 30 years ago, his architectural history research required him to pour over city records and to hunt for books in libraries.

Not anymore.

Digging over physical documents - those that are on paper and not online - is still necessary, but the internet has given researchers a simpler, and faster, way to find facts.

And on Monday night, Morrone will share with the public how to do this. At the monthly meeting of the Cobble Hill Association, Morrone will teach those in attendance how to research the history of their home.

"Research has become very cheap, and part of my mission is to teach people about what they can do on their own relatively easily," said Morrone over coffee at  this week.

And while the internet has been a blessing in the way it has made research easier, it is easy to imagine it as being a curse for historians. But Morrone says this "transitional period" is just a reflection of things changing, and he isn't worried about the affect on his profession.

"People have access to the tools, and rather than fight that, my goal is to encourage it," he said.

Morrone says everybody in Cobble Hill lives in an historic house, and that anyone who has even a smidgen of interest in what went on in their home prior to living there themselves, should attend on Monday.

"It's a century and a half! You figure something interesting must have happened in this house!" he said.

Knowing this to be true, the Cobble Hill Association has enlisted Morrone to create a website for them with the history of every property in Cobble Hill. The "Cobble Hill History Project" site will also include a wiki where users can enter information about the home they live in, or once lived in.

Morrone, who has written architectural history books and leads extremely popular , has lived in Park Slope for all of his 30 years in New York City, but his knowledge of Cobble Hill is vast. Our neighborhood gentrified first, he said, in the 1950s, and is architecturally older that Park Slope.

"There are no Greek Revivals in Park Slope," he said, referring to the architectural style of brick rowhouse built in the 1830's and 40s, which can be spotted by their entryway columns at the front door.

Morrone is full of knowledge. Did you know Brownstone's are actually brick houses with just a layer of local sandstone covering it? Head to the discussion on Monday for more...

The Cobble Hill Association presents a discussion with Francis Morrone on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks St., Conference Room A. Free.