“Historically, the term ‘townhouse’ implied that the building was a townhouse for someone who had a country home elsewhere, while ‘rowhouse’ implied a more modest urban dwelling,” says Thompson. “But today, ‘townhouse’ is a term also used in suburban areas and can refer to single-family homes within a larger, multifamily housing complex. ‘Townhouse’ suggests a large housing complex, as multifamily developers call it, while ‘rowhouse’ implies a historic structure in an older neighborhood.”

But brown stones are a different case. In general, neither “rowhouse” nor “townhouse” are synonymous with “brownstone,” which is one of the signatures. Architectural styles of Brooklyn in New York. It’s called sandstone because it refers to the reddish-brown sandstone that was quarried in New England and New Jersey and used to build many homes, mostly row houses and townhouses, in New York City in the 1800s. A row house (or townhouse) might be a brownstone, but not all of them are (even those in Brooklyn). In short, brownstone refers to a structure built with a unique material, not an architectural style. However, brownstones in New York City are typically Italianate in style, although many brownstones have been razed to make way for new developments.

History of Row Houses

In America, row houses were a response to the need for decent housing in rapidly growing cities such as New York City or Boston. They allowed the space to be large enough for one or more families to live, but did not waste any land by using common walls between buildings. Their uniform structure and appearance also made it more efficient and economical for builders, lowering their prices.

“Row houses have a small footprint but many stories (two to six) and have traditionally been located near business areas in dense cities where single-family detached homes are rare,” Thompson says.

Not surprisingly, many row houses in the United States date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, when these cities were booming, and are often associated with Victorian architectural styles. As cities and the people living in row houses changed, row houses also changed; From being an economic choice, it has become almost synonymous with urban blight and is now a status symbol in the 21st century.