What is Brownstone house?
A '''brownstone house''' or simply '''brownstone''' is a kind of townhouse common in large, historic cities like [[London]], [[New York City]] and [[Boston]]. The term '''brownstone''' refers to the type of [[stone]] that some of these houses are built of, although these townhouses can also be built of other types of stone or [[brick]]. These houses tend to have at least four floors traditionally laid out with the raised [[basement]] or ground floor typically housing servants quarters, any casual recreational facilities and the utility rooms including the main [[kitchen]]. The main floor typically was one floor level above the ground floor, holding the formal rooms ([[dining room]], [[parlour]], [[withdrawing room]], etc) and often called the [[piano nobile]] '''noble level''' or '''parlor floor'''.The floor level or levels above contained the [[bedroom]]s, more casual spaces and beginning in the late 19th century, [[bathroom]]s. Many of these brownstones now have been converted into small [[apartment]] buildings or [[rooming house]]s. [[Category:Houses]]