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Walk a block in Manhattan, Fort Greene, or the Upper West Side and you can read a century and a half of domestic ambitions in the brownstone stoops, pressed-tin cornices, and deep window reveals. Each façade hides a puzzle: floorplates carved into narrow bays, old joists bearing leading architects in New York the memory of coal fireplaces, quirky party walls, and stairs that make furniture deliveries feel like a tactical spo