The stone masons on a Clinton Hill building

The Royal Castle Apartments have towered over the corner of Clinton and Gates Avenues since 1912.

And so have these serious-minded stone masons, carved into the facad—reminding passers-by that constructing gorgeous architecture takes skilled hands.

This corner is one of the loveliest in a neighborhood bursting with interesting, well-preserved mansions and brownstones.

But then, they didn’t call Clinton Avenue the Fifth Avenue of Brooklyn for nothing.

Brownstoner has a cool writeup with more photos and history of the Royal Castle Apartments here.

Tags: Brooklyn architecture, Clinton and Gates Avenues, Clinton Avenue Brooklyn, Clinton Hill Brooklyn, Clinton Hill mansions, Fifth Avenue of Brooklyn, figures carved on New York buildings, gargoyles and grotesques, grotesques of New York, Royal Castle Apartments