I know it looks like something you would buy at the meat counter but an échoppe is a particular type of single story home and there are many of them in the Bx neighborhood of Nansouty. Originally built for the working class of early industrial times, an échoppe attempted to mimic, on a very simple scale, the living conditions of the noble chateaux. Échoppes can be singles or doubles featuring an entry door leading down a hallway with a small garden at the rear. Each room is accessed from the hallway with singles being one-sided and doubles being symmetrical. The windows, located front and rear, provide light to the outer rooms only but modern skylights help brighten today’s interiors. Most have unique stone cornices, decorative doors, and tiled roofs and they are highly sought after for comfortable and historical homes. The walk through Nansouty was lovely…two large churches, a Jewish/Portuguese cemetery, and échoppes!
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julijoyeux 