Even by Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, standards, the John Rankin House at #440 Clinton Street at Carroll is impressive. It looks to be a cube-shaped Greek Revival brick building with tasteful ornamentation such as Doric pilasters at each corner and in the doorways. A flag hangs outside the entrance to the Frank Guido Funeral Home, which has occupied the building for the last few decades.
Merchant John Rankin built the house in 1840. At the time, it was surrounded by fields before the street grid was built in earnest, and commanded views of the Buttermilk Channel, Governors Island and Manhattan beyond.
Some views of the gorgeous interior can be seen at the Brooklyn Eagle, where owner Frank Guido and his daughter say they have seen ghosts walking the halls.
My thinking is, if you want to see ghosts, you’ll see them.
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9/27/18