Long ago, there was the oldest, most beautiful pirate ship in all of New York city. Pirate Lockwood de Forest and his team of Triple elephants and hundreds of Indians secretly moved the massive pirate ship into his neighborhood. Black, with Indian wood carvings of birds and flowers, the ship was home to Pirate Lockwood. He was a tall New Yorker with thick bushy hair from ear to ear and walked the neighborhood with a long steel blade by his side. Of course, history will not tell you this. But, I tell you the truth. Pirate Lockwood loved New York and loved the sea. But in 1800's Greenwich Village, it was against the law to have a pirate ship or any ship in New York city. It's still true today. But Lockwood was smart. When the city was sleep and the moon was bright, he and the Triple elephants would sneak the ship into the city piece by piece. Little by little. And to hide their deeds, Pirate Lockwood made the ship look like a house. 200 years later, the ceiling and the stern or back of the ship are still here in New York city.
ADULT
Other than dressing like a pirate, Lockwood de Forest most resembles the actor Zach Galifianakis. Pale skin. Thick bushy hair from ear to ear, he was an artist and designer of the day. Before Punk rock. Before the hipsters. His Greenwich Village neighbors would have been awestruck to see a 2nd floor protruding oriel window with its intricate filigree and relief carvings of birds and flowers. The real housewives of 1800's New York city, if you could imagine, would have had plenty to gossip about. What kind of name is Lockwood? What is a filigree? And, why is he wearing a sword? Inspired by his wedding trip to India, De Forest decorated the facade of the 7 E.10th Street home with low relief carvings and created a spectacular Indian Wood ceiling both produced in a Ahmedabad factory. Introducing Teak wood to Manhattan was exotic and later earned the De Forest home, "The Most Beautiful Indian House in America".
