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Broken Angel House Creator Dies at 72
By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 13, 2010
Modified Feb 13, 2010
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By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Feb 13, 2010
Modified Feb 13, 2010
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Photo by Sarah Mulligan
After a long fight with cancer, Cynthia Wood, the 72-year-old co-owner and creator of Bed-Stuy’s one-of-a-kind Broken Angel House died recently. There’s a memorial with a note outside the landmark, that shares beautiful details about Wood’s life. Among other things it describes her “purple hair and dynamic energy” and the circumstances under which the idea for the house was born. Wood was walking with her husband Arthur when she found an angel figurine in the gutter. At home they rebuilt it, making it "better than the original," the same way they would later rebuild the house. The full text of the note is after the break.
Here are more photos. Those interested in attending a memorial should email [email protected].
The full text of the note:
Cynthia Wood, 72, passed away on Saturday January 30th 2010 after a year long battle with liver cancer. She had been a breast cancer surviver [sic] and had been in remission for 35 years. She was surrounded by her family when she passed. We are planning to have a memorial for her near the house in the spring. Those who are interested in attending should email me at [email protected] and I will contact you with more information.
I would like to share with you a little bit of Cynthia. Those who knew her, knew she was an exciting, eccentric, fun and brilliant creative woman who gave birth to two children and an inspiring building in Brooklyn.
Cynthia and Arthur Wood bought the shell of a building in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn in 1979. They spent the next 30 years creating a home which brought mystery, magic and majesty to a small cul-de-sac in Brooklyn. Cynthia designed stain glass windows out of discarded bottles and helped construct concrete angels in the rafters. Cynthia and the house both appeared in a number of films including "The Spirit of Notre Dame".
At the age of 18 she met her husband Arthur Wood when they were both ice skating on dates with other people at New York's Wollman rink. He said he "looked into her eyes and it was love at first sight". They were together for 55 years.
The idea for the building Broken Angel was born from a romantic stroll the couple took through Staten Island. Arthur and Cynthia found a figurine of an angel lying broken and discarded in the gutter. He took it home with them and rebuilt it for her, reconfiguring it so that it was "better than the original". A little while after that when they found the building that would become their home and life's work they were reminded of that angel and incorporated that same creativity into rebuilding the structure. They named it "Broken Angel" and hoped to resurrect it with as much success.
The building became the backdrop for the movie "Dave Chappelle's Block party" in 2004. Cynthia with her purple hair and dynamic energy became an eccentric charismatic figure in the film and even appears in the movie poster.
In 2006 a small fire at the house brought it to the attention of the Department of Buildings. The Woods were forced to vacate and were even arrested when they refused to leave the premises. The building department threatened to tear down their home and it was saved for a time by a collaboration with a local developer who wanted to turn the building into condominiums and an artist's space. Unfortunately, due to a number of legal complications, the work remains uncompleted and the Wood's spent their last year together trying to fight foreclosure on the house.
Cynthia Wood is survived by her husband Arthur Wood, her daughter Elizabeth and her son Christopher. She was grandmother to 4 children; Sebastian, Tabitha, Sabrina and Emma. Hopefully her creative legacy will continue to survive bringing a little bit of magic to the Brooklyn skyline.
Tagged
Bedford-Stuyvesant
broken angel house
brooklyn
cancer
cynthia woods
memorial
Sabrina Jaszi
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