I live in a 1800s brick house in upstate NY,
Ive lived here for 16 years and now being retired have time to fix some long standing issues.  

In short: above the garage door, there is a down drain 3″ corregated steel pipe sloping toward the back yard where water is discharged.  The pipe carries rain water from upper stories.  Over time when it rains: some water hits the top of the slanting pipe and splashes backward on the brick.  But over time the bricks that get hit have spalled.

See the attachment for a (crude) sketch.

The previous owners lived in the home for 50 years so I expect this gutter system was installed in 1955.  They installed the best of everything including 6″ half round gutters.  I am very reluctant to install an ugly modern gutter system.  So some solution that does not require a major change is preferred.  But on the other hand any alteration of the current drain system is viewed from a utilitarian side of the house with garbage cans, etc…..