Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Richard Upjohn House
Address: 296 Clinton Street
Cross Streets: Corner Baltic Street
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Year Built: 1842-43, alterations and additions: between 1860 and 1893
Architectural Style: Greek Revival. 1893 addition is Romanesque Revival
Architect: Richard Upjohn, alterations and additions by Richard M. Upjohn
Other Work by Architect: Christ Church, Cobble Hill, Grace Church, Church of the Pilgrims, now our Lady of Lebanon, Brooklyn Heights, Trinity Church, Manhattan, (father) St. George Episcopal, Bed Stuy, St. Paul’s Church, Cobble Hill, CT State Capitol, Hartford, (son) gates of Green-Wood Cemetery (both).
Landmarked: Yes, part of Cobble Hill HD (1969)

The story: One would not necessarily think that behind this rather humble and plain façade lived one of the most important architects of the mid-19th century and his very talented son. Richard Upjohn, Sr. was one of this country’s most influential architects of his day, the leader of the American Gothic Revival movement, and the designer of some of the most beautiful and important examples of Gothic Revival church architecture in the country. Most people may not know him by name, but for many, Broadway’s Trinity Church, in Lower Manhattan, is the quintessential New York church, made even more iconic by 9/11. That was Richard Upjohn.

He was born in England, only twenty miles from Salisbury Cathedral, and grew up with the Gothic churches and medieval keeps that would influence his work. Trained as a carpenter, surveyor, and draftsman, he came to the United States in 1829 at the age of 27. He lived in Boston, and began his career as an architect there; introducing Gothic principals to churches he designed in Massachusetts and Maine. Catching the attention of Rev. Jonathan Wainwright of Manhattan’s Trinity Church, the oldest Episcopal church in the city, he was brought to NYC to consult on repairs to the church. The church, the second to stand at that location, needed too many repairs, so he ended up designing a brand new church, and was able for the first time to implement many of his ideas about Gothic into this church. It remains a masterpiece. (more…)