Building of the Day: 148 Hoyt Street
Editor’s note: A more recent feature on this building can be found here. The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy. Address: 148 Hoyt Street, corner of…
Editor’s note: A more recent feature on this building can be found here.
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.
Address: 148 Hoyt Street, corner of Bergen St.
Name: The Brooklyn Inn
Neighborhood: Boerum Hill
Year Built: 1851, with an extensive facelift in the 1880’s
Architectural Style: originally Greek Revival, with a later Queen Anne facade
Architects: Thomas Maynard, later alterations, unknown.
Landmarked: Yes
Why chosen: Here is a classic case of an older building being remodeled to resemble a newer style of building, only this one took place 130 years ago. Thomas Maynard, who also built the adjoining group of houses from 150-156 Hoyt, built this corner structure as a tavern with apartments above. All of the buildings were classic late Greek Revival structures, and this one looked very similar to them. In the 1880’s, when a more fanciful exterior was in vogue, the entire facade was changed to reflect this new design sensibility. The cornice became pressed metal, with larger brackets, extending the roof line. Pressed metal bandcourses unite the front and side of the building, and new oriel bays, also on the front and sides of the building give it that classic high Victorian look. A pyramid roof, totally non-functional, is added, as well as the distinctive styling on the storefront level, and heavy looking window hoods grace the Bergen St. side of the building. The work was really well done, and the result is an exceptionally beautiful retail space, and apartments. I like the simplicity and elegance of Boerum Hill’s streetscapes. This Victorian renovation adds a nice touch of whimsey and theatricality to it, and the Brooklyn Inn’s treatment of the space makes it one of the most attractive spaces around.
Photo: Googlemaps
Indeed, these are the same restaurateurs. I had my first veal Orloff there, while a roommate was working as a waitress. (She made more than I did in a fairly well-paying “regular” job.) They were really good chefs and I think their Manhattan restaurant won three or four stars. I lived just two or three blocks away but at that time, I was very cautious about crossing the invisible barrier of Court Street to enter “dangeerous” Boerum Hill! Before that it was the old bar; friends had a big cocktail party there once, taking over the whole establishment.
Thought about it awhile… The restaurant was called Hubert’s and the owners made quite a name for themselves in the late ’70’s moving on up to Manhattan where they were also very successful. They pioneered the current Smith Street scene by 20 years! Found this obit in the NYTimes… not sure if it is the same people.
Karen Allison, 49, Restaurateur With Vision
By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: December 21, 1997
Karen Hubert Allison, who with her husband, Len Allison, lived out every cook’s fantasy of turning a home into a restaurant and later earned three stars for the establishment, Huberts, in Manhattan, died on Tuesday in Maui, Hawaii. She was 49 and had lived in Maui since 1995.
The cause of death was breast cancer, said Dr. Wayne Lavender, a family friend.
When the couple opened their restaurant on East 22d Street in Manhattan in 1981, American restaurants were still in the grip of French traditions. The best restaurants were those whose chefs were trained in other countries and were most comfortable with ingredients and techniques developed thousands of miles away. The Allisons were among the pioneers who advocated exploring America’s own ingredients and traditions.
”They keyed into this very new idea of new American cuisine, which was about finding good producers and good ingredients,” said Peter Hoffman, who cooked at Huberts from 1981 to 1985 and now owns Savoy in SoHo.
Snowman2
I remember discovering the restaurant when I friend had to park on that block-not a good choice around 1990. Anyways, it was called Boerum Hill Cafe with lovely blue patterned plates on the wall and oak dining tables and chairs. Sorry I never got to dine there! I wonder who owned/rented it back then?
it’s one of my favorite places too.
The building appears in exterior shots in the HBO show, “Bored to Death.”
IMBY, way cool info! Thanks!
Anyone has any photos from the early days of this building?
I think in the late seventies it was called Hubert
What fun to learn all this about this delightful building–passed it often and wondered!