Christopher Gray gives it up this week for a “secret secret” of New York City, the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Commandant’s House. Formerly known as Quarters A, the house is one of the city’s finer examples of the Federal style, from the detailing of the roof and cornice to the mantelpieces that dot the house. Originally built in 1805, the house was added to in 1905 and fell into private hands in 1964. Its most distinguishing architectural feature: An oval dining room said to be modeled on the White House’s Oval Office. In 1872, a reporter from the Brooklyn Eagle commented that he house had “a look that makes one feel that it must be a pleasant thing to be the commandant.” Indeed. Anyone been inside or know who owns it now?
A Federal Style Gem [NY Times]