Walkabout: Meet Me at the Pouch

Clinton Hill was one of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn during the latter half of the 19th century. There had been money in the area for years before, as the Hill, as it was called, was a peaceful and beautiful respite high above the rigors and grittiness of business below, on the waterfront and on the streets of downtown Brooklyn. But Clinton Hill saw a building boom of incredible proportions because of one industry, and one family. The family was the Pratt’s, and the business was oil. To be sure, there were plenty of other rich folk in the Hill; highly successful merchants, industrialists, lawyers, and financiers. But Clinton Avenue, specifically, was home to Big Oil. As Charles Pratt and his sons settled into their mansions, so too did other oilmen, building large mansions near the Pratt’s, or further up the Hill. In chronicling the housing stock of the street, for landmarking, even the LPC report notes that there was a “colony of oil barons” on Clinton Avenue.

In 1887, architect William Mundell designed a very large brownstone mansion and adjoining stables at 345 Clinton Avenue, between Lafayette and Greene. The house was for Robert Graves, president of the Robert Graves Company, designers and manufacturers of wallpaper of the highest quality. Mr. Graves had done quite well in the wall paper business, and this new mansion on fashionable Clinton Avenue was to be his showplace. Unfortunately, death knows no mortal timetable, and Robert Graves lost his beloved wife months before the house was finished. He died only weeks after that, in 1888, some said, of a broken heart. The property went up for auction, and in 1890, was bought by Alfred Pouch, an oilman with the J.A. Bostwick Company of New York.

Alfred Pouch had a hugely successful and interesting life. He was born in Brooklyn, on Jay Street, between Myrtle Avenue and Lawrence Street. His father was a cooper, and the family came to the United States from the island of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of England. His father, Alfred Sr, and his uncle married sisters, and had one son each. He began his business career at a wholesale provisions company. When the Civil War broke out, he joined the elite 23rd Regiment of Brooklyn, one of the city’s most prestigious regiments. After the War, he went to Ohio, and went into the oil business with the J.A. Bostwick Company. In 1871, he decided to move back to Brooklyn, were he joined Charles Pratt’s Standard Oil, which had merged with the Bostwick Company. He was the head of the crude oil division, a job he would hold for the rest of his life.

Oil was very good to him, and his considerable wealth was enhanced by his real estate dealings, and other connections. During his lifetime, he also was president of the American Dock and Trust Co., which promoted the Brooklyn Elevated Railroads, second Vice President of the Hamilton Trust Co. and an incorporator of the Brevoort Savings Bank. He was the Director of the NY Produce Exchange, the Manufacturer’s Trust Co. the Assurance Company of America, American Union Life Insurance Co, and Vice President of the National Standard Insurance Company. He was president of the Newburg Electric Railroad Company and a member of both the Produce and Cotton Exchanges. Somehow, he also found time to be a trustee of the Classon Avenue Presbyterian Church and a member of the Union League Club. He also had a wife and six children. And he loved art.

Alfred Pouch was a passionate collector of art, and upon buying the Graves Mansion, he built a wooden addition onto the building to house his large art collection. Most of his pieces were works of contemporary artists. In an unprecedented move, he also began to host charitable and social events. The enormous mansion was filled with the finest furnishings and finishings, and soon all of Brooklyn society had a new place to gather and gossip.

It seems to have begun with a benefit for the Brooklyn Home for Consumptives, in April of 1891. Pouch threw open his house for a gala benefit for that organization, which included mounting an impressive gallery show, and in an evening, a party venue was born. Ironically, the Brooklyn Eagle referred to the house as the “Graves Mansion” several times in this and subsequent stories, but it wouldn’t take long for the Pouch Mansion to become a household name. The opportunity to get inside a swanky new mansion was not lost on anyone, including the rich, and the Eagle reporter took his opportunity to gush that the price of admission was worth it just to be able to go inside the house.

Soon every charitable function in Brooklyn seemed to be at the Pouch Mansion. It soon became possible to rent a room for an event, so smaller meetings, lectures and gatherings began to be held there, as well. There were dinner/dances, parties, and gallery shows. It’s inevitable that the neighbors would start to complain, as the stately mansion went from mourning bunting to more festive decorations, both inside and out. The Eagle pens a small story in 1892 in which they say that “some of the neighborhood’s older residents say that the establishment of a dancing hall, for which the big building is being utilized, will not be of substantial advantage to the vicinity and that there is a possibility of the deterioration of the thoroughfare.” But those objections were quelled by the endorsement of former mayor Schroeder and others, who lived nearby, who quite enjoyed the venue.

It’s unclear when the Pouch’s moved out of the house, but they did soon move into a large house on Greene Street, around the corner. In 1899, Alfred Pouch died of cystitis. He was only 55 years old. He left his mother, his widow, five sons and a daughter. Mrs. Harriet Pouch died in 1905. The mansion was free to become the most popular venue in Brooklyn, and every celebratory event possible took place there over the years. A large marquee advertised “The Pouch”. The upper floors became studios for musicians and artists. There are many advertisements in the Eagle for teachers of art, voice and other instruments. Downstairs, weddings and balls, political and religious meetings and rallies were held. The mansion continued to be a popular venue until it was torn down during World War II, when most of the block was razed to build housing for Navy Yard personnel. Today, the Clinton Hill Co-ops stand in its place. While the housing was necessary, it’s too bad the mansion didn’t survive. It must have been quite the place, the Pouch. GMAP