Building of the Day: 22-26 Cheever Place

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Town houses
Address: 22-26 Cheever Place
Cross Streets: Kane and DeGraw Streets
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Year Built: 1971-72
Architectural Style: Modern Colonial Revival
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: The block is landmarked (1969), these houses were built afterwards. They may be listed as non-contributing buildings within the HD.

The story: The oldest houses on this block are numbers 10 and 12 Cheever Place, which date back to 1839. Those houses were built for rental income, allowing their original and subsequent owners the opportunity to live in their homes, and rent out space for some extra money. That must have also been the idea behind the newest houses on the block, this four house group further down at 22-26 Cheever. As unlikely as it seems for these 20th century homes to be in an early 19th century neighborhood, they now join the mixture of styles and eras represented here in Cobble Hill.

The houses were built in 1971, and received their C of O’s early in 1972. They are all listed as three families, but are in reality, two family houses with a garage. When Cobble Hill was landmarked in 1969, these houses had not yet been built, and the space was an empty lot, which is mentioned in the designation report. Landmarking had only been on the books since 1965, so it’s unclear how stringent the rules were at that time regarding new construction in landmarked area.
But consider this. These houses continue Cheever Place’s unique look as a block of low, 3 story buildings. The designs evoke the Colonial Revival style, and have small wooden porches and generous framed doorways that add to their charm.

The windows are large, well proportioned, with mullions, which add to a period look. Even the garages, when painted white to complement the original doors, work here. Care was obviously taken to make these modern multifamily homes work in the context of historic Cobble Hill, even though they resemble very little already in the neighborhood. They look like updated and simplified versions of the 1920’s Colonial Revival townhouses built in Crown Heights South, and other neighborhoods.

Am I equating these houses with some of the masterpieces in the neighborhood? No, but appear to be well built and far from unattractive houses. Especially in comparison with the ones on DeGraw, only half a block away. This group, as well as the DeGraw houses, was built to accommodate a working class population in the need of housing. Ironically, most of Cobble Hill is now longer working class. GMAP