127 Van Buren St. SSpellen 1

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row house
Address: 127 Van Buren Street
Cross Streets: Throop Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: Somewhere between 1888 and 1893
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: I’m always on the lookout for streets I haven’t been down very often, if at all, and buildings that I never noticed before. Now that I’m not in Brooklyn, it’s harder to do, but whenever I come into the city, I try to take the time to take the car I never had when I lived here, and explore. If I really have time, before having to head back north, I’ll park somewhere and just walk around. Driving around is great for getting through a lot of territory, but there is nothing better than walking around. We were meant to walk our city streets, this is part of the reason why our architecture is so interesting, it was meant to be strolled by and the details admired from the sidewalk. Besides which, for some reason, the people behind me in cars always get upset when I drive really slow and ogle at buildings. I can’t imagine why.

This house on Van Buren Street, just off Throop Avenue, was built sometime after 1888, and before 1908, which are the map dates I have available. In 1888, there was a wood framed house here, with a large outbuilding behind it. The map of 1908 shows the masonry house and outbuilding. The numbering of the streets was also different in 1888; this was 485 Van Buren, not 127. Again, by 1908, the numbers had changed to the current configuration.

This was a one-of house, not part of a row, in spite of the empty lot next door. In both 1888 and 1908, the lot next door had a wood-framed building on it, one that was not classified as a dwelling. The house was built as a comfortable single family Queen Anne styled house, with Romanesque Revival arched upper windows and a Dutch stepped roofline on the side profile. The house looks like there is enough room for an attic up under the pitched slate roof in the front. The rough cut brownstone lintel over the parlor floor is also quite a striking design feature. It would have shaded stained glass transoms over the parlor windows and the front door.

There is also some nice stonework trim on the peaked second story façade, topped off with a nice piece of wrought iron ornament. There was probably something above that one the pedestal, perhaps a terra cotta piece, or more ironwork. There is also some nice brickwork here, as well. Behind the house, there is a very large carriage house/garage, which can be seen in the 1980s tax photo below. It has two stories, with arched windows, and according to the outlines on the Property Shark maps, is almost as long as the house itself.

The only record I could find of any of the occupants was that of Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Guthrie. They didn’t make the papers very often, but may have commissioned or been the first owners of the house. Guthrie was born in Scotland, and was some kind of executive or highly placed person at Abercrombie and Fitch. That company had started out in 1892 as an upscale sporting goods store in Manhattan.

Whatever he was doing, it paid well enough that they were included in a list of prominent Brooklynites who were summering in Glen Cove, in 1909. That was the same year Elizabeth Guthrie, his wife, died at the age of 45. From the description in her obituary, she may have had cancer. Her funeral was here at the house. Mr. Guthrie eventually moved from here, and into one of his children’s homes in Flatbush. He died there in 1942. The papers noted that he had lived in Brooklyn for over 55 years.

Today, the house is a three-family. It’s a great looking house that needs some TLC. But it also has a driveway and that great outbuilding in the back, big enough to house a nice sized studio/workroom or apartment. Or just your car and a lot of storage. There is also a very nice, neat and orderly community garden in the lot next door. The house is striking enough to catch the attention of someone driving slowly by. Hey, don’t lay on your horn at me, bud, I’m workin’ here! GMAP

(Photo: S.Spellen)

Map: Property Shark. House is in the center.
Map: Property Shark. House is in the center.
1980s tax photo: Municipal Archives
1980s tax photo: Municipal Archives
Photo: S.Spellen
Photo: S.Spellen
Photo: S.Spellen
Photo: S.Spellen

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