Building of the Day: 198-204 Jefferson Avenue

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row houses
Address: 198-204 Jefferson Avenue
Cross Streets: Nostrand and Marcy Avenues
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1891
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Montrose W. Morris
Other Buildings by Architect: Clinton, Alhambra, Renaissance Apartments in Bed Stuy, Imperial and Bedfordshire Apts in Crown Heights. Also in Bed Stuy – Kelley Mansion and many other houses on Hancock, between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues. Also houses and apartments in Clinton Hill, Crown Heights North and South, Park Slope, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg.
Landmarked: Not yet. Calendared for landmarking in 2012.

The story: By 1891, when this group of four houses was built, Montrose W. Morris was one busy man. He had completed his magnificent Alhambra Apartments, just down the street, on Nostrand Avenue, and was in planning for the Renaissance, Imperial and Bedfordshire Apartments which would begin in 1892. He had also just completed the Hulbert and Arbuckle mansions in Park Slope and Clinton Hill, respectively, and only a few years before had designed the Kelley mansion around the corner on Hancock Street, effectively establishing his reputation as one of the go-to architects for Brooklyn’s wealthy.

He also was working on some speculative row house work on Hancock Street and on DeKalb Avenue in Clinton Hill. Those projects were very different from this group of four houses, designed for Arthur C. Mason. At first glance, these houses are nothing like his other works, and far less impressive, but they still have the Montrose Morris touch, and were home to his favorite kind of people: wealthy and prominent folk.

The houses are two mirrored pairs of houses, in an ABBA configuration. He uses the same rough cut brownstone on the ground and parlor floors, alternating the stone in wide and narrow widths. He then uses a smooth wide band of brownstone trim above, bisected with a narrower more protruding band of stone. The top two floors are in what will become a Morris signature – his golden tan Roman bricks, run this time in thick bands alternating with an inverted row, creating a lot of texture within a relatively plain surface.

This isn’t showy stuff, but it’s good. Instead of a pressed metal cornice, Morris does some decorative brick work in a diamond pattern, topped off by his signature deep overhanging cornices supported by long brackets. Not his usual terra-cotta extravagances, but nice. We’ll never know why Morris didn’t do a classic Morris-style row here, perhaps he was experimenting, and perhaps his client told him he didn’t want to pay for a lot of ornament.

In any case, the houses sold quickly to solidly upper middle class families. There were some interesting characters in this row. 198 first belonged to Edward Thompson and family. The Thompson’s were “well known in Brooklyn Society” the Eagle said, especially their 20 year old daughter, Lillian Geneva Thurman Thompson. In 1894, she got engaged to a 51 year old doctor named Hubbard Winstead Mitchell. In spite of the age difference, they were supposed to be very much in love.

He gave her a large diamond and turquoise engagement ring. Two years later, she broke off the engagement, because another woman sued him for breach of promise of marriage. There was jewelry involved in that case too. He wanted the ring back, saying that he had told her if they did not marry, the ring came back to him. She denied that claim, and the case went to court. Dr. Mitchell had lost the first case, and he lost this one too. The court ruled the ring was a gift, and didn’t have to be returned.

200 Jefferson was home to a wealthy widow named Sarah H. Disbrow. She died here in 1892, leaving her son $15,000 worth of real estate, and the rest of her $90,000 estate to be divided between four other daughters. The son felt cheated, and sued the estate and his sisters. He lost, too.

202 Jefferson was home to “Commodore” Percy Hogan in 1901. He gained that title by being elected to lead the Brooklyn Canoe Club. This was a racing club made up of mostly wealthy Ivy League young men who raced with the Manhattan Canoe Club and other racing clubs. They had several different headquarters over the years, mostly renting space from yacht clubs and other watersport clubs. The club lasted until the 1940s.

Around 1910, the house was purchased by George Fleer, the founder of Fleer Brothers Long Island Coal Company. He was doing quite well, and was the owner of one or more automobiles at a time when only the wealthy could afford them. His sons, Henry and Frederick, were both racing enthusiasts, as was Dad. In 1910, Henry was arrested for speeding. He was going 35 mph in Jamaica, Queens. He had to pay a $10 fine. That same year, brother Frederick registered the 99,845th car in New York State, an Overland. Back then, the papers would announce every car registration as news. The registrations appeared weekly.

George Fleer was not immune to driving carelessly, himself. In 1912, he hit a pedestrian with his car, causing broker bones and internal injuries. The man was expected to recover. George died in 1932, only months after Frederick died suddenly. In 1943, his widow lost the house in foreclosure, and it was auctioned off at a public auction. That’s really too bad.

204 also had interesting people. The first owner of the house was Herman Hagerdorn and family. The son, Herman Jr., gained some local fame for a poem he wrote while a student at Brooklyn Polytechnic. The poem, called “A Troop of the Guard,” achieved the early 20th century newspaper version of going viral. It was printed in just about every major newspaper in the country. The most newsworthy event here, while the Hagerdorn family owned it, was a wedding. The bride was a friend of the family and the groom was the newly elected mayor of Newark. It was a very private wedding, the second for both of them. They had both been widowed. The wedding took place in 1894.

The Hagerdorn’s sold the house to Thomas H. Bartindale in 1901. He was listed as the president of the Canadian Society of New York. He sold the house to Frederick W. Scholtz, who died here in 1907. He had been one of the founders of the Brooklyn Athletic Club, and was in the hotel business. His successor in 1911 was Dr. Charles Koehler, a general practitioner.

Dr. Koehler lived here for many years, celebrating his half millionth patient in 1931. He told the Brooklyn Standard Union that he had delivered over 5,000 babies over the last 50 years, and had treated half a million people. He said that over his career, he had seen great advances in science and medicine. He thought that was splendid. What he didn’t like was the new imperative to specialize. “That is bad,” he said, “I am all for the ‘family doctor.’”

(Photograph: Christopher Bride for PropertyShark)

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