Building of the Day: 80-84 Livingston Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Storefronts/offices with apartments
Address: 80-84 Livingston Street
Cross Streets: Court Street and Boerum Place
Neighborhood: Downtown Brooklyn
Year Built: 1915
Architectural Style: Vaguely neo-Georgian
Architect: Volckening & Holler
Other Buildings by Architect: Station “D” Post Office, 4th Ave and 13th Street, Manhattan; addition to Bethany Deaconess Hospital, Brooklyn
Landmarked: No

The story: Downtown Brooklyn is filled with all sorts of large and important buildings. Sometimes we overlook the smaller, less architecturally impressive buildings that stand cheek to jowl with the masterpieces or the places where BIG THINGS happened. But often, it is here that the real lives of Brooklynites took place; the small businesses, civic organizations, and the apartments of ordinary people.

As it usually happens, I came upon the architects of these buildings while researching another building. I rarely pass up an opportunity to report on a building with a named architect, so I was hoping there would be a story here. In researching these three buildings, which were built as two stories of offices/stores below two stories of apartments, I found my story for today.

This area of downtown was pretty built up by the Civil War, or just afterward, and this site was originally home to three brownstone row houses. One of those houses, 80 Livingston, was home to Mrs. Lemcke’s Cooking College, established in 1892. In her spacious kitchen, Gesine Lemcke taught proper young ladies how to cook American and European cuisine. Mrs. Lemcke’s school was the subject of an article in 1897. Most of her pupils never had to cook a day in their lives, but it was socially acceptable and even encouraged to be able to cook a fine pudding, cake, macaroons or other desserts. 84 Livingston was advertised as a “bachelor apartment house” around the same time.

However, by the beginning of the ‘teens, most of the older buildings along this stretch of Livingston Street were being replaced by newer buildings. The Real Estate Record and Builder’s Guide reported in 1915 that construction was rapidly progressing on three new buildings on this site. They were built for Philip Ritzheimer, who had offices at 85 Court Street. The partnership of Walter H. Volckening and John H. Holler, Jr. were responsible for the architectural design. Both men were active in Manhattan architecture, and held office in the prestigious New York Society of Architects.

The buildings had storefronts on the ground floor, offices on the second floor, and two floors of apartments above. The facades were brick, limestone and terra-cotta. The ground floors were designed with the newest design in display windows and glass, and the office windows were extra-large; designed to allow as much light in as possible. The article also noted that one building already had a tenant – the Goetz & Co Piano Dealers, which were next door at the corner building, were taking 84 Livingston’s storefront as an annex to their showroom floor.

Over the years, the buildings had many, many tenants; commercial, business and residential. 82 was home to H.A. Farnell & Co. a stationary company active in the 1920s. Later, it was a restaurant, and a real estate office. All of the offices were at one time or another occupied by lawyers or real estate/mortgage firms. Things change in Brooklyn, but some industries and professions will always be needed.

No. 84 became the headquarters of the Brooklyn chapter of the Red Cross. During World War I they relocated there from 160 Montague Street. Their volunteers spent many hours in their offices here preparing Christmas kits and care packages for the troops on the front. Since their leadership and most of the volunteers were wealthy society ladies, they made the paper quite often. All of these companies and organizations are long gone from these addresses, but they all had an impact on Brooklyn life.

(Photograph: Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark)

GMAP