284-290 Stuyvesant Ave, CD Brazee for LPC 1

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row houses
Address: 284-290 Stuyvesant Avenue
Cross Streets: Jefferson and Hancock streets
Neighborhood: Stuyvesant Heights
Year Built: 1880-81
Architectural Style: Neo-Grec
Architect: Builder James P. Miller
Landmarked: Yes, part of Stuyvesant Heights Expansion HD (2013)

The story: Stuyvesant Heights was first developed just before the Civil War as a suburban retreat for the wealthy brewers and businessmen who were making their fortunes in Bushwick. They, in turn, attracted other wealthy men from downtown and elsewhere who wanted to live in splendid isolation on large lots with garden space, but still easily commutable to their businesses in Manhattan or on Brooklyn’s piers. That ease of commute was provided by the excellent facilities that ran along Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue. By the 1870s, developers began dividing up the remaining Stuyvesant Heights plots. In the space of 30 years, the mansions and villas were surrounded by, or replaced by, row houses. The big city had reached Stuyvesant Heights.

Stuyvesant Avenue, as a major north/south corridor, was one of the first streets to be developed as a residential street, and became the center of the neighborhood. While fine mansions still lined the end of the street, near Fulton, as one moved away from there, the earliest houses are much less grand. They were the standard speculative row houses of the late 1870s, early 1880s, and as such, were often smaller than the later houses built elsewhere on Stuyvesant, even just down the street.

Many of these early row house groups did not have a specific architect; they were built by professional builders who were often the developers, as well. James P. Miller built this group of six houses. He made them narrow and smaller than many groups being built at the same time, and therefore fit at least two or three more in the row, and made more money. That is why several of the houses have “A” after the house number. Since the streets were already laid out, and the plot numbers set, the extra houses became 284, 284A, 288A etc.

The row is remarkably well-preserved today, with only one real exception which has river rock brickface. Miller knew his craft, used quality materials, and built a fine group of houses. The homes were initially sold to upper middle class families of merchants, craftsmen, wholesale grocers, accountants and other white collar employees. As time went on, Stuyvesant Heights became a very upscale enclave, with large upper-class townhouses going up on the surrounding blocks. Compared to some of them, these houses are rather plain and small, but in their day, they were well-regarded and popular with owners.

The most famous person to live in this group lived at 284A, near the corner of Jefferson. This was the home of Eubie Blake and his wife Marion Tyler Grant. Eubie Blake was one of this country’s great composers, lyricists and performers. Born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore in 1887, he was the son of former slaves. He was a child prodigy. At the age of four, he sat down at an organ in a music store and began “fooling around.” He astonished the music store owner, who declared the child a genius. It might have been a true expression of the child’s talent, or just a great sales ploy; in any case, the family ended up buying the organ, paying 25 cents a month for years.

By the time he was a teenager, Eubie was sneaking out to play in a bordello, one of the few decent paying jobs a black pianist could get at the time. He began writing music, mostly popular ragtime pieces, and went into show business at the turn of the century. By 1912, he was playing vaudeville and accompanying the famous ballroom dancers Vernon and Irene Castle.

In 1918, he partnered with another black musician, Noble Sissle, and they formed an act, playing vaudeville houses for many years. They also put together a musical revue called “Shuffle Along,” comprised of tunes and songs they had written. It premiered on Broadway in 1921, the first musical on Broadway to be written by, and starring, Negro performers. One of the hits from the review was the song “I’m Just Wild About Harry.”

By 1946, Eubie and his second wife, Marion Tyler, moved into this house. He had retired from the stage, and had enrolled in NYU, where he received a degree. Jazz and ragtime, which he had helped invent, was making a comeback, and Eubie found himself in demand again as a teacher, lecturer and expert on this uniquely American music.

He performed and lectured all over the world, appeared on the Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin shows, and performed with orchestras led by Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Fieldler. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. His comeback culminated with the Broadway show “Eubie!” which received the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1979. Eubie Blake enjoyed himself and was still entertaining when he died at the age of 97 in 1983.

Marion Tyler, with whom he shared this house and his life, inherited this house from her grandfather, Hiram S. Thomas. Many years ago, I wrote about Hiram Thomas and his house in Fort Greene. Mr. Thomas was a famous African American restaurateur and chef, credited with the invention of the “Saratoga Chip” beloved today as the potato chip, which he served at his Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs. The links to that story can be found here. Everyone really is connected.

My tour partner Morgan Munsey and I are touring Stuyvesant Heights this Saturday at 2, a walking tour sponsored by the Municipal Arts Society. We’d love to have you join us as we walk around one of Brooklyn’s most beautiful neighborhoods. Tickets are still available on the MAS website.

(Photo: Christopher D. Brazee for LPC)

GMAP

Photo: Christopher Bride for Property Shark
Photo: Christopher Bride for PropertyShark
284A, Eubie Blake's house, in the middle. Photo: Christopher D. Brazee for LPC
In the middle is 284A, Eubie Blake’s house. Photo: Christopher D. Brazee for LPC
Photo: Google Maps
Photo: Google Maps

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