Building of the Day: 396-414 Bergen Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row houses
Address: 396-414 Bergen Street
Cross Streets: Fourth and Fifth Avenues
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1878
Architectural Style: Italianate
Architect: John Monas
Other Buildings by Architect: 355-363 and 391-407 Bergen Street, as well as other buildings in Park Slope
Landmarked: No

The story: John Monas is listed in the records as the owner, builder, architect and carpenter of this group of houses. He also built and developed two other groups of houses on this block: 355-363 Bergen, which are three story and the basement/ground floor row houses, and 391-407, which, like today’s buildings, are called two story and a basement homes. All of them are very similar in style, materials and ornamentation.

Unlike today, where developers, architects and builders generally live far outside of the communities in which they build, the builders of our brownstone neighborhoods were by and large, local residents. This is especially in the early developmental days of the 1860s and 1870s. This was true in most neighborhoods, and especially true in Park Slope. The majority of the earlier Italianates and Neo-Grec houses inside and outside of the historic districts were built by men who lived within blocks of their work.

The practical side of that was that they were close to their projects, and didn’t have to commute very far to keep track of what their men were doing, and they also kept their money close to the cuff. But this also meant that they had a stake in building their neighborhoods, shaping the streetscape, and making their projects buildings that they were proud to live next to, and around. They could point to their rows of brownstones and say, “I did that.”

Most of these builders listed themselves as the architects of record for their projects, but they did not have degrees in architecture. What they had were years of experience in building speculative row housing, and the abilities to do so as well as the average architect of the day. As the decades passed, the profession of architecture gained more expertise and prestige, and the styles of housing also changed. The eclectic facades of the Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne styles, with their mixtures of materials and ornament called for professionals and the local developers/builders began to hire architects instead of doing it themselves. There are of course, exceptions to this rule.

John Monas’ name shows up as a builder and developer in the lower Park Slope/Boerum Hill area as early as the 1860s. He was one of the earlier and more prolific builders in that part of town. By the 1880s, he had moved up to Park Slope proper, where he built higher end homes on some of the neighborhood’s best streets. He died at the age of 82 in 1892. His home for many years was at 92 Park Place, near Sixth Avenue, where his funeral took place. It’s a nice four story neo-Grec that he probably built. He looks like an interesting character; I’ll have to find out more about the prolific Mr. Monas.

(Thanks to the wonderful researchers at Save the Slope blogspot for their information on these unlandmarked blocks of Park Slope. You have provided an invaluable resource.)

(Photograph of 414 Bergen St.:Nicholas Strini for Property Shark)

GMAP