Brooklyn History -- William Debus, Architect
Image via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

An architect doesn’t have to be a superstar to make his mark on a neighborhood. One way to do that is to produce quality work, quietly and surely, and specialize, so when someone thinks, I’m going to build a (fill in blank).

Of course, I need to hire (fill in blank), because he’s the best at that kind of building. When it came to building high quality flats buildings, William Debus was the man to call.

Nothing is known about his childhood or his education, or even the length of his life. We just know that he practiced for over fifty years in Brooklyn, from about 1896 through the early 1950’s.

During that time he had an office in either Bedford Stuyvesant or Bushwick. He specialized in new style flats buildings: four or five story walk ups, with usually two apartments per floor.

He became an expert in interpreting the new Tenement Laws of 1902, which were designed to guarantee light and air, and other safety standards for the thousands of people flocking to New York City to live.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, William Debus was the first architect in Brooklyn to design an apartment house under this new Tenement Law of 1902, and gained praise as a young architect with a reputation in the Tenement House Department and among builders of having a comprehensive grasp of the meaning of the tenement house law amendments.

Brooklyn History -- William Debus, Architect
Image via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

That first new apartment house is 503 Hancock St at the corner of Lewis Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant. The Brooklyn Eagle described the building as having two apartments on each floor, one behind the other.

Brooklyn History -- William Debus, Architect
Photo via Google Maps

The parlor, dining room and kitchen are in the front, each room looking onto the street. There are three bedrooms in the rear, which open out into a large courtyard, and some of them open on the street.

A private hall extending the length of each apartment separated the the living rooms from the bed rooms. All rooms open into the hall as well as connect to each other.

At one end of the hall is a commodious tiled bath room, finished with enameled bath tub and open nickel plumbing. The halls and stairs are marble and are completely wired for electric lighting.

The vestibule is tiled and a novel feature therein is a domed ceiling, illuminated with electric lights. These apartments meet every requirement of the amended tenement house law.

The rental are from $30 to $36 a month. The article was accompanied by a photograph. The building still stands, and although the retail establishments on the ground floor are not what they used to be, the rest of the building is still very much as it was 100 years ago, on the outside, anyway.

As times changed, many of these apartments were further subdivided.

Many of the apartment buildings Debus designed were for the developers, Strauss and Charig, who built across much of brownstone Brooklyn in the early years of the 20th century.

They were busy in Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, Park Slope, and Prospect Heights. All of these buildings were designed in the mode of the White Cities Movement, and were made of limestone and/or light colored brick.

Some of my favorite buildings along MacDonough Street in Bed Stuy, between Marcy and Throop were designed by William Debus, most for Strauss and Cherig.

One of them, a former BOTD, I just discovered was by Debus. That building is 9 MacDonough St, an extremely attractive building in an unusual H shape, hugging the curve of the street.

He also designed the Raleigh, also a BOTD, located on the corner of MacDonough and Tompkins. The Eagle praised this building, accompanied by a sketch of the building which shows all of its Italian Renaissance ornamentation.

Strauss and Cherig liked this building so much, that their place of business is listed at this address. Further down Mac Donough, near the corner of Throop, are four more buildings, leading to the curved corner apartment building, built in 1903, not for Strauss and Charig, but for Chauncey Cozine.

These French Renaissance buildings look like one continuous building, and show Debus’ talent at its best. Three buildings on three blocks, all very different, and all very, very good.

Descriptions of the interiors in the Eagle tell of similarly ornate details as marble and tiles public spaces, electric lighting, and the latest in kitchen and bath amenities.

In 1900, Debus designed 112-114 St. Marks Avenue, a six story apartment building in Prospect Heights. For Charles Tritschler, also in 1902, William Debus designs the first double flats houses to be planned and filed under the new tenement laws.

Those buildings were three 3 story double flats, for six families, on Bainbridge Ave, near Saratoga, back in Bedford Stuyvesant. These buildings are also standing, as are his apartment buildings, built in the same year, nearby on Jefferson Ave, near Throop, built for Sigmund Eisenbach.

It was here that the Brooklyn Eagle praised Debus’ work, saying that some of the best flat houses planned in accordance with the present law are the product of his skill.

Debus designed two more flats buildings, one single, one double, for builder Michael Schaffner, who was active in northern Bedford Stuyvesant, near Willoughby. Not far away, Debus designed numbers 96 and 98 Pulaski Street, near Marcy Ave.

These two buildings are now among the very few old buildings still standing on the block, a testament to good work. See the Flickr page for Eagle photographs and sketches of these buildings, as well as modern day pictures.

Although apartment buildings became his stock in trade, William Debus did design other kinds of buildings. In 1902, a very busy year for him, Debus broke ground on a post office building, built for Louis Beer, on the corner of Greene and Broadway.

Brooklyn History -- William Debus, Architect
Former post office. Photo via Property Shark

Beer planned to lease the building to the post office, which was to call the building Station S. This impressive Renaissance Revival/Classical building has also survived, and was a church for lease back in 2006, although I’m not sure what it is now.

When it was built, the large windows allowed light in, as did skylights, and beveled plate glass doors. The building had tin ceilings, and space for delivery wagons to collect mail in the rear entrance on Lexington Avenue.

He was also an excellent house designer. His ornate 1910 Renaissance Revival limestones on Stuyvesant Ave. and also on Chauncey Street are among the most prized homes in the area. Barbara Corcoran’s Stuyvesant Ave limestone is a Debus.

Additional Debus buildings can be found in Park Slope at 501-519 8th Ave, 564-580 5th Street, and 575-575A through 583-583A 5th St.

In Crown Heights North, he remodeled 1307-1313 Dean Street, and designed the garage at 1307, while in Crown Heights South, he designed 1294 President St. Additional Bed Stuy buildings are 134 Bainbridge, 93-107 Chauncey, 411-419 Stuyvesant, 391-409 Stuyvesant, 402-404, 408-410, 412-420, and 411-419 Stuyvesant.

In 1931, William Debus received a gold medal for his work from the New York Society of Architects. He had been one of the charter members of this group, which was founded in 1906.

The Society honored him for his outstanding work in apartment building architecture, a well deserved honor. His work, especially in Bedford Stuyvesant, has been further honored by historic district status, and will be preserved.

Further landmarking in Bed Stuy will preserve even more, and will most definitely bring more of his buildings to light, as more research is done.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Great piece Montrose! It can really put today’s development and the squabbles over it, into context. Fwiw, I always prefer the slow and steady and high quality over the hare any day.

    (And I loved learning about the turn-of-the-century meaning and use for the term ‘flat’ — always wondered from where that seemingly British-only term originated. Just not enough to look it up! 😉