« Timeless Treasures Not So Timeless After All Inside Third & Bond: Week 73 »

February 26, 2009

Julius Liebman Mansion Hits the Market

Julius-Liebman-Residence-0209.jpg
The 1909 neo-Federal mansion at 378-384 Clinton Avenue in Clinton Hill has just hit the market with an asking price of $5,500,000. The 9,200-square-foot house is located on a 13,500-square-foot lot and comes with a carriage house fronting on Vanderbilt Avenue. Called "one of the most beautiful houses in Clinton Hill" by Landmarks Preservation Commission, 380 Clinton Avenue was built for Julius Liebman, an heir of the brewing company that later became Rheingold, by the architectural firm of Herts & Tallant, which also designed the Brooklyn Academy of Music. There was a small fire on the second floor last spring. The listing broker is Crosstown Companies; there's nothing on the firm's website, but you can call 718-937-8100 if interested. GMAP




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:01 AM | Comments (45)
Categories: Clinton Hill, Properties

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/8594

Comments

I think this goes to show that even in the old days, architects sometimes had their off days. I find this facade clunky and graceless.

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 11:06 AM

The brickwork is nice though. And, I'm glad Rheingold is back on tap at some places.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 26, 2009 11:08 AM

Yeah, I'm not really into it much myself, either.

Posted by: 11217 at February 26, 2009 11:08 AM

I agree with you on this Sam. I used to live a couple of doors down from this building and while there are numerous stunning and amazing buildings on Clinton Ave this is not one of them. The grounds in back and the carriage house are nice though. The lot must be close to half an acre.

Posted by: wasder at February 26, 2009 11:08 AM

looks like its in london

Posted by: Santa at February 26, 2009 11:16 AM

It does look Londony, you're right.

Federal works great with the original federal era bricks. Slightly uneven mortar, inconsistent brick size. Doesn't work in this noe-federal though. There are some great federal era houses in the town of Hudson up in Dutchess county.

No I want to know why people call neo-tudor "tudor" if they are not going to call neo-federal "federal".

Posted by: dittoburg at February 26, 2009 11:19 AM

Seems like if you are going to spend 5.5 million on a single family house (as opposed to a townhouse) it would be nice to have more than 2 feet between buildings.

Who wants to pay that much to have the north and south exposures abut brick walls.

At least the place yesterday at the Montauk Club had some air around it.

Posted by: 11217 at February 26, 2009 11:19 AM

meh. looks like a school to me.

Posted by: i disagree at February 26, 2009 11:23 AM

Neo-clunky. Not feeling it.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 26, 2009 11:24 AM

Whaddaya mean no pictures? Not my favorite style either, but I wanna see the interior!

Posted by: Montrose Morris at February 26, 2009 11:28 AM

Neo-clunky is it!
The Federal style is just the opposite of this.
It is super-graceful, attenuated, and elegant.
The best Federal mansions are in Salem, Mass.
This is provincial looking. More Sioux City than Salem.
But it is nice and roomy.
And it comes with its own carriage house. That is something. Is the carriage house nice?


Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 11:33 AM

OK, we have an official brownstoner thumbs down.

Posted by: dittoburg at February 26, 2009 11:36 AM

it would make a very nice funeral parlor.

Posted by: Maly at February 26, 2009 11:36 AM

If there were pics I bet a lot of opinions^^^^^^^ would be different!!!! I want to see that huge center staircase.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 26, 2009 11:38 AM

tough crowd! this isn't our favorite style of architecture, either, but we wouldn't kick this place out of bed for eating crackers either. think of the entertaining you could do on that parlor floor!

Posted by: brownstoner at February 26, 2009 11:41 AM

I'm sure it's very nice from the inside, if slightly dark.
If Pratt needed another building, it could make a great library or reception hall, but I think they already own many of the more beautiful mansions on Clinton.

Posted by: Maly at February 26, 2009 11:44 AM

Mr B--if the carriage house and lot is the one I am thinking of its a pretty massive piece of property at least in Brooklyn terms right? There are a couple of really nice carriage houses on Vanderbilt behind this building and I am just trying to picture which one goes with this house.

Posted by: wasder at February 26, 2009 11:45 AM

really, how bad was that McMansion a couple of houses from this that it went 4 the speculated 1.8M? or is this 5.5M is someone day dreaming again?

Anyone went inside this place before?

Posted by: more4less at February 26, 2009 11:47 AM

> It is super-graceful, attenuated, and elegant.

I don't really see any of those qualities in the above house.

However, the arrow slits could be useful during the Mad Max days to come.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 26, 2009 11:48 AM

Yeah it does need something to make it look a little less institutional. (It's owned by Teen Challenge) If it had some great gardening in the front...maybe some window boxes and shutters on the second floor?

Posted by: boofer at February 26, 2009 11:49 AM

Wasder, the carriage house to the right of yard entrance is the one. the ones on the left of the entrance with the working garage doors are not w/ this house. Yeah, this house looks a lot nicer when I look through the back at the yard entrance.

Posted by: more4less at February 26, 2009 11:52 AM

Tough crowd!

Maybe it's my English roots but, I like it. Seriously, I could think of worse places to live. I'd love to see the interior.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at February 26, 2009 11:54 AM

I agree that some serious landscaping could do WONDERS for the front of the house.

Posted by: 11217 at February 26, 2009 11:57 AM

I have been in that house now that I think of it. Invited by one of the priests in charge of the Teen Challenge program.
It is pretty clunky on the inside too. It's institutional with big steel fire escapes on the back. It was a dormitory for the guys, mostly runaways, that they were trying to help. It is a wonderful organization. The carriage house is interesting as I recall. It is a big piece of property. The rear was paved over for basketball courts but it could be turned into a super nice garden.

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 11:59 AM

The Beaux-Arts, Neo-Federal residence above needs the proper landscaping to balance out the facade. Between the paladian french doors there should be some trellis work with climbing roses. At the time this building was designed, formal plantings were an important part of the overall scheme. It's one of the very few residences in New York City to still have it's full rear garden and carraige house. I hope it gets the full restoration it deserves.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at February 26, 2009 12:02 PM

Tough crowd today. This place is amazing, although I suspect the interior has been institutionalized. The carriage house and large back yard are rarely found in Brownstone Bklyn. An unusual opportunity. I hope someone gets this property that can give it the love and respect it deserves.

Posted by: Schultz at February 26, 2009 12:02 PM

thl: climbing roses trained between the ground floor windows would do wonders.

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 12:03 PM

floating world: wow! we had the same thought simultaneosly.
Climbing roses. That's the ticket!

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 12:06 PM

I'm English and I'll take it! Please, Sir, may I have this one, please!

It has some institutionalised attributes to it, but there is still some gold in this one. I live next door to it, and just want this to be mine, restored to its former glory, and let me and my brother take care of the garden!

And I sincerely hope that it is not broken up into apartments.

Posted by: gwbrubaker at February 26, 2009 12:07 PM

Sam are you sure you're not thinking of a similar looking brick house down the street that you were in? I live next door to another brick mansion owned by teen challenge with a paved backyard and basketball hoops. When I looked at this house through the back by the carriage house I didn't notice it being paved. The back of the house does look really nice.

Posted by: boofer at February 26, 2009 12:08 PM

this yard is definitely not paved. Its a big wooded garden.

Posted by: wasder at February 26, 2009 12:10 PM

Actually, Sam, this is the women's residence. The men's is between Greene & Gates.

There is a wonderful veranda on the back end of it.

Posted by: gwbrubaker at February 26, 2009 12:11 PM

gwbrubaker - if you are English then perhaps you'll agree with me it looks like a North London branch of a Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Ditto the comments re. some trellis work and suitable climbing plants. the brokers better get down to Home Depot.

Posted by: dittoburg at February 26, 2009 12:13 PM

The front parlor has a big beautiful mantle. The stair is wide and dark wood. Not spectacular but very solid. Most of the rooms except the front parlor to the left of the door had accousic tile drop-ceilings. They were battling roof leaks when I visited to assist the philanthropy. It is an expensive property to maintain. I hope they get a good price for it.

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 12:15 PM

dittoburg that is spot on. You gave me a good laugh. Thanks.

I had a semi-detached years ago in Shepherd's Bush, but beggar can't be choosers, eh?

Posted by: gwbrubaker at February 26, 2009 12:17 PM

boofer, you may be right, it was quite a number of years ago. The house I was in was definitely a men's dormitory.

Posted by: sam at February 26, 2009 12:17 PM

Nothing wrong with a semi. Better than a maisonette!

Posted by: dittoburg at February 26, 2009 12:24 PM

I have a friend with a flat in Shepherd's Bush, after getting priced out of the less tony parts of Notting Hill. Parts of both neighborhoods remind me very much of Brooklyn, both the architecture and the people.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at February 26, 2009 1:03 PM

A mature specimen tree planting on the front left corner of the yard and climbing roses between the windows would do wonders. While there are nice gardens here and there in Brooklyn, overall their are not too many compared to other world cities. I suppose part of the reason for that is that the winters in NY are much colder than in say London, or Melbourne or Sydney Australia, where gardens are nurtured and considered an integral part of a property.

Posted by: 1842 at February 26, 2009 1:37 PM

1842, could not agree more with you

Posted by: dittoburg at February 26, 2009 1:40 PM

I concur, 1842 & dittoburg.

Posted by: gwbrubaker at February 26, 2009 2:17 PM

There may be some confusion in the above posts as there is a similar (though not as finely detailed) federal style on the block between Greene and Gates. That one is the one owned by Teen Challenge (I think). The details on this house are wonderful and yes the parties on the parlor floor would be wonderful. This house has some beautiful qualities -- brick and stone work especially. Photos don't do it justice.

Posted by: island107 at February 26, 2009 2:49 PM

This place does look a little clunky, but for my money I'd rather have this place than 405 Clinton. The fact that this has a carriage house to stable my horses is huge compared with having to park them on the street. I'll bet if you offered these people the same price as the cost to fix up 405 Clinton ($1.8m + $2.0m to renovate all in = $3.8m) they'd take it.

Posted by: DarkStar at February 26, 2009 5:26 PM

I used to work for TC so I've been in the house quite a few times. I can tell you there are a lot of original details still intact including: part of a turn of the century kitchen with marble countertops, two HUGE brass chandelier lighting fixtures, ornate mouldings and cabinetry, a very large stained glass skylight, huge cedar closets and a grand winding staircase. True, it has definitely been subjected to some unfortunate institutional changes (including a very strange maze room on the top floor) but it is more intact than many places I've seen. The carriage house has been pretty sterilized but it is large. Anyhow, it always reminded me of this house museum I used to visit when I was a kid...only a lot less maintained. If someone had the money to dump into restoring it, I think it would shape up to be a pretty amazing property. I don't know anyone in this city who has that kind of indoor AND outdoor space! Yah, it's a little bit over the top and borderline tacky but imagine the parties one could throw!

Posted by: girlnextdoor at February 26, 2009 6:17 PM

So what's happening to Teen Challenge then?

Posted by: Heather at February 27, 2009 7:55 AM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions