Brooklyn Heights

Building of the Day: 18 Cranberry Street, Where a Criminal Was Caught by the Seat of His Pants

Brooklyn, one building at a time. This elegant Brooklyn Heights row house was built back when the “fruit blocks” were at the center of the Heights. Name: Row house Address: 18 Cranberry Street Cross Streets: Corner of Willow Street Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights Year Built: Around 1845 Architectural Style: Greek Revival Architect: Unknown Landmarked: Yes, part…

by Suzanne Spellen

09/30/2015 6 minute 1

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

This elegant Brooklyn Heights row house was built back when the “fruit blocks” were at the center of the Heights.

Name: Row house
Address: 18 Cranberry Street
Cross Streets: Corner of Willow Street
Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights
Year Built: Around 1845
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes, part of Brooklyn Heights Historic District (1965)

Cranberry Street, like Orange and Pineapple streets, was named by the Hicks brothers, who owned this land before the street grid was laid out in the early 1800s. Cranberry once stretched from Columbia Heights out beyond Fulton Street, now Cadman Plaza West.

By 1821 there were 15 houses along the length of the street. This house was built around 1845 and included the fenced-in yard and the carriage house behind it, today a separate address.

The house is similar to 15 Willow Street, on the corner of Middagh Street: both are brick Greek Revivals, with side entrances. The side of 18 Cranberry faces Willow Street, and was designed to complement and complete the adjacent row of houses.

This house was built to be the same height as its neighbors, but sometime in the 20th century an extra story was added and the cornice was removed. The elegantly curved staircase is original.

The bricked-in windows may or may not be original. Interestingly, 15 Willow has the same windows bricked in. They may have been false windows to begin with, or filled in when Brooklyn’s row houses became boarding houses and apartments.

Living at 18 Willow Street

According to city records, the first owner of the house was a merchant named Samuel R. Daniels. No other mention of him is found.

In 1864, the house was purchased by James Bertram Loring, who never married and lived in this house alone, with only his servants.

Loring was with the Equitable Life Insurance Company for his entire career in the insurance business. The company was founded in 1859 and Loring was the first clerk they hired. He rose to become the registrar, overseeing the security department; he was in charge of the vault for 25 years.

He retired in 1903 after being with Equitable for 44 years, and died in 1914.

List of officers at the Equitable Insurance Co. Brooklyn Eagle ad, 1897

Loring lived in this house for over 50 years. Most were presumably pleasant and uneventful years, except for one day in December in 1891.

That day, Loring was at work while his maid, Mary Irving, was upstairs cleaning. On the ground floor, a load of kindling had been delivered to the curb, and handyman Michael Healy was busy taking wood downstairs into the cellar.

Healy was not a young man, so this task required many trips and he left the property’s gate unlatched throughout the process.

As this work continued, a man named John Horgan walked by, saw opportunity knocking and waited until he saw Healy get another load of wood and disappear down the stairs. Horgan slipped into the house and ended up in Loring’s bedroom on the second floor.

Irving had been cleaning on the third floor, but came downstairs and entered her employer’s bedroom, where she found Horgan sitting on the bed, in the process of trying on a pair of Loring’s trousers. His own pants were discarded on the floor.

Mary Irving stood for a moment, then began screaming at the top of her lungs. Old Michael Healy knew she was the only one home, so he ran upstairs, thinking she was perhaps hurt. He came into the room just as Horgan had finished fastening the pants.

Healy jumped on the younger man and the two began fighting. They rolled around the room, knocking over furniture. In spite of his age, Healy was winning. Irving ran out to get the police.

When she returned with the local officer moments later, Healy had Horgan down on the floor, was sitting on him, and had him in a headlock. Horgan was helpless and surrendered without further struggle.

When they got him to the precinct, they made him take off Loring’s trousers. Underneath, they found that he had also put on a pair of Loring’s long underwear. He also had a suitcase full of Loring’s clothes packed and ready to go, had Irving not walked in on him.

Horgan was arraigned for the theft of a pair of long johns and pants, and attempted robbery of the rest of the clothing. They couldn’t get him for burglary, as the door had not been locked and he didn’t technically break in. The story must have cracked up his fellow prisoners in jail.

According to the papers, Mary Irving and Michael Healy were considered heroes. Hopefully their employer compensated them well. After he got a new wardrobe.