Building of the Day: 575 Jefferson Avenue
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy. Address: 575 Jefferson Avenue, between Lewis and Stuyvesant. Name: Private Home Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant Year Built: late 1880’s-early 1890’s….

The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.
Address: 575 Jefferson Avenue, between Lewis and Stuyvesant.
Name: Private Home
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: late 1880’s-early 1890’s.
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Architects: Unknown, but suspect Magnus Dahlander
Landmarked: Not yet
Why chosen: According to my friend Amzi Hill, there are only three rowhouses in Brooklyn with arches that span the entire width of the house, as this one does. There’s one more in Bed Stuy, and one in Park Slope. Can you guess where? Unfortunately, none of them are documented, so we are going to have to do some serious investigation to identify the architect. From the style, the ornament, and the rest of the houses around them, we strongly suspect our architect is Magnus Dahlander, who was very active in the area, and at this time.He had a great sense of balance and scale, at any rate. Under this perfect arch, the front door is wonderfully shaped, and the smaller door on the right actually opens. The center window originally had a stained glass transom, and hopefully someday, that will be restored and more period appropriate windows will grace the facade. The building is in great shape, with all of the ornament intact. The upper arched windows are perfectly framed, and the columns, found on the sides of the building, the third floor and on the parlor level all add a linear continuity to the building that is very aesthetically pleasing. This is just another fine group of houses that will someday be landmarked in one of Stuyvesant Heights’ upcoming historic districts.
To me, it’s just a curiousity. It’s balanced in the sense of how the elements are arranged, not the choice of elements, which I think is kind of a strange novelty/conceit thing. (Like these hansel and gretel houses or normal towers, of which every prewar suburb seems to have exactly one.) I think that’s why there are only three of these houses. It’s not the parthenon.
The more I look at it, the more it looks like the kind of brownstone Crumb might draw for Mr. Natural.
Of course, I realize that this is precisely why some people like it. 🙂
whoops- didn’t see your post, MM. so much for thinking I was clever to have found it.
Oh, relax. It’s a nice-looking house, guest.
Not sure if it was one of the ones you had in mind, but there’s a house at 149 Herkimer (b. nostrand/new york?) with a nearly identical arch, just walked past it coming home.
(streetview: http://tinyurl.com/27k5g9n )
By mopar on July 24, 2010 10:00 AM
How unusual and interesting. I would never have grasped that an arch spanning the full width of the house is what makes this design distinctive if you had not pointed it out.
you wouldn’t have noticed it because this house is ugly.
Just checked this house and it is a fact that Langston and Dahlander did this house. Done for T. W. Swimm in 1891 he built 9 really nice homes on Jefferson.
I saw a house very similar to this for sale in this area about months ago…. I wonder what happened with it. did any of you see anything like this for sale?
Langston did a lot of homes in the Bedford Corners section or the soon to be Bedford Historic district of Bedford Stuyvesant. Dahlander seemed to work mostly in the Stuyvesant Heights side. Thanks Save the Slope..
Save the Slope, THANKS!
The third house is on Herkimer, between Nostrand and NY Aves.
How unusual and interesting. I would never have grasped that an arch spanning the full width of the house is what makes this design distinctive if you had not pointed it out.