Prospect Heights Brooklyn -- 736 Bergen Street History

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Address: 736 Bergen Street, between Washington and Underwood
Name: Private House
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights
Year Built: Mid 19th century
Architectural Style: Italianate with modern alterations
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: No

Why chosen: This is a sweet little house on its own, but what makes it unique are all the mysteries that surround it. Stylistically, it looks like a brick Greek Revival home, perhaps with a third half floor in the back, as evidenced by the roofline.

It also has a classic little Victorian portico with millwork ornamentation, and a very Victorian pressed metal cornice with garlands and brackets. This does not jibe stylistically or period-wise with the brick, and I’m going to go out on a limb and surmise that a brick facade was placed on what was probably a clapboard house back sometime in the mid 20th century.

The colors of the brick, and the way they are laid to create the lintels is just not mid 19th century. But let’s get back to the way it sits on the street. The development of Prospect Heights is greatly due to the fact that the Flatbush Turnpike ran through it on its way past what is now Prospect Park, on out to Flatbush and beyond.

Parts of what is now park land was a swampy, disease, and mosquito-ridden hellhole that was to be avoided at all costs, so the road swung east to avoid it. Over the years as the city grid was extended to the area, a new Flatbush Avenue was laid down, a bit to the west of the original.

The swamps were drained and the Park was established, and the old roads were forgotten. This house, as well as several others on nearby Underhill and Prospect Place, are oriented to the OLD Flatbush Turnpike, hence the odd way they (almost) face the street. They are a constant reminder of Prospect Heights’ early years, and roads no longer traveled. (Thanks to Josh Jackson and his article on lostmag.com.)

Prospect Heights Brooklyn -- 736 Bergen Street History Prospect Heights Brooklyn -- 736 Bergen Street History

[Photos by Suzanne Spellen]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. This was my childhood family home (I’m now 47 years old). It was owned by my grandmother’s 2nd husband Pasquale Sapio. In the late 30s or early 40s, my great grandparents moved into the top floor apartment of the building next door (there are 2 apartments over a garage in this building), as did my grandmother and her 2 daughters (one of whom is my mother) after she and my grandfather separated in the late 40s. They still had and used a coal stove when i was a little girl!! Pasquale was originally their landlord who shared 736 Bergen with his first wife (who later died). He then later (around 1960) married my grandmother. My mother, father, siblings, and I all lived here at various points throughout the 1970s and my great grandmother and great aunt continued to rent the apartment next door (previously mentioned). The brick facing on 736 is a very recent addition. I remember the house having clapboard shingles. The kitchen and dining area were below street level (basement), 2 bedrooms a living room, and a small enclosed back poarch on the 2nd floor, and 2 additional rooms plus bathrrom on the top floor-3 levels, plus the attic. I remember my grandmother loved to explore that attic for its “antiques”, as she referred to the curiosities she found up there. I have many family photos taken in this house, as well as a store of memories. Pasquale died in 1976. By this point in time the neighborhood was an urban wasteland and my grandmother practically gave both houses away for less than $10,000 and moved to an apartment in east Flatbush. Unbelievable. To this day, many of my dreams are set in 736 Bergen Street. By the way, I still live in Brooklyn.

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