Building of the Day: 782 President Street

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: 782 President Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
Name: Flats building
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1902
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Architect: Louis Bonnert
Landmarked: Not yet, just calendared

Why chosen: Louis Bonnert, who is a familiar name in Park Slope development, designed and built most of the flats buildings on this side of President Street, between 6th and 7th Ave. This is the lead building of this particular group. All of them originally had six apartments in each building, two per floor, one on either side of the central hall. By 1902, apartment living was finally emerging from the onus of non-respectability for the middle classes, and this building, like its neighbors, is obviously built to please the eye and attract tenants. It’s beautiful, with the white limestone and Classical detail popular in the post 1893, White Cities, manner of building. The cornice is quite ornate and prominant feature of the building, and very nicely complements the white limestone facade. The ornament around all of the the window frames, as well as the precise scale of the pedimented window, and the arched window on the top floor, which are only stairway windows, all convey a pleasing sense that this building was built with care and pride. It’s also been maintained that way, and will be a proud addition to the expanded Park Slope historic district.