Building of the Day: 41 & 41A Hampton Place

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: 41 & 41A Hampton Place, between Sterling and St. Johns Places
Name: Kinkos House
Neighborhood: Crown Heights North
Year Built: 1912
Architectural Style: Old English Revival
Architects: Mann and MacNeille
Landmarked: No

Why chosen: These two family houses were built to fulfill the needs of a growing middle class population in Brooklyn unable, or unwilling to buy an entire house. The firm of Mann and MacNeil designed several stylistic variations of these double duplex houses for the Kings and Westchester Land Company, hence the name Kinko Houses. Most are located in Crown Heights North, centered around Brooklyn Avenue, Sterling and St. Johns Places. A Kinkos row also was built on 3rd St in Park Slope. All of the Kinko houses have separate entrances, the A doors open to a dedicated stairway to the second duplex. The two apartments are similarly appointed, the only real difference being that the lower duplex has the garden in the back, while the upper duplex has a rooftop garden. Both apartments have an interior stair to the upper level of that apartment. The style of the interiors was the Craftsman look, with simple tiled fireplaces and an oak shelf mantels, high oak wainscoting with a plate rail in the dining rooms, and rustic Craftsman lighting and fixtures. These houses sold out as fast as they could be built, for the same reason they are popular today: two equal duplex units with private entrances, the second unit, not altered floors being repurposed, but always meant to be that way. The turnover on these houses is very low. They remain an ideal housing source for the neighborhood.