Building of the Day: 74 Halsey 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: 74 Halsey Street, between Nostrand and Bedford avenues
Name: Private house
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year built: 1886
Architectural style: Queen Anne
Architect: Rudolph A. Daus
Landmarked: Not yet. In the proposed Bedford Historic District

If you look at any architectural guide that includes Bed Stuy, this house is always there. It’s unique, eye-catching and extremely well done. The house is a testament to the great craftsmen and artisans who worked on Bedford Stuyvesant’s buildings, making it one of the most architecturally interesting and significant neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Rudolph Daus, who designed often in Bed Stuy, certainly went the extra mile.

On first glance: the obvious the magnificent wrought iron railings, the impressive ironwork on the balcony, the decorative brickwork. Look a little closer, the massing of shapes, with the center bay highlighted by half columns, the beautiful support bracket. The arched windows on the parlor floor, nestled between the bay, the entire Mansard roof top floor, and the perfectly balanced peaked dormers, decorated with deep set brackets.

If you look really closely, you can see Daus channeled his inner Viking, with carved lionheads, like a ship’s prow, on two overhanging beams. All of these elements produce a home unlike any other on the block, or in the entire neighborhood. This, and hundreds of other fine buildings will be a part of the Bedford Historic District, hopefully sooner, rather than later. At the moment, there is nothing protecting this building from alteration or destruction.