Building of the Day: 215-221 Clinton 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: 215-221 Clinton Avenue, between Willoughby and DeKalb Avenues
Name: Row Houses
Neighborhood: Clinton Hill
Year Built: 1891
Architectural Style: Transitional Romanesque Revival/Renaissance Revival
Architect: R.H. Robinson and A.J. Manning
Landmarked: Yes, (Clinton Hill HD)

Why chosen: It’s easy to overlook this group of houses because they are on the same block as some of the most impressive mansions in Clinton Hill, the Pratt Mansions. But these houses can hold their own as one of the most attractive groups of row houses in the area. They were designed by Manhattan architects Robinson and Manning for the extended family of Charles, William, and Robert Osborn, and Mary Osborn Polak, who may have been developers, not necessarily homeowners. The Osborn clan also commissioned a similar group that extends around the corner on Willoughby Ave, later, from the same architects. What makes this particular group of houses so attractive is the way the Romanesque Revival features of the houses; the arched doorways, the tan bricks and rough cut base stone, and the Romanesque ornament, such as the terra-cotta and Byzantine leaf trim, are complemented by the more orderly classical features of the Renaissance Revival, in the symmetry and order of it all, as well as the cartouches and egg and dart mouldings. All this adds up to a very pretty group of houses. The neatness of it all actually hides the fact that these are tall 5 story houses. I especially like the Medieval-style drainage arches, which join the gables, a practical, yet decorative way to provide drainage. Between 1898 and 1905, # 217 was home to Herbert Lee Pratt, patriarch Charles Pratt’s son. He would later become Chairman of Standard Oil.