Building of the Day: 1574 Bergen Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row House
Address: 1574 Bergen Street, between Utica and Troy Avenues
Neighborhood: Weeksville section of Crown Heights
Year Built: Unknown
Architectural Style: Italianate
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: These attractive clapboard, or in this case, shingled, houses appear here and there throughout Brownstone Brooklyn. I always enjoy seeing them, as they represent rare survivors, and are more often than not, the first houses in neighborhoods to be covered over with aluminum or vinyl siding, asbestos siding or some kind of stone faced stucco. They often lose their cornices, hooded window cases, and porches. Rarely will you find an intact row of them, usually, like here, there will be one, perhaps two in the row that are whole, or almost so. This particular house is in the Weeksville section of Crown Heights, far to the east of the wealthy and upper middle class area near Nostrand Avenue. These were always working class homes. This one is remarkably original, with fish scale shingles, and mostly intact brackets and dentils on the window frames. The porch is also intact, featuring standard catalog issue, turned wood gingerbread, in great shape. These are classic vernacular Brooklyn houses, often pooh-poohed for their ordinary-ness, but a vital part of the pantheon of Brooklyn architecture.

(Photo: Property Shark)