Building of the Day: 326 Park 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: 326 Park Place, between Vanderbilt and Underhill Name: Private house Neighborhood: Prospect Heights (Prospect Heights Historic District) Year…
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: 326 Park Place, between Vanderbilt and Underhill
Name: Private house
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights (Prospect Heights Historic District)
Year Built: 1906
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Benjamin Driesler
Landmarked: Yes
Why chosen: Of all the neighborhoods in Brownstone Brooklyn developed mostly in the latter part of the 19th and early parts of the 20th centuries, Prospect Heights is the only one without a significant mixture of free standing houses amidst brownstone and apartment rows. This is one of the few stand alone houses in the neighborhood. It and its neighbor, at 324, were built by developer William Charig. They both feature columned porches, classical ornament and that great 20th century invention, the driveway, between them.
Yep Grand Army, that’s what I’m talking about. They added another story, ripped off the facade and porch, and as I recall demolished about half of the existing building, and made it wider (hence no driveway between it and the building next door).
It is truly ugly now. Landmarking came about 2 years too late for that one.
Yes, Pigeon, they got away with it quite easily. Hence the local outcry. They basically demolished the building down to the original porch and built a new building behind that. Then they finally ripped off the porch and, voila, a shiny new fedders fugly p-o-s rose from the ashes of the lovely old house. And this was a previously intact 19th century/early 20th century street. It’s an absolute scar on the block.
“The original house (which matched #326) was demolished to the ground and rebuilt as an apt building on a renovation permit.”
-Grandarmy
On a renovation permit!?
And they got away with it?
OMG, MM! I can’t remember if it’s 324 or 326 Park Place that was the home of Alan Garcia and the famed “Garden of Harmony.” — but it’s one or the other of them.
Alan Garcia was a long time resident of Park Place. He was also a pretty well-known singer on the church circuit and just an all-around “gentleman” of an earlier era in Black Brooklyn. At any rate, we got to know Alan and his lovely free standing house with a columned porch on Park Place when we rented his incredible, terraced garden that he called the “Garden of Harmony.”
With those wonderfully deep backyard plots you find only in Prospect Heights, Alan had a great amount of space to create a botanical wonder and that he did! The lower terrace, which provided a great space for dancing and dining, featured a fantastic Koi pond in a clawfoot tub. The upper terrace was accessed by several steps which had risers that were hand painted with titles such as “peace,” “love”, “spirit”, etc. On that upper level were Victorian cast iron benches for seating amongst all kinds of flowering shrubs and trees and a remarkable vined pergola.
We rented the Garden of Harmony for our granddaughter’s baptism and naming ceremony back in the mid-1990’s. Sadly, Alan Garcia passed away around the turn of the new millennium. I have always wondered what happened to his house and garden since and whether those who inherited/purchased it would respect Mr. Garcia’s loving legacy. Wow. Thanks for the memories!
“Eerily desolate”? Not in the last 5 years! And certainly not on this block which is just one away from the Q train stop at 7th Ave and carries a river of pedestrians back and forth to the subway. The immediately adjacent buiklding is indeed a monstrosity and was a major motivation for the campaign to landmark Prospect Heights. The original house (which matched #326) was demolished to the ground and rebuilt as an apt building on a renovation permit. Btw, the owners of #326 are a lovely family who I don’t believe have any intention of moving. Sure, the exterior is scruffy but this is a very well loved home with huge character inside and out. It’s also very deep and certainly worth well in excess of $1m. Anyway, not every house has to be a show house.
oneeastern,
Very sad indeed.
Sometimes Prospect Heights feels eerily desolate. It would benefit from more foot traffic, which I’m hoping AL, ten years from now, will do.
sad to say, but I believe that driveway between the two buildings is the very spot where a young women was murdered about ten ago (could have been longer) walking home from the D train stop……block has changed a lot since then….
I’d love that porch…with a rocking chair on it.
babs,
You really think the building to the immediate left of this one looks like a fedders nightmare?
To me, it looks like a valiant effort at a federal style brick-with-limestone-trim four-story townhouse.
The building two doors to the left is the ugly beast.