Building of the Day: 347 MacDonough 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: 347 MacDonough Street, between Lewis and Stuyvesant
Name: Akwaaba Mansion Bed and Breakfast
Neighborhood: Stuyvesant Heights (Stuyvesant Heights Historic District)
Year Built: 1860’s
Architectural Style: Italianate
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes

Why chosen: This house was built when Stuyvesant Heights was still a suburban retreat. The grand Italianate villa, complete with cupola, was built for a local beer baron, and sits on a large 120′ x 100′ lot. As the years went by, the row houses of Bedford Stuyvesant grew up around it, and somewhere during that time, the house received its brick cladding and enclosed porch. Today it is Akwaaba Mansion, Bed Stuy’s first bed and breakfast, started by Glenn Pogue and Monique Greenwood-Pogue in 1995. They were only the fifth owners of the property, buying it from the Lilly family, African-Americans who had lived in the house since the early 1940’s. The business has been very successful, and has grown to include several other homes in different states. The house is often on the Bed Stuy House Tour. The interior has lots of original detail and the view from the cupola is great.