Building of the Day: 9 Mac Donough 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: 9 MacDonough Street, between Marcy and Tompkins Name: Apartment building Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant Year Built: 1900 Architectural Style:…
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: 9 MacDonough Street, between Marcy and Tompkins
Name: Apartment building
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1900
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: No
Why chosen: Bedford Stuyvesant has many very beautiful apartment buildings. MacDonough Street between Marcy and Throop, has some of the best Renaissance Revival and Beaux Arts apartment buildings in all of Bed Stuy. This particular one has always been a favorite. It commands pride of place in a strategic line of sight from the intersection of Fulton and Marcy, where it looks like two tall townhouses with magnificent large windows. The center of the building can’t be seen until you get right up on it. I don’t know who designed this, but I hope to someday find out. The details; the deep detached cornices that don’t extend to cover the recessed entrance, the elegant and restrained ornament, and those wide, spacious windows all denote the hand of a master who is adept at illusion. The apartment building has 12 units, and has had a recent facelift, giving it even more curb appeal.
Joe – not a dumbbell tenement. From the street, you can’t tell what is and isn’t a dumbbell, unless there is no next door neighbor. From the air, as Montrose says, it is usually very clear (even more clear if you look at an aerial view of the lower east side). Dumbbell (old law) tenements went out of existence in 1901, when a new tenement law went into effect. I would guess that this building is post-1901 (based on the plan form), and probably post-1910 (based on the design). The building doesn’t appear in the 1907 atlas, but what is there could be a misrepresentation of the building (it shows the H in the rear, but not the courtyard in the front)..
late to party, but wanted to add that the building i live in now is one of those H like 5 story walk up buildings, doesnt look so much like rowhousey like these, but more like an apartment building, with courtyards flanking both sides.. it’s basically like this but turned around 90 degrees. really great read montrose, and all is good in the world knowing that even you partake in mickey D’s (or burger king) every once in a while!
*rob*
NOP, that’s funny. Thanks! Alas, I have been known to patronize the King on rare occasions. Even the Four Seasons gets tiring after awhile, and one longs for simpler fare. 😉
Joe, if you Google satellite map the address, you’ll see something interesting. The apt buildings to the left of #9 feature what is usually referred to as a dumbbell tenement, the air shafts between the buildings, with the cut out in the back. This one is much more pronounced, with two wings in the back and front, much more like an H. That is not typical at all, and is even more proof that this was a higher class building. It also clearly shows that the right wing, which looks set back in photos, actually is, and is not the same size as the left. Pretty cool.
Burger King?
You, Montrose?
Surely nothing less than Four Seasons!
Because of the air shaft/space in the middle, is this what would be called a “Dumbbell Tenement”, MM?
Is it just a trick of perspective or do those cornices hang over further than usual?
MM: this is really a great feature. Appreciate all your insights and am learning a lot. Thanks.
rf, I’ve sat at Burger King, staring at this building. It’s really easy to think that the center of the building isn’t there at all.
I probably should have been clearer, I state the building is between Marcy and Tompkins in the listing, but I was talking about the 2 blocks between Marcy and Throop, that have apartment buildings, specifically this group to the corner of Marcy, there are a couple midblock, the Raleigh on Tompkins, and the French Beaux Art apts on the corner of Throop, across from Our Lady of Victory. They are all great in their own way.
Interesting to read this about a building I’ve passed a zillion times! Can you see it from Fulton from the Burger King drivethrough?
Also, it’s between Marcy and Tompkins, really just off the corner of Marcy.