Building of the Day: 1423 Bedford 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: 1423 Bedford Ave, corner of Prospect Place Name: Commercial Building Neighborhood: Crown Heights North Year Built: Unknown Architectural…
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: 1423 Bedford Ave, corner of Prospect Place
Name: Commercial Building
Neighborhood: Crown Heights North
Year Built: Unknown
Architectural Style: Commercial with vaguely Neo-Classical elements
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: No
Why chosen: When built, probably in the late teens or early 1920’s, this building housed one of the many automobile related businesses that gave this stretch of Bedford Avenue the name Automobile Row. It probably housed a dealership/showroom. The classical urns would have made this a very swanky showroom. You can just picture a couple of those sleek Jazz Age roadsters in the large windows. It’s really rather amazing these urns and the balustrade have survived, as well as a vestige of the white glazed terra-cotta tiles, which probably completely covered the facade. By the 1940’s, all of the car companies were gone, most out of business or merged with Detroit’s Big Three, and many of these buildings found other uses. Some of the larger showrooms became churches, clinics, stores, or even housing. This building was a day care center, and its latest incarnation, up until last year, was a Beverage Barn, a wholesale beer and soda outlet. I wonder what it will be next.
I should have been clearer too – the Kahn building is long gone. I think there is a KFC on the site!
That’s interesting, WBer. Will have to go down there and look.
By covering the facade, I meant except for the window openings, which as the beverage place, were all opened for walk-in. I should have been clearer, as I knew what I meant, doesn’t mean everyone else does.
There’s a theatre with urns like this — along the top of the roof — near where I live. I always wondered if it was late 1890s or teens. I checked a 1904 map recently and it wasn’t there yet. Something makes me think this was a WWI-related craze. Not sure why I think that. Maybe I’ve seen WWI veteran’s memorials with urns.
quote:
I wonder what it will be next.
A muffin shop.
I love these old terra-cotta taxpayers and showrooms – they’re all over the city. Interestingly, I came across some new building permits for a Ford showroom just south of here – across from Ebbets Field between Crown and Carroll, I think. It was designed by Albert Kahn, which is why it jumped out at me.
I don’t think the terra cotta would have covered the facade – it was a showroom, so it probably had show windows.
So THAT’s the deal with those urns! Thank you, Montrose.
The “Cars, Culture, and the City” exhibit at the MoTCoNY had a whole section devoted to the old car showrooms along Bedford Avenue and they had some spectacular images. It *IS* a shame that most of them have been butchered beyond recognition or razed. I wonder if there are any survivors with their art deco interiors relatively intact?
oh MM, i love your articles
quote:
I wonder what it will be next.
something horribly pretentious im sure..
this was a good article, it’s funny how much history really is behind these buildings that most people probably wouldnt even notice.
*rob*