Building of the Day: 58 Maple 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: 58 Maple Street, between Bedford and Flatbush Avenues Name: Private House Neighborhood: Lefferts Manor in Prospect Lefferts Gardens…
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: 58 Maple Street, between Bedford and Flatbush Avenues
Name: Private House
Neighborhood: Lefferts Manor in Prospect Lefferts Gardens (PLG Historic District)
Year Built: 1924
Architectural Style: Neo-Georgian with Mediterranean Mission Revival details
Architects: Bly and Hamman
Landmarked: Yes
Why chosen: Flatbush, which PLG is a part of, is a wonderful mixture of urban and suburban architecture, cataloging the changes in the mindset and lifestyles of the late 19th and early 20th century homeowner. From row houses in a continuous line down a street, to similar homes only semi-detached to allow for garages, to different kinds of buildings altogether: the freestanding suburban home. By the 1920’s, these homes ranged from the gigantic to the compact, but most with that 20th century necessity, the garage. Like most building in New York City, some of these homes were built on spec, but some were built for specific people who probably pre-bought, and were allowed changes or customization within certain designs. A walk down this block of Maple Street is a trip back in time to the Jazz Age of the 1920’s. Colonial Revival or neo-Georgian architecture was very popular back then, and most of the houses on this block, although built by different firms, embraced this style, and then tweaked it in their own special ways. 58 Maple, built by the firm of Bly and Hamman, in 1924, is an unlikely combination of Georgian and Mediterranean-tiled Mission Revival architecture. Oddly enough, it works. The sun porch, for example, weds Georgian casement windows with fanlights, to a Mediterranean Mission-style tiled roof, a precursor of the amalgamation used in the entire house. Because of the one-family Lefferts Manor covenant, these houses remain the gracious one family houses they were intended to be, helping to make this block a unique part of Brooklyn’s varied housing stock.
Very nice house and the sun porch is the coolest part. I must confess though, I’d rather see the driveway lined with planters filled with lush flowers than with cars.
transittillie,
The Midwood Street house whose back shows up in the photograph is not a “Fedders special”; it’s a colonial revival that’s part of our historic district. As I’m sure you know, most row house rears are rather plain.
Are there many old Sears and Roebuck type of kit-homes in Brooklyn?
They are surprisingly beautiful and high-quality!
http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/1908-1914.htm
This block of Maple St.[Maple I] is quite different from most LM blocks. It has houses ranging from simple attached colonial revival to full-fledged mansions. This handsome house is sort of in the middle.
It’s beautiful. Reminds me of the Berler Houses at 809-811 Riverside Drive. Sad to see the Fedders special to the rear, however. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if all architects and builders considered context?