Building of the Day: 129 Kane Street
Brooklyn, one building at a time. Name: Row house Address: 129 Kane Street Cross Streets: Corner of Hicks Neighborhood: Cobble Hill Year Built: 1840s Architectural Style: Greek Revival, with added Neo-Grec details Architect: Unknown Landmarked: Yes, part of Cobble Hill HD (1969) The story: This building is an example of how the layers of history…

Brooklyn, one building at a time.
Name: Row house
Address: 129 Kane Street
Cross Streets: Corner of Hicks
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Year Built: 1840s
Architectural Style: Greek Revival, with added Neo-Grec details
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes, part of Cobble Hill HD (1969)
The story: This building is an example of how the layers of history can be read on a building, like in the pages of a book. The row of five houses, including this corner house, was built in the 1840s by William D. McCarty. He was a local auctioneer who built these houses as a speculative development; he never lived in any of them. They are in the Greek Revival style, the dominant building style of that time, and probably the most prolific style in Cobble Hill, a sign that this is one of Brownstone Brooklyn’s older neighborhoods. The other houses have some fine details, including elegant wrought iron railings and intact dentiled cornices with their Greek Revival style brick fascias, which usually don’t survive.
This was Butler Street when this house was built, and was then Harrison Street until 1928, when the street was once again renamed, this time for James Kane, a local policeman and hero.
In the late 1870s or early 1880s, the storefront was added to this building, the façade adorned with Neo-Grec detailing. By this time, this part of the neighborhood had gone from merchant gentility to multi-family homes for immigrants from Sweden, Italy and other parts of Europe. The house’s original front entrance was removed, a retail space made, and the entrance to the upper floors moved to the side.
This building and its neighbors along Hicks Street were spared by the cutting of the BQE trench in the 1940s, but it altered the streetscape and the quality of life in the neighborhood forever. Today, the storefront itself has been altered, as well as restored. The space is no longer for retail, but has been once again reclaimed for living. The green, burgundy and cream paint job is complementary to the building, and is carried around to the Hicks St. side on the boards and brackets of the bump-out oriel. The Neo-Grec floral details and the scalloped pattern on the store cornice are highlighted to great visual effect. Nice job. GMAP

What's Your Take? Leave a Comment