Building of the Day: 146 Sterling Place

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row house
Address: 146 Sterling Place
Cross Streets: Seventh and Flatbush Avenues
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1887
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Lawrence B. Valk
Other works by architect: House and row next door at 21-27 7th Avenue. Also many churches, including 6th Ave Baptist Church, and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, both in Park Slope.
Landmarked: Yes, part of Park Slope HD (1973)

The story: It should come as little surprise that my favorite house style is Queen Anne. There is so much variety in this style, so an architect’s creativity can really shine. These houses are also ready canvases for all of the wonderful ornament that was available to the builders: stained glass, terra-cotta, carved stone, wrought and cast iron, different kinds of brick and stone and exterior uses of wood. Inside was the same, with a wealth of woods available for woodwork, mantels, built-ins, and inlaid floors, not to mention tile, glass, brass, glass and fixtures. I’ve been in quite a few Queen Anne’s and although the basic configurations may be about the same, the variety of styles, the imagination of designers, and the skill of many anonymous hands is never tiresome.

Park Slope has one of the best collections of Queen Anne’s in Brooklyn; perhaps not in numbers, as I think Bed Stuy has them beat, but in terms of exterior variety, and exceptional quality. It always helps to have money, and with QA, more money could often mean more ornamental goodies. This house has always been in my top ten Park Slope Queen Anne collection. It doesn’t have a fancy turret oriel, like the house on the corner, also designed by the same architect, but it’s got a sturdy, yet arty elegance that I really like.

Lawrence B. Valk was a very good architect. Almost all of his surviving buildings are now landmarked, or on the National Register, and each one has that je ne sais quois that makes you take a second look, or appreciate a detail that you may have not noticed before. His was a stealthy talent. He’s best known for his churches, and all of them are very good, as well. I find his St. Matthew’s Lutheran on 6th Ave. and 2nd St. to be a powerful building, and on the Clinton Hill/ Bed Stuy border, his Universalist Church, now Bethel 7th Day Adventist, on Grand Ave, is also a Queen Anne gem.

Here, we have almost a stand-alone house, sitting in the middle of this awkward street that leads to busy Flatbush Avenue. Its neighbor next to the garage, his spectacular Lillian Ward house, really belongs to the rest of the group on 7th Avenue, and the Italianate house to the left is at least 15 or 20 years older. Valk takes advantage of the lot, and designs a great, classic Queen Anne, with all the ornament, and also a lot of control. He designed it for Charles Pied, a well-to-do lawyer.

The elements are pleasingly asymmetrical, with the eye going up the building from left to right; the doorway to the second floor oriel to the smaller third floor dormer, all united by color, material and texture. The terra-cotta trim, with Valk’s signature use of square tiles is quite fine. He used the same tiles on the Universalist Church. On the open side of the building, he took advantage of the space to craft three ornate chimneys, using brickwork to great advantage. The wrought iron, the stained glass, and carved stone, are more icing on the cake.

Lawrence Valk and his son, Arthur; his business partner, left New York for sunny southern California in the 1890’s. They did well there too, the junior Valk becoming quite well known for his movie palaces. There is an exuberant, yet refined theatricality in Valk’s Queen Anne designs. This was surely a great influence on Arthur, and we are fortunate that these houses are here to enjoy. GMAP