Building of the Day: 147 Congress Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row house
Address: 147 Congress Street
Cross Streets: Henry and Clinton Streets
Neighborhood: Cobble Hill
Year Built: late 1890s
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes, part of Cobble Hill HD (1969)

The story: Local lore has it that this Queen Anne brownstone was inspired by another neighborhood house. In 1888, architect James Naughton, who made quite a name for himself as the Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn, took a simple Greek Revival brick row house, and transformed it into a charming, and much larger, Queen Anne, complete with a pyramidal roofed tower, bay window, and slate mansard roof. That house, at 334 Clinton Street, was the Naughton residence for many years. Naughton was one of Brooklyn’s two great school architects, creating masterpieces like Boys High School, Girls High School, and the PS 9 Annex, in the late 1880s and beyond. This house looks very much like the Naughton House.

Like 334 Clinton, 147 Congress Street has the same pyramid roofed tower, same low stoop and parlor floor entryway, mansard roof, and a bay to the right of the doorway. This bay is triangular, one of the few differences in style. It also boasts handsome cast iron fencing, railings, and newel posts, making it look much older, by decades, than it really is.

The house was built sometime around 1897 or so, and belonged to the estate of a Mr. C.F. A. Hindrichs, when it was auctioned off in 1898. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, it was purchased by a Mr. W. C. D. Fields, for $4,300. In 1901, the house is mentioned as the home of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac S. Coyler. The Coyler’s were an old Brooklyn family; Mr. Coyler was a member of the Society of Old Brooklynites, which was made up only of Brooklyn’s Old Guard families. He was also a Civil War veteran, and in his retirement, a senior commander of his veteran’s group. He also, like many well-to-do people, speculated in real estate, and was mentioned in several Eagle notices, buying and selling properties.

Present day, this house has recently undergone a metamorphosis. The house is mentioned as being brick, when it was sold at auction, but it is now stuccoed over in brownstone. That may have always been the case, and certainly makes the house fit in well with its brownstone Italianate neighbors. The stucco job we see today is new. The house has a new façade, a new metal roof that is meant to simulate slate, and the old terra-cotta panel peeks out from a new stucco façade. The cresting above the bay and front door are new, too. The detail on the brackets surrounding the front door is now muted, but the entryway is still quite majestic and elegant, with a restored double door. Quite like its inspiration, 334 Clinton, 147 Congress is a creation of modern styling. James Naughton created his dream home, the owner of this house created his as well; now a familiar part of the Cobble Hill streetscape. GMAP