304 Marlborough Rd. KL, PS

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Former Thomas Benton Ackerson House
Address: 304 Marlborough Road
Cross Streets: Beverley and Cortelyou Roads
Neighborhood: Beverly Square West/Ditmas Park
Year Built: 1903
Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
Architect: Unknown, perhaps Benjamin Dreisler
Other works by architect: Many other houses in Victorian Flatbush
Landmarked: No, but part of a proposed Beverley Square West Historic District

The story: During the last decade of the 19th century, the old farmsteads owned by some of Brooklyn’s oldest Dutch families began disappearing one by one, bought by canny land developers who planned some of Long Island’s first commuter suburbs. Flatbush was the Promised Land, according to these visionaries, where a man could live with his family in a large house on a comfortably sized lot, surrounded by like-minded and amenable people, in a “country house in the city.” Most importantly, he could have the best of suburban life, while still able to commute to Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn in less than an hour by a train located only blocks from his house. Who could ask for more?

It was a good plan. Flatbush was large, with room for many of these suburban neighborhoods, and by 1910, there were at least twelve separate named developments, creating the largest concentration of free-standing, so-called “Victorian” houses in the entire country. While some developers had only the time, energy and money to develop one neighborhood, which was certainly a task unto itself, one man managed to develop three. His name was Thomas Benton Ackerson, “T.B.” to everyone. Beverly Square West was one of his developments, and this house in Beverley Square West was his home.

Ackerson didn’t come from a real estate or architectural background. He made his money the old fashioned way; he worked hard and saved. He was a long time employee of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, who had a tidy nest egg saved up, and wanted to invest it wisely. His boss told him the magic words, “Real estate,” and a developer was born. He bought a plot of land, built a house, and sold it. Although it took a year to sell it, and he didn’t make much money, he was hooked, and wanted more. His first foray into Flatbush resulted in the neighborhood he called Beverley Square East. By 1901, all of the houses in BSE had sold, and he looked west. He bought ten acres of land from one of those old Dutch landowners, Catherine Lott, and began the development of Beverley Square West.

Like all of the developers in Victorian Flatbush, he had ideas of what the ideal suburban community should look like, and he had rules and regulations stipulating the size of the houses and other details. This time the houses were going to be a bit smaller than in BSE. He insisted that all of the houses had to be different, resulting in a neighborhood of architectural delights, with all of the styles and details of the period in full display. Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Four-Square, bungalows and other styles vie for their piece of the streetscape. Lover of architectural detail such as stained glass, turned woodwork, large porches, dormers, towers, peaked roofs and classical columns are more than satisfied with the work of the architects who created these houses.

Ackerson would go on to develop South Midwood, South Greenfield and Fiske Terrace in Flatbush. Later, he and his brothers, who also went only by their initials, developed Roosevelt Park in Maplewood, NJ, and Brightwaters, in Islip, Long Island. Ironically, the Beverley Squares did not make all that much money, as the houses were built to order. After that, they began building their homes to their own sets of plans, and also preparing the lots with roads, utility lines and other infrastructure. This kept prices down, and enabled them to deliver a quality product at an affordable cost. Their company was very, very successful.

304 Marlborough Road was T.B. Ackerson’s own home. He could have certainly built bigger and showier in his own development, but he wasn’t that kind of man. This house is in the middle of one of the blocks of his Beverley Square West development, and while attractive, was not attention getting, not in a neighborhood where every house was different. Love the enclosed second floor porch! He hired some of the best suburban house architects out there, men who were designing in Prospect Park South, Ditmas Park, and other parts of Flatbush.

We’re not sure who designed this house, but it could have been John J. Petit, (although not his style), A. White Pierce, J.A. Davidson or Benjamin Dreisler, all of whom were hired in Beverley Square West. Hopefully this neighborhood will be landmarked, as hoped for by many. It’s too good to be allowed to be casually, and individually destroyed. GMAP

(Photo: Kate Leonova for PropertyShark)

Photograph: Forgotten New York
Photograph: Forgotten New York

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