Building of the Day: 444-450 Hancock Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row houses
Address: 444-450 Hancock Street
Cross Streets: Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Lewis Avenue
Neighborhood: Stuyvesant Heights
Year Built: 1887
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: John C. Bushfield
Other Buildings by Architect: Row houses on this block, also marble houses on Putnam, plus houses on Decatur, Gates and elsewhere in greater Bedford Stuyvesant area
Landmarked: No, but in proposed Stuyvesant North Historic District

The story: John C. Bushfield was one of Bedford’s busy medium-sized developers. He wasn’t huge, like William Reynolds or the Bishop or Bliss families, developing entire sides of blocks at a time, but he had more property than the small guy with a couple of lots and a dream. As more and more information is gathered concerning the people who built our neighborhoods, John Bushfield’s name is popping up more and more. Like most developers in Brooklyn in the 19th century, he stayed local. He lived in Bedford, and only developed there.

In spite of his activities in the area, we don’t know much about the man himself. We know he was a roofer in the beginning; his name appears in several city directories, and he is then listed as a builder in listings from the mid-1880s. He was married, and his wife was named Emma. Several of his properties were in her name, as well as his. For this project, as well as the others on this block, he is listed as not only the owner, but also the builder and the architect.

Bushfield had an imagination, and was not beyond using unconventional materials. He was responsible for the marble clad houses at 326-328 Decatur Street, a couple of blocks away. Many of his other houses were in the Neo-Grec style. These Queen Anne houses are actually among the largest he built. Most of his houses are 17.5 to 18 feet wide; these are 20. An experienced builder could easily build a small row of townhouses without an architect, and more than likely, he had someone draw up the plans and sign off on his designs.

They are very eclectic houses, but perhaps Mr. Bushfield’s lack of architectural training explains some of the great things about these houses and some of the flaws. The center three houses stand together quite well, and have a great combination of brick and stone. The two end houses, while great on their own, look lost as bookend houses; they don’t really unite the row, as they should. If the materials weren’t the same, one would question if they were designed by the same architect or were part of the greater group. By design, ignorance, a client’s wishes — who knows?

So far, we know Bushfield designed 20 or 30 houses in Bedford and Stuyvesant Heights. He was also in court a lot, and lost several of his houses in foreclosure and other court settlements. Emma Bushfield was called into court, as well. As mentioned at other times, many husbands put properties in their wives’ names to shield their assets. Sometimes it worked; more often, especially as you get closer to the 20th century, it didn’t. Having a property in Emma’s name didn’t work well for them. After about 1910, they left Brooklyn for reasons unknown, and moved upstate.

There were some fascinating stories coming out of this group. I’m going to write about some of the more interesting people and events at a later time. There’s quite a bunch, spread out over five houses. We’ve got Suffragists, stentorian actors, philandering husbands, and the specter of a large busy factory that butted up next to their back doors, among other things, causing much anger and protest. These houses on Hancock Street form a wonderful setting for human drama. Hancock Street, we’ll be back.

(Photograph: Christopher Bride for PropertyShark)

GMAP