Building of the Day: 582-604 Bergen Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row Houses
Address: 582-604 Bergen Street
Cross Streets: Carlton and Vanderbilt
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights
Year Built: 1886
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: William H. Wirth
Landmarked: Yes, part of Prospect Heights HD (2009)

The story: As one goes from the northern to southern end of Prospect Heights you can see the progression of time and patterns of real estate development in the styles and quality of the housing stock. This particular block was built adjacent to the industrial part of Prospect Heights, as was built as middle class housing.

The twelve houses are designed in two styles, and arranged in an A-B-A-A-B-A-A-B-A-A-B-A configuration. They are a modest Queen Anne style group, with classic QA use of rough faced stone, brick, wood cornices, elegant cast iron, and terra-cotta. The terra-cotta is quite simple, inset tile blocks, and lends itself well to these very English terrace style houses, unique to the area, and not that common in the rest of Brooklyn.

The group was built by developer/builder Thomas Butler, from the designs of architect William Wirth. Wirth didn’t leave much in terms of personal information, or even a large body of work. He designed two other groups in Prospect Heights; 287-289 and 305 – 307 Prospect Place. He is on record as having an office in Brooklyn from the mid-1880’s to the mid-1930’s.

Most of these houses have retained their ironwork, which are some of the best features of the houses. They have elegant and generous front yards, and the juxtaposition of the rough stone on the stairs and ground floors, the cast iron railings the decorative brick and terra cotta, and the plants all form a very pleasing streetscape. These are middle class houses that anyone would be proud of. With only one a couple of exceptions, this is a very unified and intact row, great additions to the many fine styles seen in the rowhouses of our borough. GMAP