743 Greene Avenue 1

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Private House
Address: 743 Greene Avenue
Cross Streets: Marcus Garvey and Lewis Avenues
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: Around 1897
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Architect: Unknown, but suspect Axel Hedman
Landmarked: No

The story: The more research I do in Brooklyn’s Eastern District, the more I understand how tight knit a community it was there at the turn of the 20th century. Everyone who was anyone knew everyone else. The District’s German American businessmen who were so successful in their endeavors were all in the same social clubs; officers, trustees or depositors in the same banks, hired the same German American architects, their wives and children belonged to the same social set, and most lived in the same neighborhoods.

Breweries made many a fortune in the Eastern District, and our BOTD’s first owner was one of them. His name was August Carl Scharmann, and he, along with his brothers, owned H. B. Scharmann & Sons Brewing Company, one of Bushwick’s medium sized brewers. The company had been started by August Scharmann’s father, one of the thousands of German immigrants who came here in the 1850s. The sons were added to the company name in 1888, and the brewery was in operation from 1882 to 1920, when Prohibition put them out of business. The brewery was at 355-375 Pulaski Street, not that far from this address.

A.C. Scharmann, as he seemed to generally go by, bought two lots, side by side, for this house, in 1897, from Isaac C. DeBevoise, who lived just down the street at the time. The DeBevoise family was one of Brooklyn’s oldest and wealthiest Dutch families, and their names are interspersed regularly throughout Brooklyn history. He was a big real estate name, with properties all over Brooklyn. I was not able to find the architect for this project, which was strange, but it has the look of the work of Axel Hedman, a Swedish-born architect who was very active at this time, and was a master of the Renaissance Revival style, typified by limestone facades, with restrained classical ornament.

A look at the streetscape of this block shows that this was definitely one of the last houses built here, date wise. The adjoining row houses to the left are at least ten years older, and the mansions even older than that. This was once a very well to do block, and like many of the blocks of Bedford Stuyvesant in the Eastern District, was once a suburban retreat of large single family mansions, most owned by German brewers or factory owners. A look at the 1900 and 1910 census bears that out. Many of the mansions in the center of this block are now gone, with empty lots remaining.

The German networking in A.C.’s life brings up some familiar names. Although he was half owner of the brewery, he spent the last decades of his life in the banking business. He was a Trustee in the German Savings Bank, and in 1914, became the First Vice President. In that capacity, he was a fellow trustee with architect Theobald Engelhardt, who probably designed his father’s brewery. He may have designed this house as well, although it’s not really his style. Several other brewers were on the trustee board, as well.

It was considered an honor, and a big ego boost to be asked to be a bank trustee, and most had no banking experience other than the large amounts deposited in those banks. The wealthier you were, the better your chances to be on the board of several banks. It would be difficult to actually pay attention to everything, and that would be a problem for A.C., when he became one of the trustees in the Lafayette Trust, the bank that had been run by the Jenkins family of Williamsburg, under another name. He was named in the lawsuit that followed the failure of that bank. He had shares in stock, and was being sued for $30,000 to pay off investors. He was eventually not held liable.

A.C. was also a trustee of the Manufacturer’s Trust, and was very active in Democratic politics. He gave generously to charity; giving to the German Hospital Society, and he was on the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities. He was a member of the Eastern District Turn Verein, the very influential German social society, by this time located on the corner of Gates and Bushwick Avenues. It was designed by Theobald Engelhardt, who was also a member.

The Scharmann family was quite well-off, and the daughters, Lillian and Frieda were often in the social pages. Mrs. Lillie Scharmann was too, as she and Lillian were avid riders, and competed in Brooklyn society’s tony equestrian affairs. The family did suffer a great tragedy in the death of nine year old son John, who died in Germany of appendicitis, while the family was on vacation in 1907.

A.C. Scharmann died of a heart attack in his house in 1917. He’s buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in Bushwick, home to many wealthy Germans in the Eastern District. By 1922, Lillie and the girls have moved out, and are now in Flatbush. The house and the neighborhood change hands, as wealthy and middle class Jewish families now make up the majority of the population of this part of the Eastern District. The next owners of this large house are the Nishman family. In 1923, young Bess Nishman throws an elaborate luncheon party where all of the female guests dress up as Chinese dolls, in full costume. OK…

The Eastern District of Bedford Stuyvesant is more or less forgotten after that. Black folks replace the Jewish folk, and the neighborhood continues to be well kept, although no longer wealthy. The big houses get subdivided, and some get torn down. This house, which is 25×50, with 5200 square feet, is now four apartments. There’s also a garage in the back. The Scharmanns are long forgotten, the brewery long gone, but the house A.C. had built remains, with a new history to be discovered, someday. Meanwhile, there are still other houses and mansions on this block, and they too, have great histories. GMAP

Please join Morgan Munsey and myself on two walking tours of Bedford Stuyvesant, this weekend. Saturday, 8/24 is the Eastern District, Sunday, 8/25 is the Stuyvesant Heights Expansion District. Both are through the Municipal Arts Society, and information and tickets can be purchased on their website. I hope to see you.

Photo: Googlemaps
Photo: Google Maps

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