Clinton Hill Two-Bedroom in Rear Extension With Skylight, Loft, Mantel, Garden Asks $3,850

This unusual apartment in Clinton Hill appears to be carved out of the rear dining room extension of an 1869 mansion.

by Stephen Zacks

10/24/2019 3 minute 0

This unusual apartment in Clinton Hill appears to be carved out of the rear dining room extension of an 1869 mansion (not a carriage house, as the listing says). The address is 457 Clinton Street, a 30-foot-wide Second Empire-style house that comprises seven units, including this one.

The apartment is a duplex two-bedroom with a skylight above the living room, a lofted area over the kitchen, and a private backyard, which is split off from the main building with a fence. The living room has a decorative mantel with a tile surround and neo-Classical columns. Whether it’s working or not we do not know.

The two bedrooms are on the lower level and appear to be on the ground floor, going by an old certificate of occupancy from 1984. The master has two windows facing the backyard, two closets and a door directly into the bathroom. The smaller bedroom has one closet, a tiny window and a door into a side garden.

There’s also a coat closet and a washer/dryer in the downstairs bathroom closet. Another bathroom on the living room level is shown in a photo with a vintage glass-enclosed shower and wall tiles with black borders.

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457 Clinton Avenue is in the Clinton Hill Historic District and is one of the more picturesque mansions on Clinton Avenue. Brownstoner columnist Suzanne Spellen has described it as “a hidden gem,” a “stucco-covered house with a central tower and a wide front porch,” built for a wholesale flour merchant and later home to Richard Barnes, the son of one of Brooklyn’s largest publishers, who also lived on Clinton Avenue. The certificate of occupancy indicates it has had seven units since at least 1984. An 1881 ad mentions the two-story dining room in the extension.

The place is asking $3,850 a month, and is listed by Andrea Anzaldo (Weksler) of Douglas Elliman. It is worth the price?

[Listing: 457 Clinton Avenue, APT 1C | Broker: Douglass Elliman] GMAP