House of the Day

Bed Stuy Brownstone With Carved Lion Heads, Mantels, Built-ins, Stained Glass Asks $1.799 Million

An attractive Romanesque Revival brownstone in Bed Stuy is dripping with original details and perhaps just needs a bit of spiffing up to bring it back to glory.

by Susan De Vries

03/23/2020 4 minute 0

An attractive Romanesque Revival brownstone in Bed Stuy is dripping with original details and perhaps just needs a bit of spiffing up to bring it back to glory. The four-story house at 560 MacDonough Street is a legal two-family currently set up as a single family.

The original details include multiple carved wood mantels, stained glass, wainscoting and built-ins. All that detail dates to about 1894. That year, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle proclaimed the street a “thoroughfare lined with trees and ivy” where solidly brownstone blocks were eschewed in favor of a “diversified architecture.” The block of houses between Ralph and Patchen, including 560 Macdonough, were mostly constructed between 1893 and 1894 and many of them by prolific builder Charles G. Reynolds, old ads show.

Some of that detail is on view in the front parlor, including a heavily carved mantel complete with lion heads. The rear parlor has lost its mantel in favor of an exposed brick wall, but the impressive rear-facing bay window is intact along with a wall of cabinetry.

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The dining room of the three-story house gives a good taste of the original lushness of the interior. Located at the front of the garden level, it’s got elaborate built-ins, wainscoting and a fireplace complete with what looks like the original tile and metal insert. An elaborate glassed-in display case with mirrored back can be seen glimpsed next to the fireplace, and a sideboard has shelves, mirrors and carved neo-Colonial details (with a hint of Art Nouveau in the curves).

Just beyond is the kitchen and although not perhaps au courant in terms of design, it is certainly spacious and appears in good shape. According to the listing there is just one full kitchen, but the floor plan shows an additional kitchen or wet bar on the top floor.

Only one of the seven bedrooms is depicted. It’s got another mantel and original window surrounds –and hopefully some wood floors are tucked under that carpeting. None of the 2.5 baths are shown, so it’s unclear what state they are in. The listing does recommend bringing your architect or contractor along so perhaps a bit of renovation is needed.

The house last sold in 2006 for $745,000. It’s now on the market with Anthony Morris and Lisa James of Corcoran for $1.799 million. What do you think?

[Listing: 560 MacDonough Street | Broker: Corcoran] GMAP