House of the Day

Park Slope Neo-Grec With Striking Woodwork, Original Ice Box, Six Mantels Asks $4.495 Million

The longtime owner of this stately brownstone clearly attended to its details, which include stained glass, an elaborate foyer and pocket doors.

by Stephen Zacks

01/30/2019 4 minute 0

A stately, exceptionally angular Neo-Grec on Garfield Place, this three-family brownstone is part of a row in the Park Slope Historic District constructed by the same builder and architect in 1890. Like the others, it speaks through adherence to the classical order that was being rediscovered after the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which renewed an interest in ancient Greek architecture, rather than through the more ornate details of the periods that preceded and followed.

This one at 228 Garfield has classical pilasters on either side of the double doors and transom, with a foliate frieze and horizontal moldings above, a three-sided window bay, and bracketed cornice. The designation report notes that the houses “reflect a trend on the part of the builders” — Martin & Lee, and the architect Charles Werner — “to create variety within the traditional city row,” especially in the “subtle variations in the capitals of the columns flanking the doorways.” The report also notes that the street name was changed in 1883 in honor of President James Garfield, two years after he was assassinated by a delusional speechwriter.

Inside, the long-time owner used 228 as a one-family. They clearly attended to its details, which include stained glass and a great deal of unpainted wood work in good condition. We see four mantels (the house has six), a built-in bench with pier mirror and fretwork in the foyer, the stairway, and door and window trim, all original.

The long front parlor has a more recent built-in bookcase, and there are wood shutters and four sets of pocket doors. The ground floor kitchen is all hard-edged gray, although somewhere in there (not pictured) is a built-in oak ice box and pie safe, the listing tells us.

Upstairs is a grand master suite whose bathroom-slash-dressing room takes up more than half the floor. It includes a steam room, original mantel with blue tile, and an island with a vessel sink.

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The walls are adorned with plenty of eye-catching art work, especially photography, which we would like to think we could identity — Alfred Steiglitz, Berenice Abbott? — but can’t. At any rate, we spotted a 1980s perfume ad and animals in 19th-century attire in the mix.

Altogether it’s six bedrooms and four baths to feast on with a small garden in back that practically looks like Olmsted had a hand in it.

It’s asking a not inconsiderable $4.495 million and is being shown by Judith Lief of Corcoran. Can you handle it all?

[Listing: 228 Garfield Place | Broker: Corcoran] GMAP