House of the Day: A Grand Colonial Revival Townhouse in Clinton Hill

This unusual Clinton Hill house at 417 Grand Avenue is Colonial Revival and dates from 1909. It is part of a group of three designed by John J. Petit of Kirby, Petit & Greene, who is well known for his Japanese, Swiss, Spanish Colonial and other themed houses in Prospect Park South.

The landmarked house is very grand on the inside, with impressive proportions and a combination of Renaissance Revival and Colonial Revival details. It is 25 by 70 feet wide with five stories, according to PropertyShark, which would put the whole thing at 8,750 square feet. In fact, the listing calls the building “The Grandeur,” which seems fitting.

Unfortunately, there are not many photos and no floor plan. Although it’s been a two-family since 1975, it was chopped into 14 units in 1953, according to the certificates of occupancy. There are amazing details in the photos of the rooms shown, but it looks like it probably needs a lot of work.

We see herringbone floors and a near-original kitchen with impressive cabinetry and subway tile walls. There are six fireplaces and six bathrooms, plus plenty of fancy wood work, paneling and columns.

It was a Building of the Day last year and, incidentally, the site of a drug raid that same week, according to our own report at the time. The listing suggests it would work well as rentals or condos.

It last sold in January to an LLC for $2,500,000. Now the asking price is $3,999,000. What do you make of it? Has anyone seen this place in person?

417 Grand Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP
Photos by Corcoran