House of the Day

Prospect Heights Two-Family With Built-ins, Mantels, Stained Glass Asks $3.2 Million

In the Prospect Heights Historic District, this 1890s row house has some fine period details like a pier mirror, interior shutters, mantels and built-ins along with room for a new owner to make some modern upgrades.

by Susan De Vries

08/22/2022 3 minute 0

The house was built by prolific developer William H. Reynolds, who in 1896 was advertising “artistic colored stone dwellings” with tiled baths, hardwood trim and bookcases on the block of Park Place near Underhill Avenue. Reynolds developed much of the block between 1895 and 1898, and the Prospect Heights Historic District designation report dates No. 304 to circa 1897.

While there is a bit of variety among his buildings on the block, most have brownstone stoops and basements with sandstone upper stories and a cornucopia of ornamental details including some Romanesque and Renaissance Revival-style details in the mix. At 19 feet wide, No. 304 includes a full height angled bay adorned with ornamental panels, an L-shaped stoop and a deep cornice.

Currently used by the long-time owners as a single family according to the listing, the floor plan shows it set up as a triplex with a second kitchen on the top floor.

The parlor level includes a pier mirror in the large front parlor and built-ins, a stained glass-filled bay window and a columned mantel in the rear parlor. There are wood floors in both, although the images show the area in front of the rear parlor bay has been tiled.

The kitchen is in its traditional location on the garden level and has beadboard and a tin ceiling. The fairly spacious room also presents an opportunity for a modern makeover.

Upstairs the two bedrooms are joined via a passthrough. There aren’t any photos of it, but the listing notes the sinks shown on the floor plan are still marble. The bedrooms share a full bath which has doesn’t have its original tilework, but does have a fair amount of stained glass.

On the third floor there is a small kitchen at the rear, a full bath with a skylight and two bedrooms.

The property hasn’t changed hands since 1970 and the listing notes some TLC is needed. Listed with Christopher Howard of Compass it is priced at $3.2 million. What do you think?

[Listing: 304 Park Place | Broker: Compass] GMAP