Bedford Historic District Map.

This is the proposed Bedford Historic District map from LPC. I feel a new historic district coming soon...

Architecture of George Pool Chappell in the Proposed Bedford Historic District

Architect George Pool Chappell with his first wife, Hester Louisa Candee Chappell

George Pool Chappell was born in 1857 in the then Bedford section of Brooklyn NY.  When I first moved to Bedford Stuyvesant it was George Chappell's 1888 First AMEZ Church ( Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church) on MacDonough Street and Tompkins Avenue  that caught my attention.  The campanile was Bedford Stuyvesant's own venetian tower I thought to myself. Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church AKA Dr. Meredith House was one of the largest protestant sanctuaries in the country.  I often wonder how such a young architect at the time got such a large commission. I think it has a bit has to do with Chappell living across the street from the church site at the time. 

About two years ago I got my own commission to do renovation work on a beautiful landmarked George P. Chappell house on Dean Street.  While surveying that house I began to respect this very smart Victorian architect.  I wanted to know more about him his works, what kind of man was he... The good news is that we know much of his Brooklyn works (look here) the bad news is we know nothing about this mystery man except he was very respected and a stand-up citizen of Brooklyn .
According to Suzanne Spellen (aka Montrose Morris on brownstoner.com) Chappell appears in Brooklyn directories in 1878. We know nothing about his education or possible apprenticeships or training. We do know that he was extremely talented, and prolific. Most of his work was done in what is now Crown Heights North, Bedford Stuyvesant, and Park Slope, along with a lesser amount of work in Clinton Hill and other neighborhoods. He is listed in the census as living in Bedford Stuyvesant, on Monroe Street, when he was 23, with his mother and grandmother, and he is listed as a builder. Later in life, he moved to Crown Heights North, and lived on St. Marks Avenue, at least in the beginning of the 20th century. As more and more areas become landmarked, or at least researched, more Chappell buildings are being re-discovered and credited to him. Chappell should be name Mr Dean Street of Mr. Crown Heights.  Most of the ohh ahhh buildings in that neighborhood are done by Chappell.

Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church b.1888 G.P. Chappell Architect

 I want to focus on the George P. Chappell buildings in the Proposed but not landmarked Bedford Historic District.  According to a tour I attended with Guru Andrew Dolkart, architect  George Chappell earliest buildings in this Bedford area are 76 and 78 Halsey built sometime before 1885. Chappell was one of the first architects to not use the typical Neo-Grec house designs in Bedford.  Chappell's 76 and 78 Halsey Street is done in the simple Romanesque Revival Style which added some spice to this area.

78 and 76 Halsey Street George Chappell Architect built around 1883

 Front elevation of 76 Halsey Street George Chappell Architect

78 and 76 Halsey Street George Chappell Architect built around 1883

In 1886 Chappell out did himself in Bedford with the house he designed at 194 Hancock Street for Louis Gibbins.  194 Hancock Street uses Renaissance-inspired forms and details, which tend to exhibit a more elegant handling of materials and ornament.   The current owners have done a great deal of work restore this house back to its original glory.

194 Hancock Street b.1887 G.P. Chappell architect/ original owner Louis Gibbins

194 Hancock Street b.1887 G.P. Chappell architect/ original owner Louis Gibbins

1887 was a busy year for Chappell in Bedford District with the building of nine house being designed and built. 60 Macon Street Done in a classic Chappell style using a large bay front done in brick with a boat cut brownstone base. Oriels on the side to give this place great light and garden views. 

60 Macon Street b.1887 G.P. Chappell architect/ Built by Arnold Wagner

Chappell will be very surprise today to learn that many of his houses are now on the market for a million dollars here in Bedford, Crown Heights North and Park Slope.  This group at 271 - 279 Jefferson was built for developer Susanna and Walter Russell who built much of the Proposed Bedford District. We see from Prudential Douglas Elliman photos that Chappell's signature fret, woodwork and stain glass are still intact in 271 Jefferson.

271 -279 B. 1887 G.P. Chappell Architect; S.E.C. Russell Builder/Developer

 The last group of Chappell 1887 homes in Bedford are probably his most famous but not because of the architecture but due to Spike Lee movie Crooklyn filmed at 7 Arlington Place.  1 - 7 Arlington Place are some of my favorite but somewhat simple homes done by Chappell.  The end  two houses, which are united by continuous sills and moldings, also share rusticated stone first floors and denticulated moldings. The two middle houses share similar brownstone facades with stone trim, identical cornices, and continuous moldings, all four houses remain well preserved.

1 - 7 Arlington Pl /B. 1887 G.P. Chappell Architect; Horace Russell Builder/Developer

 

1 - 7 Arlington Pl from Halsey Street G.P. Chappell Architect 1887

George Pool Chappell with his second wife, Clare Chase Chappell, his daughter, Marjorie Halstead, and his 2 grandchildren, Hester and Berrian Halstead.

 Finally the Macon.  This is Chappell's largest residential building in the Bedford District. Chappell really took advantage of the curved intersection of Macon and Arlington Place.  This grand apartment was built sometime in the 1890s most likely after the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in the classical style of the White City.  This building was built to compete with other high end flats such as the Alhambra and the Renaissance all within the same area.  George P. Chappell has many other buildings in Bedford Stuyvesant but I wanted to focus on the proposed landmarked buildings. 

1890s The Macon George P. Chappell Architect

George Pool Chappell at work…

Chappell worked over fifty years building much of Bedford, Stuyvesant Heights, Crown Heights North, Clinton Hill and Park Slope. George Pool Chappell died in June 1933.

To learn more about George Pool Chappell please join us tomorrow for a MAS Crown Heights North Walking tour: http://mas.org/tours/

BEDFORD LANDMARKING FORUM

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold an official community meeting regarding the creation of the Bedford Historic District on March 21^st, 2012 at 6:30 PM at Restoration Plaza, in the lower level Community Room. Restoration Plaza is located at 1368 Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission will present an overview of the commission’s designation and regulatory processes. Property owners in the proposed district have been notified by letter of the meeting and will have an opportunity to ask questions about the process and what it means to the community.

Bedford Corners comprises the blocks of: Macon Street between Arlington Place and Marcy Avenue; Arlington Place between Halsey Street and Macon Street; Halsey Street between Bedford Avenue and Marcy Avenue; Hancock Street between Bedford Avenue and Tompkins Avenue; Jefferson Avenue from Nostrand Avenue to Tompkins Avenue; and Putnam Avenue, Monroe Street and Madison Street between Nostrand Avenue and extending east to Marcy Avenue.

Bedford Historic District will be only the third new historic district named in Bedford-Stuyvesant since 1971, when the Stuyvesant Heights district was formed. Growing support for the formation of Bedford Corners has been shown with a community awareness campaign to the proposed district launched by a coalition of block associations in the district. Over the past 2 years the Bedford District Block Associations coalition has organized 3 public information forums for residents and property owners. Additional information was supplied by the Historic Districts Council at these forums. The designation of this district has also garnered the support of Borough President Marty Markowitz , City Councilmember Al Vann, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Community Board #3.

This district has filed a Request for Evaluation with the LPC and has been awaiting surveying and calendaring procedures. The official LPC forum on March 21^st marks the first official step on the part of the LPC to further the designation process. Following this community meeting the next steps will be a public hearing at the Commission office and a vote by the City Council. It is crucial for those in favor of landmark designation to attend this meeting.

For further information see:

http://bedfordstuyvesantsocietyforhistoricpreservation.org/

Free Talk on Bedford Stuyvesant Architecture Monday, November 7, 2011

Monday, November 7, 6:00pm
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Presenters: Suzanne Spellen, Brownstoner.com columnists and Morgan Munsey, from http://savebedfordstuyvesant.blogspot.com/

The Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood contains an astonishing number of architecturally, historically and culturally significant structures, including rowhouses, mansions, religious buildings, and schools dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Although there are currently two designated historic districts in the area, the vast majority of Bedford Stuyvesant’s architectural splendor is unprotected. The recently-formed Bedford Stuyvesant Society for Historic Preservation, a coalition of concerned neighborhood block associations, and the landmarks committee of Brooklyn Community Board 3 are working to correct that and will be on hand to answer questions about their campaign.

Impressionism in Bedford Stuyvesant

Tompkins Square Park 1887

Herbert Von King Park originally called Tompkins Square Spark is one of the oldest parks in Brooklyn. The Square dates back to the 1850's maybe even earlier. In the 1850s this area was called East Brooklyn but today if you look at Google maps the neighborhood is called Tompkins Park North a sub neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant.


Vaux & Olmstead 1871 Plan

Tompkins Park was redesigned in 1871 by the famous Vaux & Olmstead. If you look at there map it depicts the park as a whole and includes pathways, individual trees, and fountains. The streets and avenues surrounding the park are also noted. The layout of Von King Park shown here reflects Vaux and Olmstead’s 1871 design. Like their most famous works, Central Park and Prospect Park, Vaux and Olmstead were meticulous in their design of the park, with every tree, pond, and bench planned. Olmstead wrote: “Every foot of the parks surface, every tree and bush, as well as every arch, roadway, and walk and been placed where it is for a purpose.” Today, because of Vaux and Olmstead’s efforts, the citizens of Bedford-Stuyvesant have the privilege of enjoying a fine urban public recreation area in New York City.
William Merritt Chase "Self Portrait"

By the 1880's the new Tompkins Square Park was maturing and Bedford resident and artist William Merritt Chase painted two works in the park. These two paintings called In Tompkins Park which is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago and Tompkins Park which is at the Colby College Museum of Art, in Maine . The Chase paintings are probably the first color images of Bedford Stuyvesant. William Merritt Chase is responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons The New School for Design.
Tompkins Park 1887

Chase was born in Ninevah, Indiana in 1849. He studied in Indianapolis, then (in 1869) went to New York and studied briefly at the National Academy of Design. In 1872, after working for two years as a still life painter in St. Louis, several leading citizens and art patrons sponsored a five year trip to Munich where he was greatly influenced by the style of the Munich Artists. Upon his return to New York in 1878 he opened his Tenth Street Studio where he developed a style more vibrant and brightly colored, finding in Impressionism a means of conveying the emotion in both landscapes and city scenes. He did most of his later work in and around New York City, producing both urban and pastoral studies, which were realistically portrayed, yet infused with nuances of light, color, and brushwork, and conveyed the subjectivity of his interpretations. Such were the artistic styles and intentions of Chase; he considered himself a realist, but felt that Impressionistic techniques provided a means of expressing emotions - which are a part of the artists' reality.
Chase was a member of the Ten (Ten American Painters), but also devoted much of his time to teaching, first at his New York studio, than at the Students League. He also taught at his summer home in Shinnecock, Long Island, at the Chase School (which he founded), and later at the New York School of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His students included Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth , Edward Hopper , Georgia O'Keeffe , and Charles Sheeler. His achievements as an artist and teacher reflect the impact of the Impressionist movement in American culture; Chase not only pursued artistic innovation, but also brought progress to academic institutions of art. He died in New York in 1916.

William Merritt Chase 1900

14 - 22 Arlington Place

Arlington Place west side mid 1880s


Arlington Place west side 2011 buildings by Amzi Hill

Arlington Place is one of the most picturesque blocks in all of New York City. It was only fitting that Spike Lee would shoot his 1994 movie Crooklyn here. Charles Lockwood author of Bricks and Brownstones once wrote to me and said that "Arlington Place is my favorite block in Bedford Stuyvesant." I do not have a favorite block in Bedford Stuyvesant but Arlington Place would be in my top ten most interesting. The residential building of Arlington Place are designed by only three architects, Isaac D. Reynolds, George Chappell and Amzi Hill. Between 1884 and 1886 Amzi Hill designed the entire west side of Arlington Place between Macon Street and Halsey Street. In 1883 the Brooklyn bridge was up and the many builders came to the then Bedford Section to put up the many commercial and residential buildings that we still see today.
Arlington Place west side 1974
Image: Danny Lyon / National Archives and Records Administration

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-brooklyn-19070s-2011-6?op=1#ixzz1RSK1O7Ag

I want to focus on 14 - 22 Arlington designed by Amzi Hill the modern architect of his day. This group of buildings are in the Queen Ann Style which is "free Renaissance" (non-Gothic Revival) details rather than of a specific formulaic style in its own right. Before these wonderful Queen Anne Brownstones where built once stood the large mansion of Rem Leffert. You can read more about the Lefferts here. Numbers 14 -22 Arlington Place are truly unique homes that are in the ABABA configuration and I think Jenny Lind face is in the building. The pressed metal work along the upper floors are truly amazing and makes a interesting skyline on this side of the block. There are three other groups similar to these Arlington houses in Bedford Stuyvesant and two I know are by different architects. I really hope that the LPC works fast in protecting these 125 year old structures. As you can see from the picture from the 1880s not much has changed on this block.

Arlington Place west side

We will be giving a walking tour this weekend of Bedford Corners and a small portion of Stuyvesant Heights. You can read more about that here.


Arlington Place looking towards Halsey 2010


1900 Census Arlington Place

259 Jefferson Avenue

259 Jefferson Avenue

In 1886 architect John G. Prague designed a beautiful Queen Anne/ Romanesque Revival home at 259 Jefferson Avenue in the then Bedford Section of Brooklyn. I will be talking about the great architectural contribution of J. G. Prague in future post but I want to focus on the first owners of 259 Jefferson. This block of Jefferson Avenue is known for Mr. Frank Woolworth but there was another big resident living a few houses down.

William Joseph Howard
1857 – 1919

Many people today do not know who William Joseph and Bridget Theresa McGrover Howard are but this couple moved into there beautiful Jefferson home in 1886 along with young daughters Loretta and Gertrude. The Howard's would go on to have three more children while living at 259 Jefferson, Elizabeth, William and Genevieve. William Howard is the founder and builder of Howard Beach in Queens, NY.

Bridget Theresa McGrover
1853 - 1937
William J. Howard, a Brooklyn glove manufacturer who operated a 150 acre goat farm on meadow land near Aqueduct Racetrack as a source of skin for kids' gloves. In 1897, he bought more land and filled it in and the following year, built 18 cottages and opened a hotel near the water, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire in October 1907. He gradually bought more land and formed the Howard Estates Development Company in 1909. He dredged and filled the land until he was able to accumulate 500 acres by 1914. He laid out several streets, water mains and gas mains, and built 35 houses. William Howard died in 1919 at his Jefferson Ave home.