2010 House Tour: 553 1st Street

This house will be featured on the 2010 Park Slope House Tour, which will be held Sunday, May 16. Tickets will be available at 7th Avenue merchants, and through the Park Slope Civic Council's website. All proceeds from the House Tour are returned to the community through the Council's Grants Program.

553 1st Street is one of a row of four Neo-Renaissance rowhouses, #547-553, erected in 1901. These houses, like many others in this beautiful block, reflect the influence of the highly influential Chicago Exposition of 1893, with its idealized "White City" based on classical architecture.

547-553 1st Street - Park Slope Historic District

553 1st Street is within the boundaries of the Park Slope Historic District, designated July 17, 1973. Regarding 547-553 1st Street, the historic district's Designation Report tells us:

This row of severely classical limestone houses was built for owner William Flanagan according to 1901 designs by architect P. J. Cullen.

553 1st Street - Park Slope Historic District
P. J. Cullen, architect; William Flanagan, owner - 1901

The three-story facades of the row alternate in an ABAB pattern; the type 'B' houses, No. 549 and No. 553, are identical, with full-height, three-sided projecting bays and simple detailing. Carved decoration embellishes the wall surfaces of the bays between the second and third floors, and engaged Ionic columns flank the entrances and support simple entablatures.



...In this row there is an elegant simplicity and a feeling for unity, which is enhanced by the identical L-shaped stoops and classical cornices with dentils.