Pohlman & Patrick in 7th Avenue

The architectural firm of Pohlman & Patrick became quite active in Park Slope around the turn of the last century.

According to the Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide, in 1903 the firm designed the group of three mixed-use (flats over stores) buildings on the southwest corner of 7th Avenue and 5th Street for builder Alexander G. Calder:

254-258 7th Avenue
Pohlman & Patrick, architects - 1903
Alexander G. Calder, builder

"Projected Buildings," RERBG v. 71, no. 1830 (April 11, 1903): p. 752.
-527- 7th av, w s, 21 s 5th st, two 3-sty brk stores and dwellings, 19.6x55, 2 families; total cost, $10,000; A Calder, 420 8th st; ar'ts, same as last [Pohlman & Patrick, 1235 3rd av].

"Projected Buildings," RERBG v. 71, no. 1833 (May 2, 1903): p. IX.
-679- 7th av, s w cor 5th st, 4-sty brk stores and dwelling, 21x71, 3 families, steam heat; cost, $25,000; A G Calder, 420 3rd av; ar'ts, Pohlman and Patrick, 1235 3d av.

Calder apparently carved off the rear 20 feet of his 7th Avenue lots, in order to squeeze in an extra lot behind them, facing 5th Street. On this lot Calder built a 4-story, 4-family apartment house, also designed by Pohlman & Patrick, also in 1903:

468 5th Street (left)
Pohlman & Patrick, architects - 1903
Alexander G. Calder, builder

"Projected Buildings," RERBG v. 71, no. 1833 (May 2, 1903): p. IX.
-697- 5th st, s s, 83.3 w 7th av, 4-sty brk tenement, 20x71, steam heat; cost, $9,000; A G Calder, 420 8th st; ar'ts, Pohlman & Patrick, 1235 3d av.

The Neoclassical apartment building from 1903 creates an arresting contrast to the much earlier (circa 1870s) Italianate brownstone row houses beside it in 5th Street.

Charles Long Extends his 5th Street Row

Charles Long's next project, in Park Slope at any rate, apparently extends his initial row of 10 single-family houses in 5th Street. Plans are filed, about six months later, in early 1883, for six more houses uphill from the initial row, and for a row of 12 extending downhill from the initial row. We have recovered listings from both the Brooklyn Eagle and the American Architect and Building News:

Brooklyn Eagle, March 30, 1883, p. 4 ("Municipal")

"Building Intelligence; Brooklyn," AABN vol. 13, no. 380 (Apr. 7, 1883): p. 167.

– "Fifth St., n s, 299' w Seventh Ave., 12 two-st’y brick dwells., tin roofs, frame and tin cornice; cost, each, $3,500; owner and mason, Charles Long, 383 Eleventh St.; carpenter, J. F. Wood."

"Building Intelligence; Brooklyn," AABN vol. 13, no. 380 (Apr. 7, 1883): p. 167.

– "Fifth St., n s, 24' w Seventh Ave., 6 three-st’y brownstone front dwells., tin roofs, frame and tin cornice; cost, each, $4,500; owner and mason, Charles Long, 383 Eleventh St.; carpenter, J. F. Wood."

All of these houses are still extant, in nearly original condition.

The row of six brownstone-front houses (#461-471 5th Street) are identical in appearance to the initial row of 10, immediately downhill. The door hood and brackets are identical to the original row:

461-471 5th Street - unprotected

469 5th Street - unprotected

469 5th Street - detail.

However the later houses are 45' in length, in contrast to the original houses, which are only 40' in length. The difference can be seen in the city's Dept. of Information Technology and Telecommunication (DOITT) website; the slightly longer houses are circled below:

Screen cap - 461-471 5th Street - DOITT website

The original row was apparently also extended in the downhill direction with a row of twelve two story over basement, brick-faced single family houses (#423-443 5th Street). All twelve still stand, in essentially original condition:

423-443 5th Street - unprotected

435-439 5th Street - unprotected

One might not initially think that such different houses were built by the same person at the same time. One suspects some "market segmentation" on the part of the developer: whether you want brick-faced, brownstone-faced, three-story or two-story, Charles Long has a house for you!

With the original ten house row, the uphill extension of six houses, and the downhill extension of twelve more houses, Charles Long and his partner J. F. Wood have erected a total of twenty-eight houses on the north side of 5th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Park Slope. This is one of the longest continuous rows of houses from a single developer in Park Slope, but we shall soon see Charles Long outdo himself with an even longer row in our neighborhood.

Amazingly, the entire row of twenty-eight original houses remains standing, intact, unchanged since since original construction in 1882-83, but sadly lacking historic district protection from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Introducing Charles Long, Park Slope Builder

Charles Long was a local owner/developer who built several substantial rows of Park Slope houses in the 1880s.

He first appears in connection with some new houses in 5th Street, between 5th & 6th Avenues, in a Brooklyn Eagle advertisement from 1882. Unfortunately the ad is somewhat vague regarding location. It seems possible, from the text of the advertisement, that Charles Long had a business relationship with the Litchfield family at this time.

Brooklyn Eagle, June 12, 1882, p. 3.

The first project with which we can associate Charles Long working as an independent developer is a row of ten brownstone-faced three story over basement single-family houses on the north side of 5th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues (#445 - 459 5th Street). This row was erected 1882-83 and seems to mark the beginning of a lengthy collaboration between Charles Long, owner/architect, and builder J. F. Wood:

Brooklyn Eagle, August 17, 1882, p. 3 ("Brisk")

"Building Intelligence; Brooklyn," AABN vol. 12, no. 345 (Aug. 5, 1882): p. 67.

–"Fifth St., n s, 129' e [sic - w] Seventh Ave., 10 three-st’y dwells.; cost, each, $4,000; owner, Chas. Long, 383 Eleventh St.; builder, J. F. Wood."

The houses are flat-faced Neo-grec with distinctive door hood and brackets that we will see repeated identically in subsequent developments from Long and Wood:

445-459 5th Street - unprotected

457 5th Street - detail

Later that same year, the Brooklyn Eagle again checks in with Charles Long regarding this row of houses, and seems to hint that Long has been a prolific builder in Brooklyn, although we have not positively associated him with earlier buildings in Park Slope. Long provides an amusing answer in response to an Eagle query regarding why he chose to build houses for sale, rather than flats for rent:

Brooklyn Eagle, November 07, 1882, p. 1 ("Homes")

A Complete Blockfront: Butler & Wirth in 6th Avenue

The west side of Sixth Avenue between 5th & 6th Streets in Park Slope appears to be entirely the work of two men: owner Thomas Butler, and architect William H. Wirth. Once again we find the common motif of a central row of matching buildings, bracketed by differing buildings on the ends:

6th Avenue, 5th to 6th Streets, west side - unprotected

The central buildings compose a row of narrow (16'), brick-faced, 2 1/2 story-over-basement single-family houses built in 1888. The American Architect and Building News documents the row as follows:

"Building Intelligence; Houses; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 21, no. 575 (Jan. 1, 1887): p. xi.

– "Sixth Ave., s w cor. Fifth St., three-st’y brick store and dwell., tin roof; cost, $8,000; owner and builder, Thomas Butler, 389 Sixth St.; architect, W. H. Wirth."

"Building Intelligence; Houses; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 22, no. 627 (Dec. 31, 1887): p. xiv.

– "Sixth Ave., w s, 20' s Fifth St., 10 two-st’y front, three-st’y on rear, brick dwells., tin roofs, wooden cornices; cost, each, $3,000; owner and builder, Thomas Butler, 389 Sixth St.; architect, W. H. Wirth."

"Building Intelligence; Houses; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 23, no. 628 (Jan. 7, 1888): p. xvi.

– "Sixth Ave., n w cor. Sixth St., two-st’y and basement brown-stone dwell., tin roof, wooden and iron cornice; cost, $4,000; owner, Thomas Butler, 389 Sixth St.; architect, W. H. Wirth; builders, Buchanan & Riley."

The row is slightly unusual in that the end buildings, though differing from the central row, do not match each other. A 3-story, mixed-use (flats over store), brick building, which predates the rest of the row by about one year, stands at the 5th St. end, while the 6th St. end holds a two-story-over-basement, brownstone-faced single family house:

6th Avenue & 5th Street, southwest corner - unprotected

6th Avenue & 6th Street, northwest corner - unprotected

All were however apparently built in 1887-1888 by owner Thomas Butler to designs by architect W. H. Wirth.

The original, narrow brick houses in the central row are quite charming and are mostly in original condition.

370 6th Avenue - unprotected

Unfortunately one of the central row was "remuddled" at some point and had its cornice line raised to full height, breaking the row's symmetry:

364-362A 6th Avenue - unprotected

We have encountered Thomas Butler before; he it was who built the long row around the corner in 5th St.

Wirth seems to have been an architect in highly localized practice. The 1897 Lain's Brooklyn Directory lists a Wm. H. Wirth in 17th St.:

WIRTH Wm. realestate 358 17th
WIRTH Wm. H. realestate 358 17th

Our documentary history of the Park Slope expansion study area lists many other buildings by W. H. Wirth, mostly smaller buildings toward the lower or southerly parts of Park Slope. A Brooklyn Eagle search confirms that he was not above designing the occasional "frame tenement".

Wirth was also a great promoter of development in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood. We suspect he may have held property there. The Brooklyn Eagle published several letters from W. H. Wirth advocating street improvements south of Prospect Park and the extension of Prospect Avenue (June 06, 1898, p. 8; September 03, 1897, p. 7).

Finally it should be noted that W. H. Wirth apparently chaired several subcommittees of the South Brooklyn Board of Trade, the 19th c. predecessor of the Park Slope Civic Council, the leading advocate for the current push to extend the Park Slope Historic District. The Brooklyn Eagle recounts the minutes of several meetings of the South Brooklyn Board of Trade in Acme Hall, still standing on the northwest corner of 7th Avenue and 9th Street, with committee reports from one W. H. Wirth. In his capacity on the South Brooklyn Board of Trade, he seems to have been an indefatigable advocate of development in the South Slope.

Postscript: Louis Bonert

Our intrepid band of historic researchers has uncovered a wealth of new material regarding our favorite Park Slope builder, the prolific Louis Bonert, about whom we have written a great deal on this blog. We won't review the entire Bonert thread, but we want to clarify a couple of earlier tentative attributions.

Most of our latest material has been culled from the American Architect and Building News (AABN), a great resource for researchers of historic buildings. Some of the AABN is online, but we are lucky to have a researcher who has access to nearly the complete run in hardcopy, from which we have derived a wealth of new material for our ever-expanding "Documentary History of Park Slope" (which we hope to publish shortly on the web). Our Research Committee is winding up a chronological scan of the entire AABN run, extracting all of the "hits" for Park Slope. As the hits are obtained, we are logging them in the comments section of our comprehensive photo survey of Park Slope, and also compiling them in a master file we are calling the "Documentary History" of Park Slope, which we will be publishing in a few days.

At any rate, in our earlier Bonert series, we went out on a limb a few times and engaged in "interpretation" or "speculation", in contrast to simply publishing the documentary evidence.

One of these cases is the west side of Sixth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets (the block from Puppetworks to the Park Slope Ale House):

6th Avenue and 5th Street, northwest corner - unprotected

6th Avenue and 4th Street, southwest corner - unprotected

Despite a complete lack of any evidence, we speculated earlier that this row was by Bonert, based on its similarities to buildings across the street for which we have a documented connection. And we are gratified that the AABN has now confirmed the connection. According to the AABN, Louis Bonert constructed this row in 1891 to the plans of prolific Brooklyn architect W. M. Coots:

"Building Intelligence; Apartment-Houses; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 34, no. 823 (Oct. 3, 1891): p. xvi.

– "Sixth Ave., n w cor. Fifth St., 5 four-st’y brick apartment-houses, tin roofs; cost, $35,000; owner and builder, L. Bonnert [sic - Bonert], 528 Tenth St.; architect, W. M. Coots, 26 Court St."

"Building Intelligence; Stores; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 34, no. 826 (Oct. 24, 1891): p. xviii.

– "Sixth Ave., s w cor. Fourth St., 5 four-st’y stores and apartment-houses, tin roofs; cost, $35,000; owner and builder, L. Bonnert, 528 Tenth St.; architect, W. M. Coots, 26 Court St."

We speculated elsewhere that the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and First street might also have been from Bonert, based on similarities to some of his other work:

6th Avenue and 1st Street, northeast corner - unprotected

However, the AABN confirms that these buildings were built in 1895 by M. S. Buckley to designs by architect Robert Dixon:

"Building Intelligence; Houses; Brooklyn, N. Y.," AABN vol. 49, no. 1019 (Jul. 6, 1895): p. 7.
– "Sixth Ave., e s, 22' 8" n 1^st St., 4 four-st’y brick dwells., 19' 4" x 62'; tin roofs; $19,000; own. and bld., M. S. Buckley, 287 Tenth St.; arch., Robt. Dixon, 219 Montague St."

– "Sixth Ave., , n e cor. 1^st St., four-st’y brick dwell., 22' 8" x 90'; tin roof; $8,000; own. and bld., M. S. Buckley, 287 Tenth St.; arch., Robt. Dixon, 219 Montague St."

In truth we harbored doubts about our earlier tentative attribution to Bonert. The buildings lack the distinctive "Green Man" panels beneath the windows, and also feature only single columns flanking the doorways, rather than Bonert's distinctive column clusters. Now the AABN confirms that they are in fact not by Bonert at all, although they do seem somewhat derivative of his buildings.

Watch for the upcoming publication of our "Documentary History" of Park Slope.

Louis Bonert: 8th Avenue Apartments, 1910

A New York Times search on "Bonnert", a common misspelling of Park Slope builder Louis Bonert's surname, yields a new "hit" from 1910:

New York Times, August 28, 1910, p. 10 ("Brooklyn's Apartment House Development Active on the Heights and Prospect Park")

As noted in the article, after focusing exclusively on apartment houses, Louis Bonert broke into single-family home construction in the first decade of the last century. And he did so in a characteristically big way: according to the Park Slope Historic District designation report, Bonert developed the entire south side of First Street between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West:

1st Street, 8th/PPW, south side - Park Slope Historic District

He also built most of the north side of Second Street, also in the park block:

2nd Street, 8th/PPW, north side - Park Slope Historic District

These houses are perhaps some of the most luxurious, desirable, and costly residences in Park Slope today.

The article notes that about the same time, Bonert constructed an entire block of buildings on 8th Avenue, between 4th & 5th Streets:

404-420 8th Avenue - unprotected

We've followed the progression of Bonert's apartment houses through 4-family to 8-family configurations. We haven't counted the doorbells yet, but we suspect these 8th Avenue apartments must be 16-family buildings; they are truly colossal in scale.

Bonert's 4-family "single flat" apartment houses were usually about 20 feet in width. His "double flat" buildings (two apartments per floor) began at 30 feet in width, and progressed through 36 to 46 foot configurations. These buildings in 8th Avenue are a full 50 feet wide, and very deep as well:

420 8th Avenue - unprotected

After spending weeks with Mr. Bonert on the blog, we've quite nearly reached the end of the line. As far as we know right now, these were the final buildings constructed by Louis Bonert in Park Slope. It remains only to relate what little else we know about him in the next post.

Early Louis Bonert: 5th Street, 1891

Somehow this early "flat house" by Louis Bonert in 5th Street just below 6th Avenue escaped our notice. The new building notice appeared in an 1891 Brooklyn Eagle:

Brooklyn Eagle, October 10, 1891, p. 1 ("New Buildings and Real Estate")

393 5th Street - unprotected

The building, at three stories, is uncharacteristically small for Bonert. But it does exhibit the top-floor rounded windows, and terra cotta spandrel panels, with which we have become so familiar from his later "Green Man" style, Romanesque-inflected apartment buildings:

393 5th Street - detail

The building is located just around the corner from two complete blockfronts that we have linked to Bonert. We have not yet uncovered evidence to document Bonert's hand in the west side of 6th Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets, but we have linked Bonert to the east side of that block of 6th Avenue. In any case, the doorway of the 5th Street building is identical to doorways from the 6th Avenue rows.

393 5th Street - detail

348 6th Avenue - detail

355 6th Avenue - detail

Yet More Louis Bonert: 6th Avenue between 4th & 5th Streets

Our last few posts have followed Park Slope builder Louis Bonert at work in 6th Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets. We examined a row he built in 1892 at the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and 5th Street, and also a row he built in 1893 at the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and 4th Street.

These rows nearly meet in the middle of the block. But close inspection reveals a mysterious building, #355 6th Avenue, between the two Bonert rows on either side:

353-355-357 6th Avenue - unprotected

Is 355 6th Avenue a Bonert?

We have confirmed in previous posts that Bonert was responsible for the entire rest of the block facing 6th Avenue. It seems unlikely that only this one mid-block lot would have escaped his control.

The building is a four-story, four-family "single flat" house executed in "fancy brick" with brownstone trim, a characteristic building style for Bonert. The cornice detailing on this building is identical to that on the rest of the block, as is the detailing on the top-floor windows:

353-355-357 6th Avenue - detail

Although we cannot provide a photograph at this time, the original wooden details set into the doorway are identical between 355 6th Avenue and the rest of the buildings on the block.

Finally, 355 6th Avenue was listed has having been sold at the same time and by the same broker, John Pullman, as three buildings in the Bonert row to the north.

For all these reasons, we feel confident in attributing this building to Louis Bonert. It's true that the building is slightly different from its neighbors to either side. It lacks decorative terra cotta panels below the windows. It lacks the classical doorway of its neighbors to either side. It remains a mystery why this building is distinct from its Bonert neighbors.

At any rate, if we conclude that 355 6th Avenue is a Bonert, as we believe we must, then further conclusions follow as well.

Directly across the street, on the west side of 6th Avenue, running from 4th to 5th Street, stands a complete row of buildings executed as a unit:

6th Avenue and 4th Street, southwest corner - unprotected

6th Avenue and 5th Street, northwest corner - unprotected

It is a row of eight four-story, four-family, brick-faced "single flat" apartment houses. A brownstone-faced mixed-use building stands at each end, and these buildings match the Bonert building at the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and 5th Street, across the street. The cornice detailing, the top-floor arched window detailing, the geometric terra cotta panels beneath the windows... all these details match those on the Bonert buildings we have been examining.

340 6th Avenue - detail

346 6th Avenue - detail

Finally, the rusticated stone door and window arches on the first floor of these flat houses, and the wooden detailing of the door frames, precisely match those on the first floor at #355 6th Avenue across the street:

346 6th Avenue - detail

The conclusion is inescapable: all of these buildings, on both sides of 6th Avenue from 4th to 5th Streets, were built by Louis Bonert. We have not yet found any Brooklyn Eagle or New York Times citations for the buildings on the west side of the street, nor for #355 on the east side, so we cannot yet offer the usual documentary evidence. But the stylistic evidence overwhelmingly points to Bonert's hand here.

The west side of the block forms an extremely handsome row. The two center buildings meet to form a mirror image, surmounted by a high cornice at the middle of the block:

348-346 6th Avenue - unprotected

It is not possible to see in the photo above, but the very top of this cornice features two hands clasped in a handshake... whatever could have been meant by this image?

One of our favorite details in all of Park Slope is the group of three half-figures holding up the cornice at each end of the row:

356 6th Avenue - detail

Updated: the attribution for the west side of 6th Avenue between 4th & 5th Streets has been confirmed.

Louis Bonert: 6th Avenue & 5th Street, 1892

Next up in our continuing series of posts about Park Slope builder Louis Bonert is the row at the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and 5th Street:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 21, 1892, p. 2 ("New Buildings and Real Estate")

6th Avenue & 5th Street, southeast corner - unprotected

The corner building is mixed-use, with three flats over the first floor commercial space, a configuration it retains to this day. The corner commercial entrance retains the original wooden doors and cast-iron pilasters. A round window bay above the commercial entrance faces the intersection. Pressed tin detailing, familiar from many period ceilings, is here employed in panels set into the round bay:

6th Avenue & 5th Street, southeast corner - detail

The brownstone facing on the corner building contrasts with the yellow brick used in the adjoining four-family "single flats", but the identical cornice detailing serves to unify the row:

6th Avenue & 5th Street, southeast corner - detail

Bonert here employs an unusual two-story projecting window bay on the second and third floors of the apartment buildings:

367-369 6th Avenue - unprotected

This delightful corner of Park Slope, like many others in the neighborhood, retains its original emergency call box:



Later that same year, Bonert erected a matching row of buildings across 5th Street:

6th Avenue & 5th Street, northeast corner - unprotected

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 29, 1892, p. 5 ("New Buildings and Real Estate")

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle article incorrectly specifies the number of buildings as five; the row actually comprises four buildings, one less than the matching row to the south. But the article correctly identifies the number of dwelling units (four buildings times four units per building less one unit of commercial space equals fifteen dwelling units).

The corner building, whose brownstone facing again contrasts with the adjacent apartment houses, lacks the rounded window bay of its companion across 5th Street. But as in the neighboring ensemble, the cornice detailing helps to unify the otherwise disparate elements of the row:

6th Avenue & 5th Street, northeast corner - detail