THE COP, THE VIRUS, & THE PARROT (1930)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** One night in January of 1930, a recent NYPD Academy graduate, Officer Charles Suss, was patrolling his beat at Macon Street and Howard Avenue. “Six nights he has tramped his frosty beat in the cold hours between midnight and 8 a.m.,” the New York Times reported. “Six nights he has tramped his beat aimlessly, hoping for something to happen.” But then, as now, rookie cops got the worst time shifts. Also, Macon and Howard, according to the Times, was “a far removed section of Brooklyn” that was “apparently devoid of crimes. “There was only silence and a little rain.” But at 5 o’clock on that frosty January morning “Suss and his still brightly varnished stick swung down Howard Avenue. “The patrolman, as usual, was brooding on crime,” the Times claimed. “He had just decided that the girl he was rescuing would have light hair and blue eyes. In another moment they would be in the Marriage License Bureau at the Municipal Building.” But then came a “cry from the middle of Saratoga Park.” “Hello, Jake,” it cried. “Help! Help!” “Suss and his club streamed into the thin bushes of the park, guided by the racket and the calls for help. Suss remembered his undergraduate days and what he had been told […]
THE PEDIGREE OF “BOERUM’S HILL” (1776)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** What must it be like to have your identity co-opted for the purposes of obtaining personal credit? Though we cannot ask this question of Farmer Boerum – he’s been dead for more than 200 years – we can guess at what the old Dutch farmer would say. The name, Boerum Hill, which was commandeered from the colonial farm owned by the Boerum Family, in point of fact had its origination with an actual hill that existed on his farm – located in today’s Carroll Gardens/Gowanus – that was then locally known as “Boerum’s Hill” (then “Fort Boerum” during the Revolutionary War). Confused? Sure. Sooooooo…it’s a little like saying, “I named my dog ‘Spot’s Wart’ – after the wart on my dog, Spot.” OK. Well….maybe not exactly. But close. WHAT WAS BOERUM’S HILL? Boerum’s Hill, first and foremost was a natural topographical feature – an elevation or rise – on the Boerum Farm. We know little of its geographic specifications (height, width, slope, &c.) other than that. Located in today’s Gowanus/Carroll Gardens area, it was, additionally, a strategic military position known, during the Battle of Brooklyn, as Fort Box (and later, during the War of 1812, as Fort Fireman). So, we have a good indication, at least, that the hill was of […]
A BUILDER, A BRIBE, & A BLOCKED VIEW (1904)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** After builder Chauncey G. Cozine had filed his building plans for a set of luxury apartment buildings to be constructed at the northwest corner of Throop Avenue and MacDonough Street, the neighbors were horrified to learn of the enormity of the structures. As a matter of fact, they were so taken aback at the prospect, that when they met to determine how to address the egregious assault on their homes, they dug deeply into their pockets – each of them as deep as he felt it was worth – to come up with a sum that, combined, would hopefully encourage Cozine to consider altering his designs. When Cozine received the offer, though, the 30-year-old builder answered the monetary plea with a curt one-word response. “No.” BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS WERE EXCAVATED Before Cozine came along in 1904, the noble brownstone structures with their stately front gardens which sat along the north side of MacDonough Street, commanded unobstructed views up and down the street. From the front stoop of any of these structures, which belonged, incidentally, to some of the wealthiest residents of Stuyvesant Heights, could be seen rows of beautiful brownstone houses and the majestic churches of two different denominations. At the Tompkins end of the block, sat the Tomkins Avenue Congregational […]
THE SALE OF FORT GREENE (1798)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** In 1798, the farm that had been in the Couwenhoven family for 100 years was being foreclosed on. John Remsen Couwenhoven had creditors to pay, and the land he had inherited about 20 years earlier from his brother, Rem, was what the judge knew would pay them back. Thus he was ordered to place his land into the hands of a number of trustees. They would take over the responsibility of cataloging all that he owned, setting prices on all of his personal and real property, publicly listing it for sale, and then following through with the land’s conveyance. On the set date in May, the Couwenhoven farm was swarming with activity, as men – and women – of every Dutch family, it seemed, determined what of Couwenhoen’s possessions they wanted. The squeals of hogs, the murmurs of numerous discussions, the sounds of everyday life on a farm must have been omnipresent as potential purchasers walked the farm and evaluated the many items for sale. And when that sale began, there seemed to be a buyer for every item. Samuel Schenck got a “Frame for a Waggon,” Simon Bergen got a “grindstone,” Barent Lefferts got a “Flax Mill,” Mr. Grant got Couwenhoven’s ladders, and a Mr. Hall got a “Grain Rake.” […]
DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVED IN YOUR OLD HOUSE?
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Most people don’t know that the entire history of their homes can be dug up with a little bit of elbow grease. While Brownstone Detectives provides this service to clients, we are always more than happy to help homeowners to do the digging themselves. One of the first steps – of many – that we take when researching the history of your old house, is uncovering the chain of title – that list of individuals who bought and sold your property throughout its lifetime. To discover this list, a trip to the Department of Finance leads us to the old dusty tomes that contain this information, recorded in the old stylistic cursive freehand of the time. The listings of the home sales of a certain house/address were not simply recorded in order within the book. Each sale that took place in relation to that property was recorded as it occurred. So, for instance, if there were 20 years between sales of your home, those sales would usually be located several pages from each other. So, finding the chain of title usually takes a bit of digging. Once you have determined the property conveyances that have taken place, you record the information for each sale and then you head to the microfilm […]
BROOKLYN’S ALL GAS KITCHEN! (1914)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Just like today, gas stoves were once pushed onto Americans with a fury. Fueled by ads, lobbying, and massive amounts of money, the Brooklyn gas company told homemakers that gas was “essential” for “economy, comfort, cleanliness,” and guaranteeing an elimination of “half the kitchen drudgery.” Little did homemakers know, at the time, about the future controversy regarding gas as a health concern in the home. THE FUTURE – GAS! O, Brooklyn Union Gas Company! Thanks to you, my wife can be more efficient in the kitchen with the chemical of the future – GAS! Begun in 1825 as the the Brooklyn Gas Light Company, it became Brooklyn Union around 1895, and remained so until the end of the last century when a merger brought about KeySpan. Imagine! Installing, in 1914, a Gas Garbage Incinerator in your brownstone’s kitchen! That year, the Brooklyn Union Gas Company was pushing their gas appliances not only to heads of households, but they were also targeting “Progressive Business Men” to whom they claimed were attending the “special demonstration of gas industrial appliances at the gas industrial show rooms” at 108-10-12 Livingston Street, known as their “Gas Demonstration Building.” At their showrooms they announced, were “gas engine electric generator sets, automatic gas fuel steam boilers, sanitary bakers’ […]
