COL. BACON KISSED THE WIVES (1905)
It is a shame the way newspaper reporters don’t write these days. The folksy, tongue-in-cheek, gossipy style of 100 years ago would today seem too daring, too familiar. And perhaps newspapers now are just a little too gun-shy of potential libel suits… Here is a story reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1905, that combines all the elements of a ribald over-the-fence tittle-tattle: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Fri., 20 October 1905 — The home makers and home defenders of Prospect Park South were stirred this morning to dark purposes. Quite well it was that Colonel Alexander S. Bacon got away from Ditmas Park home in that aristocratic section before his neighbors saw the morning papers in which the gallant colonel was depicted in the very act of kissing their wives. Not only that, but the same papers had Colonel Bacon declaring publicly that he had been enjoying sweet osculatory favors. It all grew out of Colonel Bacon’s law business. He was defending Mrs. Hortense Powers from the suit of her husband, William F. Powers, who wanted a divorce on the ground that Mrs. Powers had been too free with her kisses and favors for a neighbor, “Billy” Campbell. Colonel Bacon tried to excuse and justify these little tokens of affection. Here is the argument he was reported to have used before the jury: “Gentlemen, every one of you who is married probably has kissed his neighbor’s wife. Without wishing to be egotistical, I might say that I have been fortunate […]
“BLOWN TO PIECES” ON MACON STREET (1916)
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** On a warm summer morning in 1916, five people were killed and “more than a score were injured” when a masonry building on Macon Street was “blown to pieces” in a gas “explosion” occurring shortly after most of the building’s inhabitants had left for work for the day. Authorities were still attempting to determine who may have been in the building at the time of the blast, but the source of the explosion was believed to be a gas leak from the cellar of the building. THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW This story was written more than 100 years ago, in 1916. The explosion, which fractured many Brooklyn lives, took place in the middle of Stuyvesant Heights at the corner of Macon Street and Sumner Avenue (now Marcus Garvey). Similar in detail to the East Village gas explosion of a few years back, only the time and place has changed. Both the buildings were residential with stores on the ground levels, and the 1916 explosion, itself, was also caused by a gas leak. Apparently, gas leaks have been leveling buildings since buildings were being plumbed with the element. In 2015’s explosion, the gas in the building was used for heating the apartments and the building’s water. In 1916, the gas […]
THE STOOL PIGEON & THE HOLDUP (1931)
(The New York Police Department has several thousand photographs of crime scenes available online at the City’s Department of Records. Many of them are gruesome. But they are great pictures for doing research. The picture in this blog post was taken after a holdup at 729 4th Avenue in 1931. Although the pictures usually have limited or poor information associated with the photos, after a bit of some rudimentary research, we can usually find the whole story in old newspaper archives. Finding these, we are able to piece together the story behind the photograph.) THE STOOL PIGEON & THE BODYGUARD The picture above (the black & white inset photograph) is the scene of a holdup, which took place at 729 4th Avenue, Brooklyn, on 16 May 1931. Two men were shot during the event, but before it took place, another – providential – event occurred, which stymied the holdup and caused the arrests of the three men. Chile Acuna, whose revelations pried off the lid of police vice squad conditions (read about it here) was arriving home at 740 4th Avenue around 11:30 p.m. on 16 May 1931. His wife and their two kids were with them. So was their bodyguard, Patrolman William F. O’Brien. THE HOLDUP Noticing the vehicle at the curb of the drugstore across the street, O’Brien observed what happened next. He saw three men exit the vehicle while the fourth remained at the wheel. As the three men approached the drugstore, O’Brien told Acuna: “Run upstairs […]
INSIDE SUMNER ARMORY – BASEBALL! (1895)
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Back in the day, in addition to drilling the troops, our national guard reserve units used to utilize our armories the way we all hope they’ll be used again one day – for exercise and fitness. Here at the 13th Regiment Armory (formerly known as the Sumner Armory on Sumner Avenue [now known as Marcus Garvey Boulevard] between Jefferson and Putnam Avenues), a number of the men chose up sides and played a game of baseball – inside. By the mid 1870s, “baseball already was popular in most big eastern cities and remained so throughout the nineteenth century,” noted “The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Major League Baseball” By David Nemec. “The ball was softer, the fielders never wore gloves, the bases were closer together and sliding was taboo–otherwise spectators saw much the same display of skills they did during the outdoor season.” Views of the armory (which was built in 1891, according to Save Bedford-Stuyvesant, in order to replace an armory in Flatbush) from the outside are all too easy to come by. But shots like these (drawings, rather), depicting the layout of the structure from the inside, appear much less often. Originally, according to the New York Times, “(i)nside the headhouse, the administrative section at the front of the armory, […]
THE MISSING CORNERS OF BED-STUY (1941)
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** So many of our corner buildings are missing. If you walk around any neighborhood that was built-up in the late 19th/early 20th century, you’ll find that many of these “end-lot” buildings did not survive the “down” periods of Brooklyn history. Compared to their smaller 1- and 2-family homes that have historically surrounded them, these larger apartment buildings have had a much more difficult time staying maintained and holding on to their tenants. Largely due to costs, the maintenance and upkeep has gone first, followed by the disappearance of the tenants – then the buildings themselves. Many of these buildings have been torn down, actually, since the 1980s – some as recently as 7-10 years ago. Sadly, we even see “tear-down” candidates which have surprisingly lasted into the present century – those buildings which, to a builder, would be cheaper to tear down than to renovate. If you want to see what these old “disappeared” apartment buildings look like, there is a deteriorating example that sits today at the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and Macon Street. This one is already on the auction block and, sadly, will struggle to survive into the next decade. THE LOTS OF BED-STUY One Brooklyn neighborhood where empty corner lots abound is Bedford-Stuyvesant. These lots tell […]
THE CRUMBLING OF MACON & MALCOLM
******************************************************************************************************************************** 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? ******************************************************************************************************************************** (This post has been updated as of 8 February 2021.) The apartment building at the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and Macon Street, No. 265 Malcolm X Blvd/546 Macon Street, which was constructed ca. the 1890s, has experienced an increased deterioration in the past 20 years. Although we don’t have a current snapshot of the building, the Department of Buildings notes that there is a sidewalk shed there, the existence of which was likely due to a failure to maintain building (i.e., falling glass, mortar, cornice, &c.). The building is currently owned by the Mission Field Church. The property has 12 complaints and 33 open violations. See in pictures how the structure has deteriorated over just the past ten years. Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
