Below is a small representation of the hundreds of investigations we’ve performed into our clients’ New York City properties. For each, we’ve produced a House History Book or House History Report. Contact us today to discover the history of YOUR house.
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1190 Union Street – a 1914 limestone, located in Crown Heights, this structure is an original “Easy Housekeeping Home” constructed by Realty Associates. The house’s design was described as being specifically intended “for a family wanting all the comforts of an entire house without the absolute necessity of servant help.” The house had five owners in its 101-year history, and while the land started out as a part of Teunis Joralemon’s farm, it later fell into the possession of the Sage family. Henry W. Sage, a wealthy New York State businessman, philanthropist, and early benefactor and trustee of Cornell University, first acquired the property, followed by his son, Dean Sage, a lumber baron and Renaissance man of sorts, who was a leading authority on trout and salmon fishing, an amateur pugilist, and a breeder of trotting horses, sporting dogs and fighting cocks.
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1375 Dean Street – this antebellum wood-frame structure, known as the George B. and Susan Elkins House, was landmarked in 2008. It is the oldest free-standing wood frame house in Crown Heights. Currently being restored, it has been owned by a litany of interesting and culturally important individuals and families. Two of its first owners lived in the house for approximately 60 years and were inventors and teachers. This period of ownership was followed by that of an ex-rabbi who founded an organization aimed at converting Jews to Christianity. Another owner had returned from WWII and befriended Eartha Kitt before she became famous. A frequent guest at the house, he dated her for a period. Afterwards the house was associated with Christ Church Cathedral, which was headed by the Right Reverend Reginald Grant Barrow, whose son was the first prime minister of Barbados, and who had worked with Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. Barrow was also almost deported by President Warren G. Harding because of a history of “agitation.” which began in the Virgin Islands. The house later became a Williams Residence treatment center in 1989, harboring people living with HIV, the formerly homeless and substance abusers. After its next owner attempted to tear the house down in the 2000s, the Crown Heights North Association organized quickly to save the structure. The building was subsequently landmarked, preventing its further deterioration and destruction. Currently, an LLC, Komaru Enterprises, is restoring the house to its former glory.
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1259 Dean Street – before being built in 1892 – upon land once owned by Leffert “Judge” Lefferts – the lot that this brick and limestone residence sits upon had originally been home to a horse stable. By the time, though, that a home was constructed there, the neighborhood was slowly transitioning from rural to suburban. What was originally Bedford, was slowly becoming the select “St. Mark’s District.” Designed by Albert E. White, and built by John A. Bliss, its first owner was Webster Clay Powell, an umbrella magnate. At his passing, the wife of a clothing store manager purchased the home, renting it to a stream of pediatricians. Afterwards, a large 10-member Irish family maintained the residence, selling it to dentist who ran it as a rooming house. He eventually lost the property during the depression to a government-sponsored organization, HOLC, created in the New Deal to “help home owners avert foreclosures.” Afterwards, a plumber purchased the home, flipping it a few months later to a young African-American couple, who maintained it for some 32 years, after which another couple purchased the property for investment purposes. Finally, in 2015, the latest – and ninth – owners purchased the house, embarked upon a renovation. Today, No. 1259 Dean Street sits within the Crown Heights North Historic District.
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669 St. Marks Avenue – an 1891 Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival-style home and stables, this mansion was built by the renowned builder Stephen Morehouse Randall for his family. Deep research showed the land to have been owned by such 19th century figures as Edward C. Delavan, the “Apostle of Temperance,” John D. Cutter, the Brooklyn silk merchant, and a millionaire Brooklyn Parks Commissioner, Jacob G. Dettmer. A visit to the Department of Buildings further produced detailed architectural drawings and building plans – for the stables! The home was planned by an architect (descended from Vice-President Aaron Burr) known for his design of public buildings, Stephen M. Randall. Subsequent owners of the property included a dentist who lost the house in a foreclosure action during the Great Depression, a doctor who prescribed whiskey during Prohibition and performed abortions during the War, followed by an extended Canadian/West Indies family which, under the ownership of various members, managed the property as a boarding house. The property is currently owned by two gentlemen who plan to renovate the house – one of whom manages a brokerage, and the other, a former tennis professional turned investor.
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* 1259 Dean Street – before being built in 1892 – upon land once owned by Leffert “Judge” Lefferts – the lot that this brick and limestone residence sits upon had originally been home to a horse stable. By the time, though, that a home was constructed there, the neighborhood was slowly transitioning from rural to suburban. What was originally Bedford, was slowly becoming the select “St. Mark’s District.” Designed by Albert E. White, and built by John A. Bliss, its first owner was Webster Clay Powell, an umbrella magnate. At his passing, the wife of a clothing store manager purchased the home, renting it to a stream of pediatricians. Afterwards, a large 10-member Irish family maintained the residence, selling it to dentist who ran it as a rooming house. He eventually lost the property during the depression to a government-sponsored organization, HOLC, created in the New Deal to “help home owners avert foreclosures.” Afterwards, a plumber purchased the home, flipping it a few months later to a young African-American couple, who maintained it for some 32 years, after which another couple purchased the property for investment purposes. Finally, in 2015, the latest – and ninth – owners purchased the house, embarked upon a renovation. Today, No. 1259 Dean Street sits within the Crown Heights North Historic District.
* 669 St. Marks Avenue – an 1891 Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival-style home and stables, this mansion was built by the renowned builder Stephen Morehouse Randall for his family. Deep research showed the land to have been owned by such 19th century figures as Edward C. Delavan, the “Apostle of Temperance,” John D. Cutter, the Brooklyn silk merchant, and a millionaire Brooklyn Parks Commissioner, Jacob G. Dettmer. A visit to the Department of Buildings further produced detailed architectural drawings and building plans – for the stables! The home was planned by an architect (descended from Vice-President Aaron Burr) known for his design of public buildings, Stephen M. Randall. Subsequent owners of the property included a dentist who lost the house in a foreclosure action during the Great Depression, a doctor who prescribed whiskey during Prohibition and performed abortions during the War, followed by an extended Canadian/West Indies family which, under the ownership of various members, managed the property as a boarding house. The property is currently owned by two gentlemen who plan to renovate the house – one of whom manages a brokerage, and the other, a former tennis professional turned investor.
