HOW ART DECO CAME TO PARK SLOPE (1931)
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?
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Up until the 1930s, everything in Park Slope was Victorian brownstone. But then came Michael’s and the revelation of a stunning Art Deco facelift.
ART DECO IN THE HOUSE
For those of you familiar with 5th Avenue in Brooklyn, you may be acquainted with the 5-story building with storefronts known as Nos. 503-505. Currently housing Urban Market of Park Slope, the entire floor was at one time taken over with bedroom sets, kitchen tables, and dinettes – a furniture store known as Michael’s & Co.
Originally, the building – sitting between 12th and 13th streets – had quite a different look – a product of the Queen Anne/Romanesque architectural period in the late 1800s, its top floor was lined with faux gables and a mansard roof. By the 1930s, a vertical sign and a marquee had been added to the facade, both with the Michael’s name. Today, of course, Michael’s is no more and all of the Victorian architectural features toward the top of the building (as well as the Michael’s signs) have been removed – probably as much out of an extreme aversion to the cost of maintaining such a facade as due to some of extreme economic periods the building’s passed through.
Nonetheless, its current facade is rather unremarkable, particularly if we look at it through the lens of “what once was.”
According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle article that accompanied the picture:
“Alterations and improvements have been completed at the furniture store of Michael’s & Co. at 503 5th Ave. A modernistic scheme of decoration has been followed, with an interesting black and gold color motif predominating. Show window encased in black marble large enough to permit the display of a complete bedroom suite are a feature of the improvements.”
All of that marble and the gold and black coloration is gone now, possibly hidden beneath an aluminum facade. What remains from this 1930s renovation, though, is the marquee that once proclaimed “Michael’s & Co.”, but which now simply says, “Mandee.”
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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.
