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?
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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 a history of down-times, low rent rolls, and neglect. But you can be sure that at one time – on each of these empty corner lots – a beautiful (and often ornate) apartment building had once graced the spot, providing homes for multiples families.
At 720 Hancock Street, on the corner of Patchen where the 1-story Bethenia Baptist Church sits today, there once stood an 1890s-era 3-story apartment-style house with basement level storefront. It is evident not only from the tell-tale signs of a missing tall building (the height – or lack thereof – of the other buildings next to it, the design and style of the building that has taken its place, &c.), but from drawings that exist which showcase the structure in ads for the business that had once occupied it.
Miner’s Business Academy bought this structure when it was still in its hey-day as an apartment building. The school cleared the place of its tenants and restructured the layout, opening in the late 1890s to teach stenography, book-keeping, and other business skills at the spot for some 40 years.
Miner’s was the early-day equivalent of many of the “colleges” and “schools,” that advertise today on subway cars – those schools and “institutes” that provide associate degrees and certificates, with names such as Allied School of Business, Mendl School of Applied Sciences, and the like. While Miner’s was primarily aimed at those of high school age – and mostly girls – who were not planning a secondary education, Miner’s always struggled against the vague perception that its “academy” was for under-achievers – high school drop-outs, young girls wanting secretary-level positions only, and those with limited educations.
In 1941, Miner’s eventually got out of the business of teaching business. They sold their building to the New York Christian Missionary Society, whereupon the Victorian structure entered its second life within an educational field of a different type – saving souls.
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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.
