House of the Day: 405 Clinton Avenue
This is big news, people. The idiosyncratic mansion that William Tubby designed in 1889 for Charles Adolph Schieren, a leather manufacturer, inventor, politician and philanthropist, has hit the market after years of neglect and deterioration. The Romanesque Revival/Queen Anne hybrid has been owned by the same person since 1990, and unfortunately he has not had…
This is big news, people. The idiosyncratic mansion that William Tubby designed in 1889 for Charles Adolph Schieren, a leather manufacturer, inventor, politician and philanthropist, has hit the market after years of neglect and deterioration. The Romanesque Revival/Queen Anne hybrid has been owned by the same person since 1990, and unfortunately he has not had the means to maintain the historic house in the manner it deserves. Many in the neighborhood have hoped he would sell it before it was too late, so this comes as great news. There are no interior photos, but given the open windows and, we hear, lack of heat in the house, it’s gotta be in pretty rough shape. Let’s hope there’s some well-heeled preservationist out there who’s got the mojo to buy the place and return it to its former splendor. The asking price for the 6,300-square-foot place is $3,995,000.
405 Clinton Avenue [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
Serious Dumpster Action on Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
Looks like the tenant won the lottery!
pierre de taille, vous êtes très gentils. Je serais honoré de m’asseoir àvotre table. Mais vous devez inviter Heather aussi!
It would be so much fun to say, “The What, would you mind passing the coq au vin?”
The guy always hanging in front of the house was not the owner, but now he is. From what I was told about the story, he was a tenant when the owner past away. Apparently the owner had no family whatsoever and no one could claim the house as theirs. I’m not sure how it happened, but if the renter stayed in the house and waited a certain amount of time the house would be his. So now I suppose he waited long enough and the house is his to sell.
Hey thanks Wasder, if I win the lottery and buy this place guess who my first dinner guests are gonna be? Yes you wasder, MM, Mr B, DIBS, Biff, Bob Marvin, and certainly the What himself…just for the extra fun 🙂 Ah drole…LOL
I was going to email you about this, but I couldn’t find the listing on Brooklyn Properties’ site last week. Glad to see you noticed it too!
Really beautiful house. I love Romanesque Victorians.
Are the other mansions surrounding this one single-family too?
Wonderful house. Too bad they don’t have some pictures, even the fakey kind with the closeup of the newel post or something. Any hint of the grandeur that must have once been there.
I third the Lottery comment. I hope the house is rescued by someone with vision and a love of the actual house, not just how many units it could become.
I think he was the last owner. And still the current owner until this sells. Given what everyone is saying about the interior, why wouldn’t it be most reasonable to “carve” it up into many units. It is a great location, but the time of the grand manse has passed in Clinton Hill (unless you believe the Onion’s recent take on Fort Greene/Clinton Hill).
I wonder what happened to the squatter dude who would always sit on the stairs at night and scare the sh-t out of me as I walked home from the C. He was there quite often, and I can’t imagine he was the last “owner”?
This house is truly one of the jewels of the neighborhood, I sincerely hope that whatever becomes of it, it is treated as such.
I predict it’ll be chopped up and resold as 6 or so condo units.