Bushwick Brooklyn -- 71 Cornelia St History

The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.

Address: 71 Cornelia Street, between Bushwick and Evergreen Avenues
Name: Private House
Neighborhood: Bushwick
Year Built: Unknown, probably 1880’s
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

This is about as close as we get to a San Francisco-style Painted Lady, here in Brooklyn. Like any good Queen Anne, there’s a bit of everything here, all combined for a very pleasing whole.

There are strong Neo-Grec elements in the lines of the corbels and doorway, as well as the Eastlake style decorative panels in between the upper corbels, just underneath the bay roof. You’ve got some classic Italianate elements, a Second Empire mansard roof, and classic Queen Anne detailing in the fretwork above the porch and elsewhere.

The pink and white paint job suits the house well. While some of the details may no longer be of period materials, like the siding, roofing tiles, and the front door, this house still has great presence, and is still a real beauty.

Bushwick Brooklyn -- 71 Cornelia St History

[Photos by Suzanne Spellen]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Wow! I love this house, even before I saw it was in Bushwick. Great swathes of Bushwick and even parts of Bed Stuy used to look like this. It’s all covered in siding now. We got our tax photo and it was full-on SF gingerbread minus the bay window. I couldn’t believe it.

    It’s a shame these houses have been so altered nobody knows Brooklyn used to look like this.

    MM, I’m really enjoying all these BOTD posts. I am frequently surprised by the dates.

    Was driving up Bushwick Ave recently and noting all the “Italianate” brackets and even heavy eyebrows over the doors and windows — yet I think most of them are later, say 1890s. I find it confusing. Row houses often look kinda alike, sometimes difficult to pin down the decade.