Building of the Day: 247 Hancock Street
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: 247 Hancock Street, between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues Name: John C. Kelley House Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant Year Built:…
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: 247 Hancock Street, between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues
Name: John C. Kelley House
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: somewhere between 1885 and 1889
Architectural Style: Neo-Renaissance with Romanesque Revival features
Architect: Montrose Morris
Landmarked: No
Why chosen: When I first moved to Bed Stuy, we looked at this house. The owner wanted $100K more than what anything else was going for in the neighborhood, at the time, so we passed, even though we loved it. Oh, the regret!! Montrose Morris designed this house, right across the street from his own home, for John C. Kelley, an Irish immigrant who made a fortune with his invention of a water meter. Technically, it’s a palazzo style brownstone centered in a huge 81′ lot. The stone is spalling on the façade, and needs attention, but the current owner has done extensive renovations inside, and it’s now a B&B. I recently saw a photo in the Bklyn Historical Society, from the 1940’s, showing the house painted white. The horror! This house, and the surrounding blocks should have been landmarked years ago, and as part of the Bedford Corners HD, is being considered by the LPC.
now this is what you call a house….
Great house.That’s just about the perfect sash color, a greyish blue on that brownstone. I hope the landscaping is up to the same level as the architecture.
Yes, the owner is a lovely woman, very involved in the neighborhood and generous about showing her beautiful home and garden. And the interior restoration she’s done is stunning.
A year or two before I bought in the nabe I parked my car outside this house and a friend and I gawked at it as the owner was watering her plants. She kindly summoned us over and asked if we wanted to have a look inside. Incredible home and a lovely Jamaican lady owns it. The bar in the basement is simply amazing. She told us to come by anytime to have a drink. It was an unforgettable experience.
This is one of the best blocks in all of Bedford Stuyvesant. The block is full of Montrose Morris, Amzi Hill and Isaac Reynolds homes plus other star architects. I hear this like South Portland use to be a gated block 100 years ago. I really wish the Montrose Morris house was still around.
Here are some more photos of that block on Hancock and the Kelly Mansion in white: http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2010/04/09/hancock-street-in-bedford-stuyvesant/.
Amazing, I’ve now viewed the photos 3 times. Which one is the Marcos couch??
> who doesn’t want to sit on a sofa that used to belong to Imelda Marcos
I have three pairs of her shoes.
If you haven’t figured it out already, i’m a bit of an elitist.