Brooklyn Heights

Peek Inside the Lush Rooms of a Grand Heights Mansion From 80 Years Ago (Photos)

The interiors of the impressive mansion at 2 Pierrepont Place in Brooklyn Heights, home to a prominent family, were photographed about 80 years ago, before the house was divided into apartments.

brooklyn architecture italianate mansion 2 Pierrepont Street

Photo by Susan De Vries

by Susan De Vries

09/27/2016 0

If you have spent any time wandering the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, you may have looked with envy at 2 and 3 Pierrepont Place, impressive Italianate mansions looming over the lookout at the south end. Now you can see what 2 Pierrepont Place looked like back when the original family lived in it, thanks to historic images in the Brooklyn Museum collection, viewable online.

The brownstone and brick house, constructed in 1857, was home to Alexander M. and Elizabeth Tredway White family. The White family included son Alfred Tredway White, a philanthropist and builder responsible for the iconic Riverside, Tower and Home apartments and the workers’ cottages on Warren Place.

Ceiling Detail of 2 Pierrepont Place. Photo from Brooklyn Museum Libraries, Special Collections — Ceiling detail of 2 Pierrepont Place. Photo via Brooklyn Museum Libraries, Special Collections

However, often forgotten in the recitation of the history of the house are Alexander and Elizabeth’s two daughters, Harriet H. White and Frances E. White. Frances moved into the house when she was about 10 years old, and Harriet was born in the house. It remained their family home until their deaths — Frances in 1937 and Harriet in 1947.

brooklyn-heights-promenade-architecture-italianate-mansion-2-pierrepont-place — Library of 2 Pierrepont Place. Photo from Brooklyn Museum Libraries, Special Collections

Both sisters were supporters of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and were known for opening up their private garden on Pierrepont Place to the community. Sometime between 1937 and 1947 the interiors of their home were photographed, providing amazing documentation of a mansion that had been in the family for almost 80 years.

The photos show ornate moldings and plaster details, original gas light fixtures, and at least two circular rooms (the entry and a library). The house was divided into apartments in the 20th century, but rental listing photos from 2010 provide evidence that some of the interior features shown in the historic images still survive.