Bedford-Stuyvesant Neighborhood Architecture

[Merry]

Building of the Day: 600 Lafayette Avenue



Name: former Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, now Brooklyn Tabernacle Deliverance Center
Address: 600 Lafayette Avenue
Cross Streets: Nostrand and Marcy Avenues
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1928-29
Architectural Style: Collegiate Gothic
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No, but wouldn’t be a bad idea, along with its predecessor around the corner.

The story: The Kings County Pharmaceutical Association was founded in 1877. In 1880, they announced that one of the goals of the organization was “the establishment and maintenance of a college of pharmacy wherein the theoretical and practical principles of pharmacy may be taught and the degree of graduate in pharmacy and doctor of pharmacy may be conferred.” To that end, the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy was founded in 1886. By 1895, they were housed at 305 and 329 Franklin Avenue, and were still growing, necessitating the building of a new college facility on Nostrand Avenue, in 1903. This building, at 265 Nostrand, is a former BOTD, and more information on this is available here.

A career in pharmacy was, and still is, a growing field, and a popular profession, and it soon became clear that the new building was not large enough for all of the classes and students. Prohibition also fueled the school’s popularity in the 1920s, which makes sense if you think about it. The College also had been in negotiations to merge with Long Island University, and in 1928, that announcement was made. It was also announced that a new College of Pharmacy building would be built around the corner form the old, and in 1929, this handsome school opened, now an official part of LIU.

The new college building was built in the Collegiate Gothic style, then extremely popular on college campuses and in NYC school design, as magnificently rendered by architect CBJ Snyder. I was not able to find the name of the architect of this building. The building is six stories tall, and opened with two large lecture halls, laboratories, classrooms, a library, and a teaching museum of botanicals and products. The top floor of the building featured a full basketball court, and the roof had a garden and greenhouse for teaching, tastings and demonstrations. The college’s basketball team would prove to be one of its biggest assets, producing championship teams for many years.

In 1976, the College moved downtown to the main campus of LIU. There were many reasons for the move given, but the fact was that Bedford Stuyvesant was just too scary for many of the students. The school was closed down, except for a caretaker, until 1981, when it was purchased by the current owners, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Deliverance Center. Today, the church holds services here, and runs a day care center, as well as other programs. The huge building is now home to the Children of Promise, Brooklyn Tabernacle Kiddie College, and I Have a Dream Foundation, and other organizations, as well.





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[Merry]

Building of the Day: 11-19 Claver Place



Name: Former St. Peter Claver School, now the Brooklyn Waldorf School
Address: 11-19 Claver Place
Cross Streets: Corner Jefferson Avenue
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1931
Architectural Style: Art Deco
Architect: Henry V. Murphy. Refitting by Rogers Marvel Architects.
Other Buildings by Architect: Garage/ house at 152 Berkeley Pl, w/ Edward H. Lehmann, first four buildings of St. John’s University, Queens.
Landmarked: No, but should be

The story: The Irish have St. Patrick; black Catholics all over the world have St. Peter Claver. He is the patron saint of slaves, of Colombia and African-Americans. Pedro Claver Corbero was a Jesuit priest, born in 1580, who made it his mission to minister to the thousands of African captives who were brought into the harbors of Cartagena, Colombia, to be sold as slaves. He visited them in the stinking slave ships and in the holding cells on land, offering them food, what medicine he was able to administer, and whatever hope and encouragement he could offer. He also made it his life’s work to try to end the slave trade, and for 40 years, ministered to Africans brought to the New World, learning their culture and customs, caring for them as people, something very few others did at the time. Although he was never able to end slavery, his work and advocacy made conditions more humane, and he was known as the “Saint of Cartagena.” He died in 1654, and was canonized by the Church in 1888.

In 1921, St. Peter Claver Catholic Church was established on what was then Ormond Place, now Peter Claver Place, in Bedford Stuyvesant. It was the first Catholic church in Brooklyn established for an African American congregation, the brainchild of Rev. Bernard Quinn, its first pastor, and the Colored Catholic Club. Their first home was on Schermerhorn Street, in borrowed church space; and soon a new church was found, the current Peter Claver church, which has become a monument to black Catholic history. A school was soon founded, with classes held in nearby brownstone buildings. In 1931, this brand new and very modern school was built.

It is the Art Deco influenced work of Henry V. Murphy; a Pratt educated Brooklyn man, who spent most of his career designing building for the Catholic Church. Many of his buildings are in Brooklyn and Queens, among which, his four buildings for St. John’s University in Queens are the best known. His design for Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Windsor Terrace is very similar to this school, with a Gothic style as interpreted through a Deco lens. This building has many of the same features, and is quite elegant and strong. It is probably that blocky strength that gave the school the nickname “Claver Castle.”

The school was divided into three distinct spaces, classrooms, nun’s quarters and a gymnasium space with a community track. Reverend Quinn was eager to include the community into the church, and in addition to the school and community center, the church was involved with missions, orphanages and a summer camp on Long Island. Father Quinn died in 1940, and is now being considered for sainthood. His is a fascinating story that may be told in a later Walkabout. In later years, during the 60s and 70s, the church also had programs for young homeless mothers as well as a successful credit union. The school was in operation until 1988, when it was closed. The building was unused for another 20 years.

Last year, the school was chosen to be the home for the Brooklyn Waldorf School, a new independent elementary school. The architectural firm of Rogers Marvel was chosen to reconfigure the building to the needs of the school, with emphasis on sustainable and green construction and instruction. The children will be able to garden on the roof, among other things. The school prides itself on diversity in ethnicity and incomes, as well as creative teaching methods, and welcomes children from all across Brooklyn.













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[Merry]

Building of the Day: 74 Halsey Street



Name: Row house
Address: 74 Halsey Street
Cross Streets: Nostrand and Arlington Place
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1886
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
Architect: Rudolph Daus
Other buildings by architect: 13th Regiment (Sumner) Armory, Bed Stuy. 176 and 178 St. Johns Place, Park Slope. Lincoln Club, Clinton Hill. NY&NJ Telephone Building, Downtown Brooklyn.
Landmarked: Not yet, but soon. Hopefully, very soon.

The story: If you look at any architectural guide that includes Bed Stuy, this house is always there. It’s unique, eye catching and extremely well done. The house is a testament to the great craftsmen and artisans who worked on Bedford Stuyvesant’s buildings, making it one of the most architecturally interesting and significant neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

The Mexican-born German-American architect Rudolph Daus certainly went the extra mile for this commissioned one-of-a-kind house. On first glance, the obvious: the magnificent wrought iron railings, the impressive ironwork on the balcony, the decorative brickwork. Look a little closer: the massing of shapes, with the center bay highlighted by half columns, the beautiful support bracket. One can only assume the base material is brownstone; it’s been painted for years and years.

Also noteworthy are the arched windows on the parlor floor, nestled between the bay, the entire mansard-roof top floor, and the perfectly balanced peaked dormers, decorated with deep set brackets. If you look really closely, you can see Daus channeled his inner Viking, with carved lion heads, like a ship’s prow, on two overhanging beams.

All of these elements produce a home unlike any other on the block, or in the entire neighborhood. When will these masterpieces be landmarked and protected, so future generations can get just as much enjoyment from them as we do today? Hopefully within the next year.


Photograph: Christopher Bride for Property Shark, 2012











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