Nostrand Avenue odyssey, part 3: Castles designed by Montrose Morris and other Bed-Stuy eye candy

Eye on Real Estate

October 25, 2017 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Welcome to Nostrand Avenue in Bed-Stuy. One of the avenue's niftiest buildings is the Alhambra, which was designed by Montrose Morris. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, Louis Seitz.

Brooklynites owe this late 19th-century developer a debt of gratitude for hiring distinguished architect Montrose Morris to design three stunning apartment buildings on our home turf.

The architect conjured up castles that could hold their own in HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.”

Two of these century-and-a-quarter-old architectural masterpieces, the Alhambra and the Renaissance, are located on Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The fact that they can be found on the avenue is one of the main reasons we chose it as our route for an eight-mile urban hike. They’re terrific architectural eye candy.

We walked along busy Nostrand Avenue from south to north, from the intersection of Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to the intersection of Flushing Avenue at the edge of Bed-Stuy.

The eight-mile distance is walkable in a single day, but if you stop to take photos of interesting buildings you’ll run out of daylight before you’re done. So we split our stroll into three segments.

We’ve already published our accounts of the first two parts of the Nostrand Avenue odyssey, which took us through Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, Midwood, Flatlands, East Flatbush, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Crown Heights.

Today we want to show you some of the fine sights to be seen on the third and final leg of the journey.

The Alhambra

It would be logical to start today’s walk at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and head north from there. But we really want to go look at Montrose Morris’ designs first.

So let’s head for the Alhambra.

The five-story Roman-brick, stone, metal and terra-cotta apartment house is located at 500-518 Nostrand Ave., with frontage on Macon and Halsey streets. It was constructed in 1889 and 1890.

The building delights the eye, with turrets, arcades in front of upper-floor windows and a mansard roof.

Its architectural style is part Romanesque Revival, part Queen Anne.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Alhambra as an individual landmark in 1986.

The LPC’s designation report about the building says it was one of the first apartment houses in Brooklyn built for middle-class families. In that era, they tended to live in rowhouses. The Alhambra’s fine design was meant to overcome their negative opinions about apartment buildings.

The Alhambra is in fine shape in this day and age thanks to its city-funded rescue in the 1990s.

Anderson Associates Development Group and the I.M. Foundation renovated the building, which had been damaged in a fire, and turned it into affordable housing.

The project was partly funded by the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the city Housing Development Corp.

The Renaissance

Louis Seitz’ other must-see Montrose Morris design on Nostrand Avenue is the Renaissance, which is located at 480-488 Nostrand Ave. on the corner of Hancock Street.

It was built in 1892.

According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report about the building, its design was inspired by the 16th-century chateaux of Renaissance France.

The five-story apartment house has circular towers topped with cones that look like witches’ hats, a mansard roof and arched windows flanked by soaring columns. It has a Roman-brick and terra-cotta facade laid out in stripes.

Like the Alhambra, the Renaissance was granted individual landmark status in 1986.

Like the Alhambra, the Renaissance was in bad shape when it was renovated and turned into affordable housing in the 1990s.

The restoration project was handled by Anderson Associates, which was chosen as the developer by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in a competitive bidding process.

By the way, the third apartment house Montrose Morris designed for Louis Seitz is the Imperial at 1327-1339 Bedford Ave. in Crown Heights.

A landmarked high school and a tenement designed by Magnus Dahlander

Now let’s double back to Atlantic Avenue, which is the boundary between Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy.

* The Long Island Rail Road train trestle that looms over the intersection of Atlantic and Nostrand avenues casts artsy shadows.

* Near the intersection of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue, a handsome old building formerly owned by Carver Federal Savings Bank — and before that, Crossland Savings Bank — now houses a Walgreens store. Carver Federal Savings Bank sold 1281 Fulton St., which is the building’s address, for $2.8 million in 2009, city Finance Department records indicate.

That purchaser, 1281 Fulton LLC with Joseph Ashkenazi as manager, sold the building in 2012 for $7.5 million to Bleecker Square Owner LLC, Finance Department records show.

* Girls High School, an individual city landmark at 475 Nostrand Ave., looks like it belongs in an Edward Hopper painting. The gorgeous red-brick building has a distinctive tall tower above its front door.

The school’s architectural style is combination Victorian Gothic-French Second Empire. It was built in 1885 and 1886.

The designer was James W. Naughton, the Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn.

A Collegiate Gothic-style addition to the school was designed by C.B.J. Snyder and constructed in 1912.

The current occupant of the property is the New York City Department of Education’s Brooklyn Adult Learning Center.

The stunning school building occupies the blockfront between Macon and Halsey streets — directly across Nostrand Avenue from the Alhambra.

* The landmarked building at 478 Nostrand Ave. on the corner of Hancock Street is an eye-catcher. The Queen Anne-style tenement was designed by architect Magnus Dahlander and constructed around 1893.

The building is located directly across Hancock Street from the Renaissance.

Jacob Dangler House and the Marcy Houses

* The house at 387 Gates Ave., which is near the corner of Nostrand Avenue, has solar panels on its rooftop.

The building belongs to David and Erica Ashe, who purchased it for $1.7 million in 2015, Finance Department records show.

The seller in that transaction, Gates Avenue Associates LLC with Tomer Dafna as sole member, had renovated the house after buying it for $215,000 in 2013, Buildings Department filings and Finance Department records indicate.

* Construction of a seven-story, 29-unit residential building is underway at 348 Nostrand Ave. The site is located between Lexington and Greene avenues.

The property owner is Nos Realty LLC with Lynn Kornblum as a member, Finance Department records indicate.

* The late Shirley Chisholm appears on a mural painted on the side of 498 Greene Ave. just off the corner of Nostrand Avenue.

She was the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first African-American candidate from a major political party to run for President.

The mural, which is titled “When Women Pursue Justice,” was painted by a group called Artmakers Inc.

* There are eye-catching homes on the north and south corners of Hart Street, which begins at Nostrand Avenue and proceeds east from there.

* Jacob Dangler House, built around 1902, is located at 441 Willoughby Ave. on the corner of Nostrand Avenue.

According to a two-part Brownstoner.com story by architectural historian Suzanne Spellen, Dangler was an immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine who owned a prosperous Brooklyn meat and provisions business. He was also a real-estate investor and a trustee and officer of Fulton Savings Bank. The architectural style of his house is French Gothic Revival.

According to Finance Department records, the building now belongs to the United Grand Chapter Order of Eastern Star, State of New York Inc., with Paul Alvarenga as Grand Secretary.

* The Marcy Houses are on Nostrand Avenue between Myrtle and Flushing avenues.

Of course, this is the New York City Housing Authority development where hip-hop mogul Jay-Z grew up.

* Our walk ends at the intersection of Flushing Avenue, which is Nostrand Avenue’s point of origin. This isn’t a dead end. There’s a road on the north side of the intersection, but it’s Lee Avenue, which runs on a diagonal through the south end of Williamsburg.