Historic Lott House in Marine Park, built in 1720, to open as museum

February 14, 2025 Raanan Geberer

The historic Hendrick I. Lott House in 2023, after exterior renovations were completed. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Lott House

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After years of renovation, the historic Hendrick I. Lott House in the Marine Park area of Brooklyn, is slated to open as an operational neighborhood museum in early 2026, according to the Friends of the Lott House.

The house, located on East 36th Street only a few blocks from Marine Park itself, was built in 1800 by Hendrick Lott, but it incorporates part of an earlier homestead built in 1720 by his grandfather, Johannes Lott. Like most Dutch colonial houses in the city, it was built after the period of direct Dutch control (1624-1664), but it housed a family that came over from the Netherlands when New York was New Amsterdam.

Sitting around the table at the Lott House in 1942, having a good time, are Arlene V., Eddie S., Rica Brenner and Grandma Suydam. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Lott House

“It’s finally time, it has been over 10 years since the exterior work was completed and we cannot wait for this next phase to start,” said Alyssa Loorya, president of Friends of the Lott House and principal of Chrysalis Archeology. “We are eager to open the doors and invite the community in to share in the rich history.”

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lott house was the centerpiece of a 200-acre farm in what was the Town of Flatlands. At first, the family largely grew grain for market and raised cattle, and grew vegetables mainly for their own consumption. Like most large farms in those days, the Lott homestead used enslaved laborers, but the family, by 1800, freed them and hired them back as paid workers, according to the Historic House Trust.

Annie Bennett Lott wore the height of fashion in 1865. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Lott House

As the 19th century progressed and more people moved into what is now Brooklyn, the Lotts transitioned to growing more vegetables. According to the Friends, as late as 1916, family member Andrew Suydam told the Brooklyn Eagle the farm that year produced a record crop of 16,000 bushels of potatoes. Still, in the new century, farming in Brooklyn declined, and the last harvest took place in 1925.

Little by little, the family sold off most of its farmland, but incredibly, they continued to occupy the house until the last member, Ella Suydam, died in 1989. The city Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the site from her estate in 2002.

Work on the exterior was finished more than 10 years ago; the interior work now under way includes upgrading the electric, plumbing and air-conditioning systems and making the house disabled-accessible. The restoration is a joint effort between the Parks Department, the Historic House Trust, and the Friends group.