Fast forward to the 1940s, when the 5,400-square-foot single-family-home was broken up and used for single-room occupancy. The reason is unknown, but the first buyer is not: Welcome Smith Jarvis, a Wall Street lawyer who was part of Bed-Stuy’s first property rush. A narrow wood-framed door on the fourth floor led out onto a balcony, offering a view up toward the roofline.ĭespite the careful craftsmanship, Langston never moved in. Intricate wood carvings made from white oak, sycamore, maple and ash framed every window and entryway plaster designs decorated the ceilings. The interior boasted 12 decorative fireplaces with cast-iron covers decorated with images of Cleopatra and Greek gods, surrounded by marble mantels and porcelain tile work. He topped the five-story brownstone with an ornamental mansard roof-decorated with fleur-de-lis, cartouches and stone pennons-rising a floor above the surrounding properties. Langston had become known for his large, five-story homes decked out with lavish interiors, and his own at 187 Hancock Street-right down the block from a row of four properties he recently finished in 1890-was to be even more impressive. He and his occasional partner, architect Magnus Dahlander, already designed a slew of eclectic townhouses in the area on spec for the upper-middle-class buyers who, in the late 19th century, were arriving in droves. Langston was more than familiar with the landscape of the neighborhood-in fact, he had helped create it. Langston set out to build himself a townhouse in Bedford, Brooklyn. O ne hundred twenty-five years ago, architect Frederick B. Macdonough Street at Marcus Garvey Boulevard is a premier townhouse block in the neighborhood.
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