The apartment has period details, outdoor space, and is located less than a block from Prospect Park.
Photo via Corcoran
by A benefit of an apartment that includes the parlor level of a Park Slope brownstone is the potential for some rich detail. That potential is met in this interior with woodwork, a built-in, stained glass transoms, and an impressive stained glass skylight in the dining room. The duplex also includes the garden level of 908 President Street and comes with some private outdoor space.
The brownstone is in the Park Slope Historic District and is one of a stretch of 14 houses built by Patrick Sheridan. No. 908 has a rough faced brownstone facade with a full-height angular bay, an L-shaped stoop, and a deep bracketed cornice punctuated with the windows of a full-height fourth story. While the designation report dates the row to 1899, this might be a typo as the plan to build the row made the paper in 1889. Other articles and ads of the time indicate that at least some of the stretch was complete by 1895. This house was advertised for sale for $19,000 in 1896 as a new house with a two-story extension.
The dwelling changed hands a couple of times before 1899, when Ferdinand Lott Wyckoff bought the property for his young family. His wife of two years, Cornelia, had her own string of old Brooklyn last names to match Ferdinand’s — Lott Rapelje. The 1900 census shows the couple living in No. 908 with their toddler daughter and two servants. The house would remain in the Lott family until 1928. Ads for rooms for rent, without board, pop up soon after. By 1969 a certificate of occupancy shows the house had been converted to a six-family dwelling.
Despite the house having being divided up into multiple units, this apartment still has many original lush details. The parlor level is five rooms deep, with a library, or possible bedroom, in the bay windowed front parlor. The living room is in the middle parlor with dining and kitchen beyond. There are two more bedrooms on the garden level. Two internal stairways connect the levels, which each have a full bathroom and an entrance off the common hallways.
The built-in is in the middle parlor, with a glass-doored china cabinet and two closets, all surrounded by ornate moldings. The room also has a wood mantel and the aforementioned stained glass transoms.
In that rear two-story extension mentioned in the 1896 ad, the dining room boasts wainscoting, wall moldings, and the oval stained glass skylight that dominates the space. A staircase provides access down to the garden level.
The windowed kitchen has a skylight in the wood slat covered ceiling, a blue tile floor, wood cabinets, and a decorative tile backsplash. A door leads to a second staircase that leads down to a door to the rear yard.
That yard, which has some planting beds and a stone patio, is also accessible via a mudroom that opens into one of the two garden bedrooms. It might make that bedroom usable as an informal living room or den.
While the lower level is not as ornate as the upper one, a photo shows the rear garden bedroom has an attractive decorative fireplace with white-painted brick, a summer cover, and modern patterned tile hearth.
The two full baths both have white fixtures and white wall tiles. One has floral wallpaper while the other has yellow walls. A few style tweaks could bring them up to date.
There are nine closets and a mix of baseboard and traditional radiators. The listing doesn’t mention laundry, nor is it shown on the floor plan.
The five-unit co-op building is just down the block from Prospect Park and close to neighborhood institutions like the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Monthly maintenance for this unit is $1,614 per month.
An open house is set for Thursday, June 4 from 5 to 6 p.m. Listed by Corcoran agents Jennifer Wang and Charlie Pigott, the apartment is priced at $1.995 million. What do you think?
[Listing: 908 President Street #2/3 | Broker: Corcoran] GMAP
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