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Sheepshead Bay Architecture: Ornaments


by on Oct 4th, 2011

Even minor embellishments to this home's bargeboard help to highlight the stark differences from its sleek modern neighbor on the left

Anyone who has ever had a Christmas tree knows that without decorations, all you’ve got is a chopped down pine tree in your living room. Tinsel and lights may add something but ornaments are what really brings cheer and raises everyone’s holiday spirit.

Architecture of the Victorian era was no different. Ornaments added a twist to otherwise utilitarian components of a building’s construction. Say you wanted to cover up a roof line or gutter with a cornice or bargeboard or use a corbel to hold up those structures – without ornamentation all you’ve got is a rather dull, plain, boxy piece of wood, metal or stone.

I recently checked out a few of the older homes and houses of worship in and around Sheepshead Bay. As I took photographs, one common theme that seemed to run through these venerable old buildings – and likewise separated them from their plainer, more modern neighbors – was the fine architectural details used to decorate them.

The first and most plentiful example of these energizing embellishments I saw on my trip to the Bay was the Sheepshead Bay United Methodist Church (3087 Ocean Avenue), which has stood at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Voorhies Avenue since 1884.

The wood and metal tracery not only holds together window panes but adds to a more elaborate look

The church, which is built in the Gothic Revival style, also has a major Eastlake influence. The big giveaway that the church is built in the Gothic style is its lancet-arched windows and doors. Its Eastlake influence can be seen in the elaborate bargeboards hanging down from its roof eaves and gables  – complete with pendants dropping down to decorate the empty air below.

Ornamental woodwork on this barge board and corbels are the envy of other roof eaves and gables

The church’s lancet windows are embellished with tracery designs to further add to the overall fancy effect. Its doors are also topped with beautifully designed stained glass and tracery.

Metal tracery and stained glass top off this door

I also observed some simple but beautiful early 20th Century Colonial Revival homes, most with a Greek Revival influence, on East 18th Street between Voorhies Avenue and Jerome Avenue. One sits next to a sleek modern house – showcasing the stark differences between its own understated elegance and the simple shapes and more ambitious scale of newer styles.

Avenue S between Coney Island Avenue and East 9th Street, not far from the stucco and terra cotta Mediterranean Revival houses of Gravesend, is also home to an increasingly rare blast from the past.

Cute and simple sprandrels between the porch posts and eaves help this house stand out

A rather simple, symmetrical, gambrel-roofed Colonial Revival from the late Victorian era sits among simpler brick boxes from the 1930′s and more recent tricked out tear downs and gut renovations.

The major difference between this house and its more modern neighbors are its proportions and ornamentation. While it undergoes construction work, you can still clearly see adorable spandrels spanning the corners between the porch columns and roof eaves.

I have to say I had been admiring this endangered angel for a while and was worried when I first saw permits and a wooden construction fence being placed around its perimeter. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw new insulation being put up instead of a demolition team bringing its walls down.

Let’s hope it gets a new lease on life with some modern upgrades and tasteful new siding that doesn’t interfere with its historic character.

What we do know is that at least some of the soul of 100 + year old homes are a result of moderately scaled architecture, complete with embellishments known as ornamentation.

Joe Teutonico is the lead blogger for Bensonhurst Bean

It looks like a loving owner is finally giving this house some TLC with new insulation and siding.

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  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

    Five years ago there were quite a few more of these marvels of Victorian architecture here. Sadly, entire blocks of these have been scourged, gutted, or demolished.

    But some still remain. Walk down East 16th Street between Avenue Y and Avenue Z where on the east side of the street there are still a number of 19th century houses, the earliest of which date from the late 1870s. Some have been modernized in a tasteful way, but many still maintain their original forms. Their property lines show the vestiges of a 19th century throughfare called Willis Street. Strangely, Willis Street, while it is visible on maps, is usually not named. One needs to look at property records to find proof that this was the legal name of the street.

    The area between East 18th Street and Nostrand Avenue, from Avenue Z south to Shore Parkway still has numerous examples of house construction from the early 20th Century. The remnants of Sheepshead Bay’s glory days can still be found. Many of the more interesting examples can be seen along Voorhies Avenue.

    Ornaments define these houses. The modern (post 1930) concept that “less is more” has led to architecture that grows progressively more uninspired, and many architects that seek to reverse the trend often so do poorly, with a lack of understanding of how to use traditional elements with taste and balance.

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  • nolastname

    In 1995 an arsonist took out more than a dozen Queen Ann Houses in Sheepshead Bay.
    He was homeless named Breslin. His family did come from Gravesend.
    He torched the rooming house that used to be on Emmons Ave. A house on East 26th Street between Y and Z was totaled and the owner was living in a trailer for months waiting for insurance to settle. The rooming house was next to this beauty.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34224145@N04/6213965718/in/photostream

    • Cabbie

      In reference to the home that was torched on E. 26th, I believe it was between Z & Voorhies where one of the ugliest condo buildings now stands. The arsonist also tried to torch the house next door (which belonged to an ex-fireman).

      As for the last photo above, I’m sure the siding will be stucco…and oh, how you can get stuck, oh!

      • nolastname

        No, The house I speak of was between Y and Z. I spoke with the owner at the time he was staying in a trailer. He warned me that the arsonist would not give up. Breslin torched over 200 cars and my parents house was a three time target.
        I have pictures and personal accounts of the goings on at the time. Which I believe included a Marie Park fire that did cost lives.
        Look up the archives of the Bay News. If they go that far back.

        • nolastname

          Cabbie, I will shut up now. Lisanne just refreshed my memory. I am soooo  mistaken.  I was thinking I just walked around the corner..but this man did save my families house and put me on a mission that helped prevent more fires.

    • Cabbie

      In reference to the home that was torched on E. 26th, I believe it was between Z & Voorhies where one of the ugliest condo buildings now stands. The arsonist also tried to torch the house next door (which belonged to an ex-fireman).

      As for the last photo above, I’m sure the siding will be stucco…and oh, how you can get stuck, oh!