Folk Art Historic District
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| Jefferson Avenue between Bushwick Avenue and Broadway, 2011. Credit: Sarah Rosenblatt and Asuka Ogawa |
Introduction
The proposed Folk Art Historic District is comprised of two sections. The north section is comprised of six buildings on the south side of Jefferson Avenue, between Bushwick Avenue and Evergreen Avenue, and four buildings on the east side of Bushwick Avenue between Jefferson Avenue and Hancock Street, and one building on the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Jefferson Avenue, linking the two other rows. The south section includes twelve consecutive buildings on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, between Bushwick Avenue and Broadway. All of the structures in both the north and south sections were built in 1890 and commissioned by Stephen J. Burrows, who is also listed as their architect and builder. Although some of the buildings have been painted, they all retain a tremendous amount of architectural integrity.
About the Architect, Builder, and the Original Owner
Stephen J. Burrows (1841-1919) was born in New York, to parents who had migrated north from Virginia. During the Civil War, he served as a soldier, and was mustered out of Riker’s Island, in New York Harbor, at the age of 21. In the 1880s, he was a well-known Republican politician, and a resident of the Fifteenth Ward of Brooklyn. In 1883, he was nominated by The Young Republican Association for assembly in the Sixth Assembly District. He also served as the president of the Bushwick Co-operative Building and Loan Association until 1893, when he was accused for the discrepancies in the organization’s account and their methods of bookkeeping. Burrows was also known as an enthusiastic supporter of Seth Low, the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, and subsequent president of Columbia University (1890-1901), and mayor of incorporated New York City (1901-1903). According to the U.S. Census Record of 1900, Burrows was widowed by the age of 59, and had one daughter and two sons, the youngest of whom was a mason. On November 29, 1919, Burrows died at his long-time residence, 236 Ainslie Street, at the age of 79.
Architectural Description
All of the structures in the proposed Folk Art Historic District share an aesthetic that is unique both to the Bushwick area and to New York City as a whole. Many of the architectural details on the front facades of these buildings are reminiscent of the Tramp Art movement, which reached its peak popularity around the time that these rowhouses were constructed. Tramp Art was developed by German and Scandinavian craftsman, who carved patterns into wooden boxes and furniture. Their designs were very distinct, including notch and edge carving, layering, and geometric detailing such as circles, squares, triangles, hearts, etc. Unfortunately, there is little recorded history of the origins and evolution of Tramp Art, as the craftsmen were usually nomadic; most of what we know about Tramp Art is derived from the surviving pieces, and it remains largely unknown if Tramp Art generally extended to works as large as architecture. Therefore, it cannot be determined whether or not these buildings were designed or constructed by Tramp Art craftsman or were even directly influenced by Tramp Art. Nevertheless, the connection is certainly plausible.
All twenty-three structures in the proposed Folk Art Historic District are three stories tall and three bays wide. All have the same unusual wooden cornices, with carved Xs surrounded by lines at 45 degree angles, both elements often found in Tramp Art. Many of the buildings have dog-tooth detailing around the windows and symmetrical wooden carving on the window lintels and door frames, creating a checkerboard pattern reminiscent of the notch-edge carving common in the Tramp Art movement. However, there are also architectural details that appear to have been created in standard molds—for example, the detailed terra-cotta lintels found mostly in the south section of the district. The overall distinctive ornamentation of these structures certainly makes them aesthetically unique, as they clearly do not imitate or reflect any other buildings in the region, or in period publications like pattern books. As a result, it seems clear that the architectural ornamentation of these structures was inspired by folk art forms, rather than mainstream or high style architectural trends.
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| Details of 1098-1108 Jefferson Avenue rowhouses, 2011. Credit: Dianne Pierce O’Brien |
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| Details of 1035-1057 Jefferson Avenue rowhouses, 2011. Credit: Asuka Ogawa |
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| Taylor and H. Fendelman, 1999. |
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| Taylor and H. Fendelman, 1999. |
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| Taylor and H. Fendelman, 1999. |
Speculative Development Context
While the architecture of these buildings is unique, their development was not. Burrows was one of many speculative developers in the southeast section of our Bushwick Avenue study area during the late nineteenth century. This region, which only a decade before had been mainly farmland, was rapidly built up in the mid-to-late 1880s and early 1890s, because the extension of the elevated subway from Manhattan made the area more accessible. Many of these speculative developers, like Burrows, were only responsible for constructing small rows of houses at a time. Thus, in addition to their distinct aesthetic, the buildings of the proposed Folk Art Historic District are also important inasmuch as they illustrate the typical development patterns of the region in the late nineteenth century.
Residents
In 1900, there were two or three mid-sized families without servants living in each of these rowhouses. The majority of residents were in middle- or working-class professions, making their livings as minor merchants, carpenters, shipping clerks, truck drivers, and bookkeepers. Most residents had been born in the United States, to parents born in the United States, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, or Italy. The demographics in 1930 remain largely the same as in 1900: multiple mid-sized families without servants lived in each rowhouse. A large majority of residents were born in the United States, to parents born in the United States, Germany, Poland, or Italy. These residents had a variety of occupations, such as clerks, salesmen, binders, laundromat managers, and bar keepers. Therefore, it seems likely that these extravagantly decorated rowhouses were not built for the wealthiest members of the community, but rather for middle- and working-class families.
Contributing Properties
North Section: 1098-1108 Jefferson Avenue; 1197-1205 Bushwick Avenue
South Section: 1035-1057 Jefferson Avenue
Conclusion
It is imperative that the unique structures in the proposed Folk Art Historic District be protected. We recommend a historic district designation, which would require that all alterations, demolitions, and new construction in the district be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, thus serving to preserve the architectural integrity of these historically significant buildings. Furthermore, we recommend additional research into the design and construction of the buildings, so as to strengthen and define the connection between the aesthetics of these structures and the Tramp Art movement.
References
Proposed Buildings. Brooklyn Real Estate Record and Builders Guide, 1890.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. District 219, Sheet 3.
U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
‘Brooklyn Political Notes’ New York Times (Oct 31, 1883), New York: New York Times (1851-2007) w/Index (1851-1993) pg. 2.
‘Affairs in Brooklyn: Co-operative Men Fall Out’ New York Tribune (Mar 19, 1893), New York: The New York Tribune (1841-1922) pg. 20.
‘Citizen Raises Banner ‘ New York Tribune (Oct 18, 1903), New York: The New York Tribune (1841-1922) pg. A11.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. op. cit.
‘Obituary’ New York Times (Dec 1, 1919), New York: New York Times (1851-2007) w/Index (1851-1993) pg. 15.
Fendelman, Helaine W. Tramp Art: An Itinerant’s Folk Art. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1975.
Taylor, Jonathan and Helaine W. Fendelman. Tramp Art: A Folk Art Phenomenon. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999.
Fendelman, Helaine W. Tramp Art: An Itinerant’s Folk Art. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1975.
Taylor, Jonathan and Helaine W. Fendelman. Tramp Art: A Folk Art Phenomenon. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1930 Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930.