BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK

Project History
The Berkeley and Grosvenor apartment houses were built
together in 1885 at 111-115 Montague Street. The 8-storey
structures were part of an 1880’s boom in tall buildings.
The architects Walter and Henry Parfitt were born in
England and established an office in Brooklyn around 1875.
They first designed typical brownstone rows, but later
began experimenting with Queen Ann-style houses in
brick and terracotta. The Berkeley and Grosvenor design
includes a base in rock-faced brownstone, and a massive
central pier and gable, which gives the appearance as
if they were one. The lobby decorations were by Tiffany,
the rent was 100 dollars per month and they were advertised
as “10 minutes from Wall Street.” By 1952 the buildings
were emptied due to fire code violations and by 1971
the Montague had become a welfare hotel. While the grand
interior detail was stripped the powerful, exterior has been
faithfully restored to its’ original grandeur.

Time Frame – Summer 2004

Engineer
Accardo
Engineering,
Staten Island, NY

Contractor
Juno
Contracting, Corp.,
Brooklyn, NY

Distributor
Extech
Industries Inc.,
Long Island
City, NY