Preserved Stuyvesant Heights Brownstone Was Jackie Robinson’s First Home in Brooklyn

Besides being a newly-hot neighborhood, Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant holds one of the city’s finest collections of historic brownstones. Though many beautiful homes didn’t survive the neglect of the late 20th century, many that did have been remarkably preserved or painstakingly restored to their original splendor. One of the highest concentrations of those impressive townhouses can be found in the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District in the south-central part of the neighborhood.

It’s here that you’ll find this landmarked four-story home at 407 Stuyvesant Avenue, just arrived on the market for $2.875 million. According to the listing, baseball icon and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson lived here, and the brokers tell 6sqft that this was his first residence in Brooklyn. They add that when the current owners moved in, they found a treasure trove of memorabilia. So let’s just say this 20-foot-wide Romanesque Revival-style brownstone hits it out of the park when it comes to intact historic detail and unspoiled 19th century architecture.

The home is set up as a lower triplex with a two-bedroom rental unit on the top floor. Built in 1892, most of the original details which have made classic Brooklyn brownstones famous remain intact and are, as is usually the case, most in evidence on the home’s parlor floor.

Open front and rear formal parlors emphasize decorative fireplaces, sliding pocket doors, two pier mirrors, paneled wainscoting with exquisite carved moldings, inlaid parquet wood floors, ornate ceiling and wall plaster-work, beautiful stained glass and original built in cabinets.

Downstairs on the garden floor, clean and lovely renovations have given the space plenty of 21st century comfort. Out back, a tranquil and informal outdoor space offers summers full of Brooklyn backyard life.

On the third floor, the master bedroom is joined with a smaller but no less lovely second chamber by a hallway with original marble sinks.

The house is ideally located a block away from the A express and C trains at Utica Avenue, and steps away are Fulton Park, and, of course, Jackie Robinson Park.

[Listing: 407 Stuyvesant Avenue by Ban Leow, Howard Ramlal and Jevon Gratineau for Halstead]

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Images courtesy of Halstead