Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 24, 2017

LPC VOTES TO DESIGNATE THE PETER P. AND ROSA M. HUBERTY HOUSE A LANDMARK

 
 

(New York, NY)- The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on October 24, 2017 to designate the Peter P. and Rosa M. Huberty House, located at 1019 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, as an individual landmark.

Constructed in 1900 during the early years of the Colonial Revival style's popularity in the United States, the Huberty House contributed to the development of Bushwick Avenue as one of Brooklyn's most prestigious streets, and is a striking reminder of the avenue's historic character. Both designed by, and home to, a number of prominent New York City figures, the house remains a special part of the history, aesthetic, character and development of Brooklyn and the city at large.

“The designation of the Huberty House honors both the historic character of Bushwick Avenue as it developed in the early 20th century, as well as the contributions of architect Ulrich Huberty to the borough of Brooklyn," said Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan. “Today's landmark designation will preserve this splendid Colonial Revival for future generations of New Yorkers to enjoy."

Peter P. Huberty was a German-born lawyer and Democratic politician who served a term as Kings County Clerk at the turn of the 20th century. Huberty's 23 year old son, Ulrich, who would go on to become one of Brooklyn's most notable architects, designed the house for his parents in the Colonial Revival style, with facades of red brick and contrasting gray-brick quoins, topped by a hipped roof with dormers and a widow's walk. The commanding street façade features a stone base, a prominent semi-circular portico in the center bay, second-story windows with splayed terra-cotta lintels, and a wide Palladian dormer set within the hipped roof.

"The Peter P. and Rosa M. Huberty House carries a rich legacy of our borough, and it stands today as one of Bushwick's true architectural treasures. Deputy Borough President Reyna and I are proud to see this home, and the immigrant history it represents, earn landmark distinction," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

"Thank you to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for recognizing the importance of preserving Bushwick's historic character, of which the Huberty House is an outstanding example. Bushwick Avenue and the surrounding blocks contain many historic structures that deserve such consideration for preservation," said Council Member Antonio Reynoso.

Ulrich Huberty designed many significant Brooklyn properties in addition to his parents' house, either independently or in various partnerships. Joining with William H. Hudswell and Frank Helmle to form the firm of Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell in 1902, and later Helmle and Huberty in 1906, Ulrich Huberty had a hand in the creation of significant buildings such as Hotel Bossert, the Prospect Park Boathouse and Winthrop Park Pavilion, the Greenpoint Savings Bank, and the recently designated Williamsburgh Trust Company Building, in addition to a number of other buildings in historic districts. Ulrich Huberty, in partnership with Fred Helmle, was responsible for the 1909 rear addition that was installed at the Huberty House.

The Huberty family ultimately sold 1019 Bushwick Avenue and the property changed hands a number of times before being acquired in 1937 by an Italian-born tailor whose family has owned the house ever since.

Throughout the decades the Huberty House has retained a high level of integrity with few and sensitive alternations. A striking example of the type of single-family homes that prominent families constructed along Bushwick Avenue in the late 19th and early-20th century, the Huberty House is a significant example of Colonial Revival residential architecture by a notable Brooklyn architect, representing the historic development and character of Bushwick Avenue, and Brooklyn's immigrant history.

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The Landmarks Preservation Commission is the mayoral agency responsible for protecting and preserving New York City's architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings and sites. Since its creation in 1965, LPC has granted landmark status to more than 36,000 buildings and sites, including 1,398 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, 10 scenic landmarks, and 141 historic districts and extensions in all five boroughs. Under the City's landmarks law, considered among the most powerful in the nation, the Commission must be comprised of at least three architects, a historian, a realtor, a planner or landscape architect, as well as a representative of each borough.