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Gowanus Pre-Civil War Wood Frame With Marble Mantels, Green Roof, Solar Asks $3.1 Million
This article highlights a historic single-family wood frame house located at 181 8th Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, currently listed for $3.1 million. The dwelling, estimated to date back to circa 1840, exhibits a unique blend of historical charm and modern updates. Originally a standalone structure, its Greek Revival architectural details, such as a columned porch and a front door with transom and sidelights, align with its mid-19th-century construction.
Historical records indicate that the house was owned by the McAlevey family for nearly a century, starting at least as early as 1893. During their ownership, Margaret McAlevey oversaw significant alterations, including replacing a peaked roof with a flat one and adding a bracketed cornice in the late 19th century. Peter J. McAlevey, a retired police sergeant and a real estate investor, notably praised the healthful air from the nearby Gowanus Canal. The property served as a three-family home under the McAleveys, with the family residing on the ground floor and renting out the upper levels. The house remained within the family until 1990.
In 2014, the residence was converted into a single-family home. It retains several original interior details, including the main stair and newel post, plasterwork, and pilasters in the parlor and dining rooms. The house features Greek Revival and later Italianate mantels, with a wood-burning fireplace in the parlor. Expansions over the years have added a nearly 40-foot-long extension beyond the dining room, which now houses an eat-in kitchen. This kitchen is equipped with wide-planked floorboards, white cabinets with marble countertops, a wood-burning stove, and a built-in Kegerator, hinting at one of the current owners' connections to the Brooklyn Brewery.
The upper two floors accommodate four bedrooms, a home office, and a studio space. A second-floor bedroom includes an en suite bathroom and access to a terrace overlooking a green roof on the kitchen extension. This bedroom also features a Greek Revival-style mantel flanked by built-in shelves. The house comprises 3.5 bathrooms, with a renovated full bath on the top floor showcasing vintage-inspired bead board, a black and white mosaic tile floor, white fixtures, and a skylight. Additional features include a walk-in closet and a finished basement with laundry facilities, a recreation room, and a cold storage space.
Outdoor spaces include a front porch with greenery behind an iron fence and a rear fenced-in patio with a mature tree and planting beds. Modern updates include a steel beam running the length of the house for structural support, air conditioning in the kitchen and master bedroom suite, and solar panels on the roof, alongside a freshly painted exterior. The property has not been available on the market since 1994. It is currently represented by Maria Ryan and Libby Ryan of Compass.
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