The Cutest Little House in Brooklyn

Just wanted to share a building with you that really made my day while out scouting recently. I was searching around the elevated JMZ train in Bushwick recently, and happened to turn down Belvidere Street. Mainly lined with ugly, aluminum siding-clad squat buildings, one structure in particular seemed completely out of place on the street…

This incredible building, which appears to now be a private residence:

According to Forgotten-NY, this is the former telegraph office for the adjacent factory, which was formerly the Continental Lagerbier Brewery. The building is in incredible shape, especially when compared to the degradation of the surrounding neighborhood, and I wanted to highlight some of its beauty.

Here, the front door, with iron gates and that awesome terra-cotta office sign:

The office sign up-close. Note the cute red flowers in the left window – whoever owns this place clearly cares about it.

I believe this “U” refers to William Ulmer, an owner of the former brewery:

Another terra-cotta “U” on the side of the building:

More red flowers in the windows:

A strip of terra-cotta design-work lines the building:

It looks like this former loading entrance is now being used as a garage:

The iron gate has an endless array of fantastic patterns:

I was looking up the building on Google’s street view, and it even looks like the owners have some ivy going in the warmer months – nice of them to include it on the telephone pole cable to boot!

This building is a diamond in the rough, and after seeing decaying structure after decaying structure in the surrounding environs, really brightened my day. And how cool is it to live in a former telegraph office?!

UPDATE – This NY Times article reveals the current owner and a peek at the driveway. Thanks, Bess!

-SCOUT