1028 St. John's Place, purchased by Shirley and Conrad Chisholm in December 1968, is for sale.
Highline Residential
It's a modest Crown Heights home, one of a series of brick homes with neat front yards, but its 1972 owner had a bold vision for change. Brooklyn resident Shirley Chisholm had already become the first black woman elected to Congress, and in 1972 she ran for president from the House of Representatives.
Purchased by Shirley and Conrad Chisholm in December 1968, the home at 1028 St. John's Place is one of several homes in the neighborhood associated with Chisholm from his childhood to his political career. This is one of the. According to Suzanne Sperren's deep dive into Chisholm's time in Crown Heights, her presidential campaign moved out of this house. The house became the site of a strategy meeting as she struggled to get into elementary school, announcing her candidacy from her elementary school.
The home the couple purchased is part of a development that includes the company's Kinko duplex homes on Brooklyn Avenue and a row of single-family homes around the corner on St. John's Place, Kings & West. Built in 1912 by the Chester Company. Known as the Hathaway Group and designed by Mann & MacNeil, the house was advertised as “Old English” in early 1913 for its architectural inspiration, but was equipped for modern families. . This also includes a private garage for each single-family home.
A circa 1940 tax photo shows the house before the addition of the front awning and first-floor bay window. Tax photos from the 1980s show that these changes were made after the Chisholm family sold the property in 1973. The building has been in the same family since the sale.
Although the home is 16.5 feet wide, the layout packs plenty of space on the main level with living, dining, powder room, and kitchen. Upstairs there is a full bathroom and two large bedrooms, one with a sleeping porch. The third floor has an additional full bathroom and three bedrooms.
On the main level, original details are mixed with 1970s touches such as faux wood paneling. The street-facing living room has an Arts and Crafts mantel, topped by a mirrored wall and surrounded by later engineered stone. The same artificial stone decorates the walls of the staircase hall. The dining room, which is shown as a separate living room, still has its original coffered ceiling.
The windowed kitchen at the rear of the first floor is small and has stainless steel counters and vintage metal cabinets. The door leads to the backyard.
Photos of the bedrooms posted show a falling ceiling in one room and possible water damage in another. All bedrooms shown have wooden floors. All bathrooms feature colorful mid-century wall tiles (two pink and one blue). The location of the laundry is not marked on the floor plan.
The paved backyard has space for eating and access to the garage across the alley.
Listed with Duran Dolin at Highline Residential, the home is priced at $2.6 million. The listing hit the market just weeks after the premiere of the film about the pioneer's life.
This article first appeared on Brooklyn Paper's sister site Brownstoner
