Litchfield Villa

Litchfield Villa
South side
Location Prospect Park W. and 5th St.
Brooklyn, New York City
Coordinates 40°40′1″N 73°58′26″W / 40.66694°N 73.97389°W / 40.66694; -73.97389Coordinates: 40°40′1″N 73°58′26″W / 40.66694°N 73.97389°W / 40.66694; -73.97389
Built 1854-1857
Architect A. J. Davis
Calvert Vaux
Architectural style Italianate
NRHP reference # 77000946
Significant dates
Added to NRHP September 14, 1977[1]
Designated NYCL March 15, 1966

Litchfield Villa, or "Grace Hill", is an Italianate mansion built in 1854 - 1857 on a large private estate that has since become part of Prospect Park, Brooklyn.[2] It is located on Prospect Park West at 5th Street. The villa was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, America's leading architect of the fashionable Italianate style for railroad and real estate developer Edwin Clark Litchfield.[3]

West side, from Prospect Park West

The structure is considered to be Davis' greatest Italianate villa, and is currently the Brooklyn borough headquarters of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Davis also designed a coach house, greenhouse, and chicken house for the property, none of which is extant.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1][4]

After years of neglect, an extensive renovation was funded by an anonymous descendent of the Litchfield family. The renovation, under the direction of architect Ralph Carmosino, was completed in 2008.[5] The original stucco was removed from the house, and many of the interior details, including the elaborately painted ceiling murals, were lost.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ The Litchfield Villa; Back to the Past for a Landmark in Prospect Park, By CHRISTOPHER GRAY, New York Times, March 12, 1989
  3. ↑ Peck, Amelia (1992) Alexander Jackson Davis, American Architect, 1803-1892 p.94
  4. ↑ Lawrence E. Gobrecht (December 2, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Litchfield Villa". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2008-08-16. (includes one map) See also: "Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, from 1976". and "Accompanying nomination correspondence".
  5. ↑ New Life for Litchfield Villa in Prospect Park, By FRANCIS MORRONE, May 19, 2008, New York Sun, Article has disappeared from NY Sun site. The link may be in process at www.archive.org and could reappear there in the near future.



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