Building at 377-379 Flatbush Avenue

Constructed in 1885 and featuring a distinctive corner tower, this neo-Grec style, 3.5-story building is part of the Prospect Heights Historic District. The building includes a brownstone front and a mansard roof that demonstrates the Second Empire style of architecture that was popular at the time of construction. The ground floor has been a commercial space since the building's completion while the upper stories continue to house apartments. The building at 377-379 Flatbush Ave. was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, along with its contemporary adjacent brownstone buildings designed and built for the same owner, a similar building with a flat roof and one commercial space (375 Flatbush Ave.), and two single-family rowhouses (185-187 Sterling Pl).

John Konvalinka had the building at 377-379 Flatbush Ave. built from a design by local architect William M. Cook. Unlike many other buildings of this type, the corner tower entrance for 377-379 Flatbush was reserved for residents of the upstairs apartments. The tower is topped by a slate pyramidal roof with iron cresting and a weathervane. The second-floor window of the tower is protected by an iron railing. The rest of the building is three bays wide along Flatbush Avenue and three bays wide facing Sterling Pl. Two commercial spaces on the ground floor have their own entrances. At the center of the two sections of mansard roof is a single dormer window with a pediment with a sunburst design. Tin ceilings were still present on the ground floor in the early 1980s when the building was renovated, as well as original fireplace mantels and wooden staircases. At the same time, Cook designed three adjacent brownstone-faced buildings for Konvalinka. The similar adjacent building to the left (375 Flatbush Ave.) has a flat roof and a longer footprint. Cook also tied the design of the two single-family rowhouses next door on Sterling Pl. (185-187) to the commercial buildings, with neo-Grec details. All four of the attached buildings share a metal cornice; each had small rear yards with no outbuildings when documented for the National Register in 1983.

There were three men named John Konvalinka in Brooklyn in this era. One was born in 1822 in Chrast, Boehemia (Czechoslovakia) and emigrated to America in 1849. He founded a wholesale fur business, Konvalinka & Konvalinka, located on Davidson St. and later at 36 Maiden Lane in Manhattan. This first John became a U.S. citizen in 1856 and died in Brooklyn at home at 208 Park Pl. in 1896. He had a son, John William Konvalinka, who was born in Brooklyn in 1858 and became an attorney; he died in Brooklyn in 1901. The third John was probably a nephew of the first (the son of the first John's brother, Joseph) and was born in Chrast (Bohemia) in 1847; he emigrated to the U.S. in 1874. The third John became a part of the family fur business with his uncle. The firm acquired another partner in the 1880s and became Konvalinka & Weiss. When the third John died in 1916 at his home on First Ave. in Brooklyn, he left a widow, Jane, and no children. The first John is thought to be the builder of our Flatbush Avenue building, since he was older, more economically established by the 1880s, and lived nearby. In 1889, the first John lived at 206 Park Pl.; the second at 109 St. Mark's Ave., and the third at 157 Luquer.

Flatbush Avenue began as the Flatbush Turnpike, cutting through farmland and connecting the village of Flatbush to the town of Brooklyn. Later, it brought Brooklynites to Prospect Park. This neighborhood of Prospect Heights began being developed in the 1860s, after speculators bought up farmland and subdivided it into lots in the 1850s. The residential streets tended to develop faster than along Flatbush Avenue, which became a commercial corridor in the 1880s and 1890s.

The building's tower has become a visual landmark and is visible from the main entrance to Prospect Park at Grand Army Plaza. In recent years, the commercial spaces in the building have held a Smoke Shop and the Hungry Ghost coffee bar and cafe (183 Sterling Pl.). While the storefronts have undergone alterations over the years, they fit with the overall look of the historic building.

Dolkart, Andrew Scott. NRHP Nomination of Buildings at 375-379 Flatbush Avenue and 185-187 Sterling Place. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1984.

Konvalinka, ---. Family of John (Nepomuk Josef) Konvalinka (1822-1896), My Konvalinka Family. Accessed February 2nd 2022. http://www.konvalinka.com/konvalin.htm.

Konvalinka, ---. Family of John William Konvalinka (1858-1901), My Konvalinka Family. Accessed February 2nd 2022. http://www.konvalinka.com/jk1858.htm.

Konvalinka, ---. Biographical Information for John William Konvalinka (1858-1901), My Konvalinka Family. Accessed February 2nd 2022. http://www.konvalinka.com/jk1858b.htm.

Konvalinka, ---. Biographical Information for John H. (or N.?) Konvalinka (1847-1916), My Konvalinka Family. Accessed February 2nd 2022. http://www.konvalinka.com/jhk1847b.htm.

Konvalinka, ---. Biographical Information for John (Nepomuk Josef) Konvalinka (1822-1896), My Konvalinka Family. Accessed February 2nd 2022.

http://www.konvalinka.com/jk1822b.htm.

Lain and Company. Lain's Brooklyn City Directory for the Year Ending May 1st, 1889. Brooklyn, NY. Lain and Company, 1889.

Spellen, Suzanne. Building of the Day: 375-379 Flatbush Avenue, Brownstoner. April 24th 2012. Accessed February 2nd 2022. https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/building-of-the-day-375-379-flatbush-avenue/.

Spellen, Suzanne. Neo-Grec Turns the Corner in Prospect Heights, Brownstoner. January 9th 2018. Accessed February 2nd 2022. https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/brooklyn-architecture-375-flatbush-avenue-prospect-heights-william-cook/.