297 State Street
Boerum Hill | built 1874
Open on the map3 entries
The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1874
Builder Michael Murray buys the lot for 297 State Street from William Schermerhorn
Michael Murray, a local builder who lived on DeKalb Avenue, bought the land for 297 State Street, along with the lot beside it, from William Schermerhorn in 1874. He built the house as part of a row of six on the north side of the street that he had begun two years earlier. Schermerhorn belonged to one of Brooklyn's old Dutch landholding families, the same family that gave Schermerhorn Street its name.
“Murray, the builder, acquired the land for Nos. 289-295 in 1872, and the land for the pair Nos. 297 and 299 in 1874, from William Schermerhorn.”
- 1886
The house at 297 State Street is sold for the first time, to William J. Logan
Murray appears to have rented the house out after finishing it, because the property did not change hands until 1886. In that year it was sold to William J. Logan, about a dozen years after construction. The landmark report infers the earlier rental from the late sale date.
“Murray must have rented the house after it was built, for the property was not sold until 1886 to William J. Logan.”
- 1973
The city designates 297 State Street a landmark as a late Italianate brownstone
On November 20, 1973, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the 297 State Street House an individual landmark, after a 1970 hearing at which 26 witnesses spoke for preserving Boerum Hill. The commission called it a fine example of the late Italianate style and part of a handsome row of five houses. Its brownstone front, with an arched doorway and a more ornate roof cornice than its neighbors, is one of the best preserved in the row.
“297 State Street House, is a fine example of the late Italianate style of architecture, that it forms part of a handsome row of five houses…”
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