James W. and Lucy S. Elwell House
70 Lefferts Place | Bedford-Stuyvesant | built 1854
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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.
- 1854
Merchant James W. Elwell buys a large lot and builds an Italianate villa on Lefferts Place
In 1854 James W. Elwell, who ran a freight and shipping commission firm, paid $20,000 for a big parcel at the corner of Lefferts Place and Grand Avenue. The lot ran through the block to Atlantic Avenue, leaving room for a sizeable house, a garden and a flower conservatory. Elwell had the house built as an Italianate villa, a fashionable choice then for professionals who wanted a suburban retreat.
“…in 1854 purchased a large parcel of land on Lefferts Place for $20,000. The original Elwell property encompassed the entire corner lot at Lefferts Place and Grand Avenue…”
- 1899
James "Bouquet" Elwell, proud of his garden and conservatory, dies in 1899
James Elwell died in September 1899, having made his home with his family at 70 Lefferts Place until then. He was said to spend half an hour every morning in his garden choosing a bouquet for his lapel, and his garden and conservatory were the pride of the block, which earned him the nickname "Bouquet" Elwell. He was also a generous donor, reportedly giving more than $3 million to charities over his lifetime.
“…was said to have spent half an hour every morning in his garden picking a bouquet for his lapel…”
- 1939
The Elwell family sells the house to followers of Father Divine for $5,000
After the house had stayed in the Elwell and Palmer families for about 80 years, Elwell Palmer, the founder's grandson, sold the property to followers of Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement in 1939. The $5,000 price was so low that the landmark report assumes the Palmers were making a donation to the movement. Followers kept ownership of the house until the 1980s.
“Elwell Palmer sold 70 Lefferts Place to Father Divine’s followers for $5,000, which was an amount so nominal…”
- 1939
Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement Extension is dedicated, serving public meals daily
The renovated house was dedicated on October 15, 1939 as Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement Extension, one of nearly 100 such properties in the Northeast. The basement held a public dining hall and the first floor a Holy Communion banquet hall, while followers lived on the upper floors. In the 1940s meals cost 10 to 15 cents, and the line sometimes ran out the door and down the block.
- 2006
The Landmarks Commission designates the Elwell House after a developer plans to demolish it
The house sold for $2,400,000 in May 2006, and plans to tear it down followed soon after. A last-minute campaign to landmark it succeeded, and the designation became final in December 2006. The property returned to the market within a month, and by 2011 it had still not sold.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2011
The landmarked house is advertised as a $25-a-night hostel after a foreclosure filing
After a lis pendens, the first step in foreclosure, was filed in April 2009 on a $2,010,000 loan, the house turned up in a January 2011 online listing for a hostel. Beds in bunks went for $25 a night. Brownstoner could find no sign that the house had a certificate of occupancy for hotel or rooming-house use.
Source: brownstoner.com
Further reading
- James W. and Lucy S. Elwell HouseWikipedia
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