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pre-Revolutionary-era Benson Homestead with its Dutch
gambrel roof on Bay 24th Street, renovated and modernized
it, and settled there with his large family around 1890.
He and his wife, Mary Ann, had six daughters and a son.
Around the same time, Albert and his family settled down
in Dyker Heights, living in a large Shingle-style house
he designed at 1066 82nd Street. He and his wife, Jesse,
had two sons, Eliot Hill and Thomas Alfred. A third son,
Albert Edward, died as an infant, in 1904.
Both men were quite active in their communities, in
architectural organizations, and civic circles. Unfortunately,
only a few of their buildings in southern Brooklyn
survived. Still standing is an expansive house with
columns Walter designed at 217 82nd Street in Bay Ridge
and a gabled firehouse at 2425 86th Street, a preserved and
landmarked gem in Gravesend.
Walter retired in 1917, ceding his place to his architect
son, William. Walter died quite suddenly at the age of
79 in 1924 in Florida. His funeral took place in Bridgehampton,
N.Y., where the family had a longtime summer
home. He is buried in the Presbyterian Church cemetery
there. Albert passed away two years later, in 1926, at the
age of 63. He succumbed to heart disease after an illness
and died at his home at 174 Prospect Place, back in the
neighborhoods he had worked so hard to build. He was
survived by his wife and two sons. Albert is buried at
Green-Wood.
The Parfitt Brothers left a large body of work behind
them. Row houses, city and suburban mansions, fire
houses, police stations, churches, office and apartment
buildings, and more. From Neo-Grec to Queen Anne and
beyond, whatever style they were working in, the proportions,
ornament, and materials are always first rate. The
boys from Frome have given Brooklyn much to enjoy as
we walk our streets.
The New York Fire Department’s Engine Company 253 on 86th Street in Bensonhurst. Photo by Susan De Vries.