LEFFERTS HOUSE

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York

Scope of Work

The scope of work included the preparation of a Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) Historic Structure Report for the Lefferts House located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York.  The Lefferts House is owned by the Historic House Trust and is operated in cooperation with the Prospect Park Alliance. The CAP program is administered by the National Institute of Museum and Library Services. It provides support for small and mid-sized museums to retain professional conservators for their historic buildings and collections.

Project Background & Profile

The Lefferts House is a very early surviving wood framed house first dating from 1783 with later additions built by a Dutch family in the Colonial farming village of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The house was moved into the park in 1920 to become a house museum and now features an early 1800's period of interpretation with a working garden, historic artifacts, period rooms and exhibits.

The scope of work included a full building assessment with exterior and interior conditions survey, evaluation of all mechanical systems, site drainage and review of archival documents on-site and maintenance records and repair drawing and documents on file at the Prospect Park Alliance.

The assessment included a detailed evaluation of the first floor framing at the cellar and masonry foundation which had been repaired in several campaigns over time with masonry repairs, exterior drainage improvements and the installation of helical anchors to stabilize the perimeter soil at the footings. It was determined that many of the conditions at the first floor framing and foundation dated to the modifications made to the building for the move into the park and its new foundation, as well as several unfavorable geographical features for the selected site in the park in the 1920's.

The assessment fully documented all the existing conditions and presented a prioritized scope of work with full repair recommendations.  

The Lefferts House participated in the CAP program to develop strategies for historic building maintenance, repairs and on-going collections care, while providing a tool for long-range planning and fund-raising.