Hendrick I. Lott House

Hendrick I. Lott House. 1940 East 36th Street. The Hendrick I. Lott House is one of fourteen remaining Dutch Colonial farmhouses in Kings County. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a New York City Landmark. The house remains structurally sound and virtually unchanged from the time Hendrick Lott constructed it in 1800, incorporating a section of the 1720 homestead built by his grandfather, Johannes Lott., When the Lott family emigrated from Holland in 1652, they began to acquire land in the Town of Flatlands. By 1720 Johannes Lott, a prosperous farmer and member of the New York Colonial Assembly, expanded the family holdings from Kings Highway south to Jamaica Bay and “Lott’s Landing.” On this property, Johannes built his homestead just east of the present house. Johannes died in 1775, leaving the farm to Johannes Jr., who occupied the property until 1792., The farm then passed to Hendrick I. Lott, who, in 1800, constructed a house near the old homestead, which he relocated to form the present east wing. He balanced this 1720 wing with a west wing, creating the symmetrical composition. Although Hendrick added Federal-style dormer windows, the gambrel roof with graceful spring eaves is typical of the Dutch Colonial architectural style. The interior features eighteen rooms organized by a center hall plan., By 1825 the 200-acre farm, on which the Lotts raised potatoes, cabbage, wheat, and vegetables, included barns, outbuildings, and a separate stone kitchen. The foundation of the stone kitchen, located between the homestead and the present East 36th Street, was excavated in 1998 by the Brooklyn College Archaeological Research Center., For two centuries Lott descendants lived in the homestead and farmed the land. The last farmer, John Bennett Lott, died in 1923. The majority of the land was sold, leaving only three-quarters of an acre surrounding the house. The last Lott descendant to reside here, Ella Suydam, a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Johannes Lott, lived in the house until she died in 1989. On June 13, 2000, the Lott House was purchased by the City of New York., The reconstruction of the Lott House is a joint effort of the City of New York/Parks and Recreation, Historic House Trust of New York City, Hendrick I. Lott Preservation Association (HILHPA), and Marine Park Civic. A section of The Historic Trust works with HILPHA to secure private support, manage the site and run public programs.