Comparing Outsides to Insides at the Japanese House

Gloria Fischer, the owner of the 1902-built Japanese house at 131 Buckingham Road just across Coney Island Avenue in Prospect Park South, said the impetus for her house tours came from hearing people wonder whether its inside matched its outside.

The outside is indeed spectacular. Over the years that Ms. Fischer and her husband have owned it (since the early 70s), it has drawn lots of press, including a write-up by Christopher Grey, the architectural historian at the NY Times. The interior decoration is a mélange of art deco, French Orientalism, hits of vintage American advertising, and the house’s original dragons. A life-sized Italian espresso machine rules the dining-room.

Trailing an art-deco scarf in the blue/green patterns of a peacock’s tail, Ms. Fischer is every bit as grand as her house and its pedigree. A former director of the Flatbush Development Corporation, Ms. Fischer was instrumental in getting Prospect Park South declared an historic district by the NYC Landmarks Commission in 1979 and listed on the National Register in 1983. Prospect Park South runs from Coney Island Avenue to Buckingham Road and from Church Avenue to Beverley Road.

A former teacher at the NY Ethical Culture Society, Ms. Fischer still aids local cultural and service institutions, including CAMBA, and continues her teaching: currently to young immigrants on the Lower East Side.

An interesting aside: The first owner, Dr. Frederick Strange Kolle, also had a hand in building the Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope.

The next house tour is scheduled for Saturday, January 7 at 11am and 1pm, weather permitting. Email Ms. Fischer at 131tour@gmail.com for reservations. She and her house are well worth meeting.