Ralph Leininger: Builder of Park Place
Sources: The following biography is drawn from Ralph Leininger's newspaper obituary, the Emma Charlotte Leininger estate notice, genealogical records (Find A Grave), and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission's Crown Heights North III Historic District designation report (LP-2489), which specifically describes the Leininger household at Park Place: "Ralph Leininger---who lived with his wife Emma and their two children at Park Place (Arthur R. Koch, c. 1909) and headed the Kingston Realty Company, which built most of the two-family houses along Lincoln Place between Brooklyn and Albany Avenues---had two African-American servants: 25-year-old William Teabout, who served as his butler, and William's 22-year-old wife, Ida, who worked as the family's cook."
Early Life & Career
Ralph Leininger was born on August 3, 1869, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania---in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. In 1890, he married his first wife, Blanche I. Miller (1869--1936), with whom he had two children: Austin Leininger (born c. 1891--92 in Philadelphia) and Lola Belle Leininger (born October 1898, known as "Lulu" in the family). The family relocated to Brooklyn, and the 1905 New York State Census shows Ralph (age 37), Blanche (age 35), Austin (age 13), and Lulu (age 6) living together in Brooklyn's 18th Assembly District---four years before the construction of Park Place.
As his obituary noted, Leininger arrived in Brooklyn with "practically no capital." He managed a printing ink concern in Williamsburg, where he made a success over five years before organizing the Kingston Realty Company. Austin later married Margaret Isabella Wallace (born c. 1894, Cleveland, Ohio; daughter of William Wallace and Margaret Murdock) in Manhattan on July 6, 1915.
Between 1905 and 1909, Ralph's personal life underwent a significant transition: he and Blanche separated (Blanche later died on June 7, 1936, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and was cremated at Fresh Pond Crematory in Queens). In 1909, Ralph married his second wife, Emma C. Lee (March 21, 1876--March 23, 1938), a Brooklyn native. Ralph and Emma married in 1909, the same year the house was built, suggesting Park Place was established as their new household. The c. 1909 construction date on the LPC's new-building filing (NB 5211-1909) aligns with the year of their marriage. The LPC designation report confirms that the household at Park Place included Ralph, Emma, and "their two children"---Austin and Lola Belle, from Ralph's first marriage.
The Kingston Realty Company
The Kingston Realty Company was one of Crown Heights' most prolific development firms during the neighborhood's peak building era. According to Leininger's obituary, the firm:
Activity Scale
Purchased unimproved land on Eastern Parkway and in Flatbush
Total farm lands bought and sold More than \$5,000,000
Buildings erected More than 250 buildings
Total money involved Close to \$10,000,000
Timeframe for building program Less than three years
The Kingston Realty Company is specifically named in the LPC's Crown Heights North III Historic District designation report (LP-2489) as a developer of row houses along Park Place and Lincoln Place. This confirms that Leininger's firm was not merely active in the area but was a recognized force in shaping the architectural character of the neighborhood---the very character that earned it landmark protection over a century later.
Personal Fortune & Prominence
At the height of his career, Leininger also owned the Touraine Hotel in Brooklyn. His obituary states that he was at one time the second most heavily insured man in the United States, carrying \$1,500,000 in life insurance---a figure that, adjusted for inflation, would represent tens of millions in today's dollars. He also pledged thousands of dollars to church work during his years in real estate.
Financial Reversal & the Darlington Company
After the building boom crested, Leininger shifted his activities from real estate to retail, capitalizing a \$1,000,000 company called the Darlington Company to operate a department store. Financial reverses intervened: the store never opened, despite \$675,000 worth of goods ordered in anticipation of its launch. Leininger was adjudged a bankrupt with liabilities aggregating \$410,000.
The obituary headline references "the crash of 1907" as the turning point where Leininger lost nearly everything. After the wreckage of his business ventures cleared, he returned to real estate, though the obituary notes he had done practically nothing for the previous three years because of the Depression.
Family Tragedy & Later Years
In November 1924, Leininger suffered a devastating family loss: his daughter Lola Belle Leininger Clifford died in childbirth at age 26 in Kings County. Her infant son also died that same day, November 14, 1924. Both are buried alongside Ralph at Green-Wood Cemetery. Lola Belle's death occurred while Ralph and Emma were living at Park Place---meaning this tragedy almost certainly touched the household directly.
His first wife, Blanche I. Miller Leininger, survived Ralph but died on June 7, 1936, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and was cremated at Fresh Pond Crematory in Queens.
Death & Estate
Ralph Leininger died on April 17, 1935, at age 65, at his home at Park Place. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. He was a 33-year member of the board of managers of the Bedford Branch Y.M.C.A. and contributed generously to its work.
His widow, Emma C. Lee Leininger, continued to live at Park Place until her death on March 23, 1938---just two days after her 62nd birthday. She is also buried at Green-Wood Cemetery. Her estate, valued at \$39,687.63 gross (\$32,950.26 net), included the house at Park Place appraised at \$8,500, plus stocks, bonds, and bank accounts. The estate was distributed among her brother, two sisters, stepson Austin M. Leininger, two step-grandchildren, a grandniece, a niece, five friends, and the Brooklyn Home for Aged Men.
Life at Park Place in the Leininger Era
The most vivid primary-source description of Park Place during the Leininger years comes from the Brooklyn Eagle of October 30, 1913, which reported on a political reception Leininger hosted under the headline "Fusion House Party at Mr. Leininger's --- Pleasant Semi-Social Gathering at Park Place Mansion."
The article describes the event held at "his fine residence, Park Place" in the art gallery, on the main floor---revealing that the house contained a dedicated art gallery, consistent with the scale of a 15-room residence. The reception was organized for candidates on the Fusion ticket (the reformist anti-Tammany coalition) and was described as "one of the most novel as well as successful events of the local campaign" and "a gathering of substantial citizens." The Eagle noted it "might well have been termed a house party, for everybody was warmly welcomed by the host and a committee and told to make themselves 'right at home.'"
Speakers included Edward Allen, Progressive State committeeman for the Eighteenth Assembly District, and candidates for Borough President, Sheriff, County Judge, Assembly, and Alderman. Register E. T. O'Loughlin, complimenting Leininger, expressed hope that there might be more such affairs.
On November 1919, the house served as the venue for a family wedding. The Brooklyn Citizen (November 23, 1919) reported that Florence Irene Lee married Sanford Tiffany Bennett at Park Place, "solemnized at the home of the bride's brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Leininger." The ceremony was performed by Rev. Dr. J. H. Langdale, pastor of the New York Avenue M. E. Church (Methodist Episcopal). The bride wore a brown chiffon velvet gown with matching hat; her cousin Miss Claudie Louise Morgan was her only attendant; and William Hosmer Bennett (the groom's brother) was best man. The article identified the bride as "the daughter of Mrs. Edward O. Lee, of No. 2 Hancock Street"---confirming Emma's father's name as Edward O. Lee.
Other occupants also lived at the address during the Leininger era. A Brooklyn Eagle article from January 6, 1924, notes that a store clerk named Bernard Kennedy of Park Place was among six men held at gunpoint during an armed robbery at the Thomas Roalston store at 7th Avenue and 7th Street in Park Slope. A "richly dressed" woman used an order for eggs as a pretext to enter the store, then drew an automatic pistol while a male accomplice emptied the cash register of \$680. The pair escaped in a motorcar. Police believed the same duo had robbed a chain store at Schenectady Avenue and Park Place---just blocks from 1044---the previous Saturday. Kennedy's presence at the address during the Leininger ownership suggests he was a tenant or boarder in the house.
Significance to the property: Ralph Leininger built Park Place in 1909 for his new wife Emma and made it his home for 26 years until his death in 1935. His Kingston Realty Company erected more than 250 buildings in Crown Heights and Flatbush, making him one of the most important developers in early 20th-century Brooklyn. The house also witnessed profound personal loss---the death of his daughter Lola Belle in childbirth in 1924. Three members of the Leininger family---Ralph, Emma, and Lola Belle---are buried together at Green-Wood Cemetery. The house's principal ownership history appears to fall into three family eras: the Leiningers (1909--1938), the Goldbergs (c. 1940--1974), and the Edmunds (1974--present). The Edmund family's 52-year stewardship is by far the longest continuous ownership in the property's history.
Primary Source Clippings
