After a demolition permit was issued on February 25, V3, the same company that’s putting up the Karl Fischer-designed Hotel Indigo at 237 Duffield Street, began dismantling 231 Duffield Street, one of several houses on the Downtown Brooklyn block that has been linked to the Underground Railroad. As the Duffield Street blog notes this morning, while 227 Duffield has gotten most of the attention and is planned to be a museum for the abolitionist movement, there’s good reason to think that 231 Duffield has historical significance to the abolitionist movement. According to the EDC report on the subject, houses owners at the time–the Hawes and the Hilles–were involved with abolitionist groups, although there is no documented evidence of their involvement with the railroad itself. The basement photo, at right, shows a passageway underneath Number 231 that many think was used to transport escaped slaves.
Demolition Begins of Historic Duffield Street Building [Duffield Street Blog]
Demolition continues of 231 Duffield [Duffield Street Blog] GMAP P*Shark DOB