Forgotten NY goes to New Utrecht
Intrepid wanderer, and master of Forgotten New York, Kevin Walsh, has journeyed into New Utrecht and Bensonhurst for his latest blog entries. Many people don’t know that Kings County was made up of 6 original towns Brooklyn, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Utrecht, Flatlands, and Gravesend. New Utrecht once encompassed all of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Borough…
Intrepid wanderer, and master of Forgotten New York, Kevin Walsh, has journeyed into New Utrecht and Bensonhurst for his latest blog entries. Many people don’t know that Kings County was made up of 6 original towns Brooklyn, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Utrecht, Flatlands, and Gravesend. New Utrecht once encompassed all of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Borough Park. Bensonhurst was actually named for the Benson family, one member of which, Egbert Benson, was the first attorney general of New York State. New Utrecht is full of Dutch and Revolutionary War era history, with historic churches, cemeteries, and place names. Check out Kevin’s sojourn into this unique slice of Brooklyn.
Photo: Reformed Church and rectory, New Utrecht.
Forgotten New York: New Utrecht
I live in Bensonhurst and I was not insulted. Kevin Walsh, Forgotten NY to me, has the greatest web site on the whole entire web.
Montrose, spot-on description of Kevin’s mission (in every nabe he visits): bringing the past to life and spotting the fleeting remnants of it. Awesome stuff.
Oh, and the church has peaked arch windows too but still, we could hardly call the New Utrecht Reformed Church a gothic revival church. Gothic Revival as a style didn’t hit the US until many years after that church was built.
Okay….now I’m finished.
Please tell Kevin that the New Utrecht Reformed Church is not gothic and the stone is really not laid in an ashlar pattern as he mentions. I do love that church.
Anyway, it is really in a neo-classical style and happens to have a gothickish doorway. The stone, as I remember is not neatly laid in an ashlar pattern which would look more like big bricks in a running bond pattern (if you will). It is kind of in a “rubble” pattern. There are a whole ton of terms to describe masonary styles (certainly when it come to ancient architectural remains).
Okay, school marm done for today.
🙂
@Benson, thanks for the info — will put some on that page, and @others, thanks for kind words.
http://www.forgotten-ny.com
Or maybe I shouldn’t say little adventures, because then it might appear that I am under-valuing them…
Kevin Walsh is the best. I think when he says “forgotton” he really means overlooked, unappreciated or under appreciated. I love his little adventures.
Egbert, that was great. Thanks!
Slopey, unfortunately, I only know what I read in Kevin’s piece. Arghhh, there is a lifetime of history to learn, not enough time to learn it all. Good luck with the search. Ancestry.com’s records may be able to help, which is available free at the library, or you can subscribe.
jamnyc, I wouldn’t take it personally. It’s not that the area is forgotten, what is lost is the history, the stories about buildings, the streets, and the people who made them, and most importantly, the lives of those people, because they make up who we are today. His book covers all parts of this huge city, with fascinating tidbits about all over. We hustle and bustle, tear down and build up so fast here, so that those things that made the city, the city, can get lost. I think Kevin honors those people, that history, by finding all of this information out. The “Forgotten” is not Bensonhurst, or City Island, or Bushwick, or Staten Island, but our collective city memory. I’m glad he’s wandering around, rediscovering all the things that manage to survive, and peek out, in the most intriguing way, to encourage us to find out more.
Although I appreciate Kevin’s work, to refer to Bensonhurst as Forgotten is amazingly offensive. Maybe the Brownstoners of this world should get out and experience Brooklyn south of Prospect Park?