Before 4th Ave. Was ‘The Next Park Avenue’

We visited the Brooklyn Museum last weekend and were struck by a number of photographs on display by George Bradford Brainerd (1847-1887). The image above, which is part of the museum’s permanent collection, shows what a section of 4th Avenue looked like in the mid-to-late 19th century (exact date unknown). Several generations before anyone dreamed of calling the thoroughfare "the next Park Avenue", it apparently had roadside shanties and a lot of trees. It’s also worth noting that Brainerd photos (like the one on the jump) appear in an exhibit called "Goodbye Coney Island" that documents Coney’s changes over the last 125 years. The exhibit, which is in the incredibly cool visible storage section of the museum, runs through April 6th.
All images courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.

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I think Boymelgreen developed that shack in the top photo

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 11:46 AM

Park Avenue in Manhattan was once Fourth Avenue, and it too was once much less fashionable. Before the city covered over the railway (what's now the Metro North lines) in the 1880s, the (coal-fired) trains ran in an open cut along Fourth Avenue. As a result, real estate along Fourth Avenue was particularly undesirable.

Maybe there's something to the "Park Avenue of Brooklyn" thing. At the moment, though, it feels a bit more like a freeway than a boulevard...

Posted by: WBer at January 15, 2008 12:10 PM

There appears to be a kitten in that birdcage (top photo).

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at January 15, 2008 12:11 PM

Yeah, what's that cat doing in there?

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 1:02 PM

Wasn't "the next Park Avenue" some throwaway line in a real estate brochure a few weeks ago? I remember seeing it on Curbed.com.

So why are all these sites treating it like it's some kind-of significant news or fact? Gasp, do all these blogs have ... real estate interests backing them?

You can thank Brownstoner.com and sites like it for assisting those hideous condos in their marketing.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 1:08 PM

Ohh - I am happy to know about this exhibition. My great grandmother was the first woman and the first Irish person to work for the Lipton Tea Co. in New York City. She was young and very pretty. One day Sir Thomas Lipton came in and thought so much of her that he invited her to lunch on his private yacht. She answered, "No thanks Mister, I am going to Coney Island with my boyfriend". I could be on an estate somewhere if it weren't for Coney Island. (right! snicker)

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 1:09 PM

For those opposed to the new development, I say we knock it all down and go back to these dirt streets. Imagine the green space you can have, front and back. Your houses included, of course.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 1:27 PM

Uh, 1:08 - I think whenever we mention "the next Park Avenue" you should assume that its being written with a snicker (coincidental historical parallels aside). That's how I assume Brownstoner writes it.

Posted by: WBer at January 15, 2008 1:29 PM

that must be the proverbial cat that ate the canary. jeez that photographer guy only lived to be 40? i gotta stop wasting my life ...

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at January 15, 2008 1:58 PM

It would have been the next Park Avenue if they had rezoned BOTH sides of the street and allowed for higher density development.

Posted by: Polemicist at January 15, 2008 2:16 PM

Yeah, Polemicist,it does look funny the way only one side of the avenue resembles Park Avenue. If only the Novo had a twin across the street.

Posted by: slopefarm at January 15, 2008 2:31 PM

Park Avenue (the actual one) was by and large developed under the old 1916 zoning. As I recall, that imposed a height limit on the buildings along the avenue, resulting in the fairly uniform cornice heights in the residential areas.

Seems as though high density on both sides of Fourth Avenue (as Polemecist suggests) would be more appropriate that the current condition.

A nice mall down the center of the avenue would be nice too.

Posted by: WBer at January 15, 2008 3:32 PM

"If only the Novo had a twin across the street."

We'd have another ugly, overpriced and unfinished lump on the skyline.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 7:46 PM

What do you call a cat in a bird cage... Brunch

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 11:02 PM

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January 15, 2008

Before 4th Ave. Was ‘The Next Park Avenue’

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