June 19, 2009

The Last of the Bungalows

How far Far Rockaway has fallen. (The Rockaways are technically in Queens but we're making a rare geographic exception in this case.) In the 1920s, the seaside community was a popular summer spot for the New York elite. Now, as these recent photos from the intrepid photographer Nathan Kensinger show, the beachside bungalows that define the Rockaways in the public's mind are largely abandoned, though some are occupied by squatters and others are being used for illicit activities like dog-fighting. Sad, indeed. Check out the Kensinger website for more interior and exterior photos.
Far Rockaway: Abandoned Bungalows [Kensinger]

Admirals Row House Collapses from Water Damage

Friday morning, 8:30 a.m.

One of the ten former officers residences along Flushing Avenue known as Admirals Row began collapsing from water damage yesterday, and the fire department was brought in for safety reasons to finish the job. Luckily for those concerned with preserving the group of historic structures, the house affected was Building C, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently reported "does not appear to retain historic integrity to the historic significance of the BNY." (You can see a pre-collapse photo of Building C here—it's the one on the right.) Here's what happened: A pedestrian walking down Flushing Avenue in the late afternoon called the Brooklyn Navy Yard headquarters saying that is looked like pieces of Building C had fallen. BNYDC called the Feds, DOB and FDNY. When they got down there they discovered that almost the entire building had detached from the facade and collapsed; DOB determined that the remaining facade itself did not pose enough of a safety risk to take it down. FDNY also determined that there had not been any homeless people in the structure at the time of collapse. The collapse is certainly a reminder that, however many buildings ultimately get slated for preservation, it's time to get some resolution.
It's Curtains for Most of Admiral's Row [Brownstoner]
Ugly Politics May Trump Reason in Admiral's Row Saga [Brownstoner]
Admiral's Row: Up Close and Personal [Brownstoner]
MAS Floats Plans to Preserve Admiral's Row & Build Market [Brownstoner]
Public Hearing on Admiral's Row Held Last Night [Brownstoner]
Pratties Have 'Cake-and-Eat-It' Design for Admiral's Row [Brownstoner]
Guard Starts Talks 'To Come Up With Alternatives' For Row [Brownstoner]
James Opens Door to (Partial) Admiral's Row Preservation [Brownstoner]
Officers’ Row Supermarket Not Happening Anytime Soon [Brownstoner]
Admiral's Row: Feds Must 'Consider' Preservation [Brownstoner]
Admiral's Row: "Extremely High Level of Historic Integrity" [Brownstoner]
Officers' Row: Let's Have Our Cake and Eat It Too [Brownstoner]
Officers' Row Preservation Coming to a Contentious Head [Brownstoner]
For Officer's Row, Supermarket All But Certain [Brownstoner]

May 20, 2009

Closing Bell: Coney Island History Project

The Coney Island History Project center opens for the 2009 season next Saturday with a new exhibition called "Coney Island Icons: The Story Behind the Landmarks of the World's Playground." Come check out all sorts of archival photos, interviews, souvenirs, etc. of four of the area's most storied attractions—The Cyclone Roller Coaster, Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and Childs Building. The center is located at 824 Surf Avenue under the Cyclone and is open weekends through Memorial Day.

May 15, 2009

Backyard Reno Unveils Old Well in Fort Greene

This just in from a reader:

We are in the midst of a renovation of our brownstone in Ft. Greene and made a fascinating discovery in our backyard. The contractors were digging a hole to pour the footings for an extension and new deck and they stumbled across the opening of an old well. The well was below what used to be a blue stone patio and the opening was under about 2 feet of dirt. The well is approximately 8 to 10 feet deep and is made of stone. I'd like to get readers' opinions about the use of and history of wells in Brownstone Brooklyn. Also, I'd like to get readers' suggestions about what I should do with it. I am sure my contractor will suggest that we fill it in and keep building, but I am interested in hearing ideas about preserving the well or maybe some creative way of incorporating it into our backyard or renovation. I'd hate to just cover it up because it's a pretty cool discovery.

Cool indeed! Any ideas? Check out another close-up photo on the jump.

Continue reading "Backyard Reno Unveils Old Well in Fort Greene"

May 13, 2009

Old-School Pratt

How cool is this! The Pratt Institute Libraries has just finished uploading its collection of historic images from the school's history. The school has created a number of different Flickr sets of photos; check out the list here. We pulled out five photos from this set for you, and have provided direct links below. We love this first shot with the elevated tracks in the foreground.
Science and Technology Quad [Pratt/Flickr]
DeKalb Gate [Pratt/Flickr]
Library [Pratt/Flickr]
Main Building [Pratt/Flickr]
Machinery Classroom [Pratt/Flickr]

April 27, 2009

Louis Bonert in The Slope

Save The Slope has a fascinating post today about a group of buildings at the corner of 6th Avenue and 5th Street. In 1892, prolific builder Louis Bonert put up a row of five apartment houses on the southeast corner and another four across the street on the northeast corner. Total cost of the nine buildings: $60,000. Lots of interesting architectural description and historical clippings from the Eagle on the link. GMAP

Layers of History in Bedford Stuyvesant

How awesome was the City section story this weekend about the couple who bought an old woodframe house on Franklin Avenue in Bed Stuy a couple of years ago only to discover an old tunnel whose contents ended up being a layered time capsule of historic eras, from the crack vials of the 1980s to pantyhose from the 1970s to the old liquor bottle from when the tunnel was likely built. At the very bottom of the heap was an old cast-iron horse from the 1870s. On top of that, it turns out the mansard-roofed abode was notorious back in the day for being both a house of prostitution and the home of Hugo Tollner of the "Gage & Tollner" Tollners.
The House of Much History [NY Times]

April 20, 2009

Before Fedders: Havemeyer Sanitary Market

Remember the fugly new building at 165 Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg that was featured as a Development Watch on Thursday? Well, the Waterfront Preservation Alliance went back and found a photo of what used to be there in ye olde days. The photo about, taken sometime in the 1940s, shows the Havemeyer Sanitary Market, which was built to replace the pushcarts that were a dominant form of vending between the wars. "Mind you the old market was no architectural gem, but at least it served a public purpose," writes the WPA. "This apartment building is an instant eyesore with no redeeming social value."
Then & Now: Havemeyer Sanitary Market [WPA]
Development Watch: 165 Havemeyer Street [Brownstoner]

April 17, 2009

Upper Level of Sands Street Gate House Gone

A week after we broke the news that the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation was launching a historic restoration of the Sands Street Gate House, the upper floor of the non-original wooden structure that's covered up the original gates houses for several decades has been removed. You can even see one of the original castle-like turrets poking its head up now. Exciting!
Navy Yard Launches Restoration of Sands Street Gate [Brownstoner]

March 13, 2009

Video: Weeksville

Weeksville holds a very important place in the history of New York City and the history of African Americans in the United States. Started in the 1830s by James Weeks, a freedman who purchased the land from another freedman, Weeksville became known as a socially progressive community and one that was also noteworthy for the high percentage of land ownership among its residents. The three homes on Hunterfly Road (currently in the neighborhood known as Bedford Stuyvesant) were rediscovered in the 1960s and have become a museum. Channel 13 just posted a documentary on the subject that you can view above or on this link.
The City Concealed: Weeksville [Thirteen via Gothamist]

March 10, 2009

Explore Old Brooklyn with Brooklyn Revealed

With $25,000 in funding from City Councilman David Yassky, the New York Historical Society has recently launched a website called Brooklyn Revealed that explores the history of Brooklyn through the provenance of its street names. Organized around the original six towns of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, Bushwich, Flatbush, Flatlands, Gravesend and New Utrecht), the site draws on the Eugene L. Armbruster Photograph Collection, the George P. Hall & Son Photograph Collection, the James Reuel Smith Springs and Wells Photograph Collection as well as postcards from the Brooklyn Eagle and the Brooklyn Edison Company photographs. Here's a sample: Know who Driggs Avenue was named after? Edmund Driggs, the last president of the Village of Williamsburg before it became part of the city of Brooklyn in 1855. Check it out.

Naval Hospital Between the Wars

Everyone seemed to get a kick out of the photos we ran a couple of weeks ago from the Kingston Lounge's visit inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard that we thought we'd show you this one from back in the day. According to the Navy Yard archivists, this was taken in 1920 in the reception area for visiting nurses. The photo can be found here.

February 27, 2009

Close-Up on the Commandant's House

Built in the first decade of the 19th Century, the Commandant's House on the western edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard holds great allure, in part because it's so hard to get a full glimpse of. On Gowanus Lounge today, read about its history and find out how you can get a closer look at the privately-owned Federal Style mansion starting this weekend. More history on the jump.

Continue reading "Close-Up on the Commandant's House"

February 20, 2009

Inside the Naval Hospital

The Kingston Lounge, a relatively new blog on the block, yesterday posted some incredible photos from inside the hospital at the Navy Yard along with a nice historical overview of the property dating back to 1824 when it was a farm purchased by the Secretary of the Navy. The first two photos above are from the Surgeon's Residence and the other three are from the Hospital itself. Click through the link below for more great photos.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital Complex [Kingston Lounge]

February 9, 2009

Inside the Stoothoff-Baxter House

This weekend the old house fanatic behind the blog Casa Cara went and knocked on the door of the Stoothoff-Baxter House, a Dutch Colonial house in Flatlands, the earliest part of which was built in 1747 by Garret Stoothoff. The owner, a retired New York City public school teacher formerly of Fort Greene, was out at the time but he nicely sent along a couple of photos of the interior, one of which we've included above and the other of which you have to click through this link to see. The house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. To learn more about this and other old Dutch houses in Brooklyn, a 1945 book by Maud Esther Dillard has been digitized and can be view here.
A Trace of Breukelen [Casa Cara]

February 4, 2009

Admiral's Row: Up Close and Personal

Over the weekend, Gothamist's Jake Dobkin photographed the interior of the Admiral's Row houses inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The shots are incredible so we encourage you to click on each one above to see the full-size version. We also thought the commentary he provided on his personal site, Bluejake, was worth repeating here:

I was surprised how messed up these buildings were on the inside. The rear ends of many of the houses had collapsed, leaving a tangled mess of wood. Interior staircases were hanging a few feet off vertical, and large holes dotted many of the floors. Almost all of the windows were open or blown out, and the wind and rain had taken off most of the paint on the inside walls. Still-- some romantic details were still extant-- dozens of fireplaces and cedar-lined closets, handsome plaster work and ornamental detailing, and one enormous, empty ballroom. It'd be a shame if we let these buildings get demolished. I know the neighborhood needs a supermarket and more jobs, but there's got to be a way to bring that stuff without destroying the past.

There's also a related post on Gothamist from Monday. Incredible. Wish we could take photos like these.
Admiral's Row Photos [Bluejake]
Inside Admiral's Row [Gothamist]
Admiral's Row Archives [Brownstoner]

January 16, 2009

The Original 135 Willow Street

In case you didn't make it through all the comments on yesterday's Co-ops of the Day post about 135 Willow Street, NorthHeights posted a link to a Bernice Abbott photo of the houses that stood on the site before the 112-unit building was constructed in the 1950s. No blogs back then! GMAP

January 5, 2009

The Last Old-School Street Sign in Brooklyn?

The blog Ephemeral New York snapped this photo of what it thought may be the "last old-school street sign in Brooklyn." Presumably it's located just to the south of the Cumberland Diagnostic and Treatment Center. In the comments, however, Kevin Walsh, of Forgotten NY fame, says there's an even older one a few blocks away on Willoughby Street. Similar signs, he adds, can also be Coney Island Avenue and Homecrest Court, Rewe Street and Ivy Hill Road and 68th Street and Madeleine Court. Any others readers can think of?
UPDATE: Denton, of South Slope Reno fame, sent along a photo of the Willoughby Street sign. Click through to check it out.
Last Old-School Street Sign in Brooklyn? [Ephemeral New York]

Continue reading "The Last Old-School Street Sign in Brooklyn?"

December 29, 2008

Closing Bell: Green-Wood Cemetery in Winter

Lost in Brooklyn has been snapping winter photos of his favorite stomping grounds—Green-Wood Cemetery. We've got a few here. Click here for the entire series.

December 18, 2008

A Pre-War Look at the Empire Stores

While today the Empire Stores on Water Street in Dumbo sits empty and mired in bureaucratic muck, this photo by Berenice Abbott from 1936 (courtesy of the New York Public Library) reminds that the four-story warehouse was once a thriving commercial hub. Note the advertisement for Yuban Coffee painted on the side of the building. A similar photo from yesterday is on the jump.
Warehouse, Water and Dock Streets, Brooklyn [Flickr]

Continue reading "A Pre-War Look at the Empire Stores"

December 12, 2008

I.D. This Photo, Win a Book

Charles Lockwood, author of the definitive Bricks and Brownstone, sent in this photo of a mother and child on a brownstone stoop that he bought online. He's not sure where it is and is offering a signed copy of his book to the first reader that can correctly identify the location. Guesses?

November 7, 2008

Comparing the Past and the Present

Check out this new photoblog called Re-Brooklyn. Photographer Zach van Schouwen has been restaging old photos from the early 20th century to illustrate the change, or lack thereof, that's occurred in the borough. Two recent posts include a 1910 photo of the Broken Angel (top) and a 1929 photo of the corner of Clinton and Livingston. Neat stuff!

November 3, 2008

Malbone Street Wreck's 90th Birthday

This weekend, Flatbush Gardener took the time to commemorate New York City's worst transit disaster, known as the Malbone Street wreck, which occurred on November 1, 1918. "The wooden cars of the Brighton Beach line of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (B.R.T.) company left the tracks, crashing inside the tunnel beneath the busy intersection where Flatbush Avenue, Ocean Avenue and Malbone Street met," he writes. "The Malbone Street Wreck killed nearly 100 people and injured more than 250. Criminal trials and lawsuits arising from the accident dragged on for years." He also created a Google map with the names and addresses of the dead.
Photo from Flatbush Gardener.

October 10, 2008

Happy Birthday PLG!

It was 29 years ago yesterday that the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens Historic District was born, an article in today's Brooklyn Eagle reminds us. Built on the former farm of 17th-century Dutch immigrant Leffert Pietersen van Haughwout, the architecturally distinctive community sprang up under the supervision of van Haughwout's great-great-great-grandson James Lefferts in the last decade of the 19th century and first decade of the 20th century. For more history, check out the Lefferts Manor Association website.

September 29, 2008

Celebrating the Abolitionist Movement in Brooklyn

Just last year, the city planned to raze some Duffield Street houses that may have been part of the underground railroad. Now, a piece of that street is co-named "Abolitionist Place," and "a multi-faceted proposal to memorialize the history of abolitionism, the anti-slavery movement, and the Underground Railroad in Brooklyn," called "In Pursuit of Freedom" is on the horizon. The $2 million effort is courtesy of a coalition of heavies in the Brooklyn cultural scene, including New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Commemoration Advisory Panel, who selected the proposal from the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Weeksville Heritage Center and the Irondale Ensemble Project. The project will include a theatrical performance, an interactive exhibit and a self-guided walking tour. Good thing the houses are still here!
Tour, Play, Exhibit Mark Brooklyn Underground Railroad [NY Observer]

Historical