Crown Heights

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church
Address: 777 Classon Avenue
Cross Streets: Corner Sterling Place
Neighborhood: Crow Hill section of Crown Heights North
Year Built: begun 1874, finished 1905
Architectural Style: Romanesque
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: Brooklyn has a lot of Catholic Churches, pretty much all of them extremely fine buildings, and the story of the Church’s expansion across the borough is the story of immigration to our shores. European Catholics who settled here in the second half of the 19th century were a varied lot, but when it came to building churches, the majority of those in northern and central Brooklyn were built by and for the Germans, in the north, and the Irish, throughout central Brooklyn.

Brooklyn’s most well-known Catholic clergyman was Irish-born Bishop John Laughlin, who became the first Bishop of Brooklyn in 1853, and was head of all of Brooklyn’s Catholics until 1891. In the 38 years that he headed Brooklyn’s church, he authorized the building of 125 churches and chapels. St. Teresa’s came in the middle of his tenure. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Double duplex row houses
Address: 35-39 Hampton Place
Cross Streets: Sterling and St. John’s Places
Neighborhood: Crown Heights North
Year Built: 1908
Architectural Style: Neo-Tudor
Architect: William Debus
Other buildings by architect: nearby 1096-1104 Park Place, mostly known for his apartment buildings, in Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, and Park Slope.
Landmarked: Calendared, topic of today’s hearing at LPC

The story: By the beginning of the 20th century, neighborhoods like Crown Heights North saw rapid development on every block. This part of what was then called the St. Marks District was a mixture of row houses, free-standing homes, flats buildings, and large charitable institutions. In order to accommodate the many people who were not able to afford an entire house; the classic young couple starting their own homes and family, the double duplex house was developed, designed to fill that particular need. Critics were skeptical, but the houses soon sold out as soon as the paint was dry. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: The Pasadena Apartments
Address: 132 Crown Street
Cross Streets: Bedford and Rogers Avenues
Neighborhood: Crown Heights South
Year Built: around 1930
Architectural Style: Southwestern/Mediterranean inspired Deco
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: There are a lot of these type buildings in Brooklyn, and New York City in general: enormous middle-class apartment buildings built in the late 1920’s, early 1930’s. They were designed to house the large number of middle-class folk who made Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, and upper Manhattan, home; the children and grandchildren of immigrants who were well on their way in the achievement of the good life. It’s really rather fascinating, as a social phenomenon – architecture as social signpost. (more…)