Flatbush

(All photos by Christopher D. Brazee, for Landmarks Preservation Commission, 2012)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Sears, Roebuck & Company Department Store
Address: 2307 Beverley Road
Cross Streets: Corner Bedford Avenue
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Year Built: 1932
Architectural Style: Late Art Deco
Architect: Nimmons, Carr & Wright, with Alton Craft
Other Buildings by Architect: NC & W – across country, various Sears stores and private homes for Sears execs.
Landmarked: Yes, Individual landmark, designated last week! (2012)

The story: It’s hard to believe, but this store has been here for over 80 years. Sears started out in the 1890’s as a mail order catalog, selling a huge variety of goods to customers in rural areas who had little or no access to stores and shops. Their first retail store was built in 1925. Based in Chicago, Sears & Roebuck expanded all across the country, and because of Manhattan’s garment center, was a presence in NYC long before their bricks and mortar stores were in place. When they sought to expand their retail presence in the New York City area, Flatbush was seen as an ideal location. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Commercial/office building
Address: 820 Flatbush Avenue
Cross Streets: Caton and Church Avenues
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Year Built: 1898
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: It’s unfortunate that far too often, the commercial corridors of Brooklyn seem to be so disproportionately forgotten when it comes to their architecture, some of which is quite fine. Perhaps it’s because businesses and buildings alike, changed, began and ended on these streets, with frequent tear-downs and rebuilding, so much so, that record keeping, which seems to have been a challenge here in the first place, just wasn’t kept up. Of all the buildings I’ve written about in this column, I’ve had the hardest time finding information on commercial buildings. (I should probably amend that to say that the information may be available, but it’s not on line.)Here’s another example.

While walking down Flatbush one day, this quite nice Renaissance Revival palazzo caught my attention. It’s got fine lines, with very Venetian-style arched windows on the top floor, which must have been quite stunning from the inside, when the round windows and the transoms weren’t covered up. The columns splitting the two interior windows within the arches are still very striking, and the building has great white glazed terra-cotta brickwork, the bricks within the arches arranged in a parquet floor-like basket-weave pattern. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row houses
Address: 17-33 Linden Boulevard
Cross Streets: Flatbush and Bedford Avenues
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Year Built: 1899-1900
Architectural Style: French Renaissance Revival
Architect: F.L. Lowe
Other buildings by architect: Standish Arms Hotel/Apts, Brooklyn Heights
Landmarked: No

The story: In 1899, a Chicago architect/builder/developer named Clarence H. Tabor came to NY, looking for new opportunities. Tabor was a successful architect/developer in the Chicago area, known for his suburban homes. He told the Brooklyn Eagle that in his opinion, after travelling throughout the country, that the Greater New York area had the most attractive suburbs of any city in America, and that Brooklyn was his best choice among boroughs, and Flatbush was the best choice in Brooklyn. He intended to live there, and begin his development business. At that time, Flatbush was fast becoming a middle and upper-class suburban community, with large suburban homes going up everywhere, as well as rows of excellent townhouses, and better apartment buildings. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church
Address: 890 Flatbush Avenue
Cross Streets: Corner of Church Avenue
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Year Built: 1793-98
Architectural Style: Federal
Architect: Thomas Fardon
Landmarked: Yes, individual landmarked in 1966, one of the earliest landmarks in the city. Also on the National Register of Historic Places.

The story: Believe it or not, the oldest continuously used site used for religious purposes in New York City is right here. As the Flatbush Reformed Church’s website says, they’ve been “doin’ good in the ‘hood since 1654.” That year, Governor Peter Stuyvesant authorized a wooden church to be built on this location, in the town of “Midwout”, or “Vlaake Bos” He specified that it should be built in the shape of a cross, 60 to 65 feet long, and 28 feet in width, with the pastor’s quarters in the rear of the church. In 1698, the second church to stand here was built. It was out of stone, and had a steeple. The final church to be built, this one, was built between 1793 and ’98. It was designed by Thomas Fardon.

As time went on, “Vlaake Bos” would be Anglicized to “Flatbush”, as this church became the center of civic and religious life in the area. The original Flatbush courthouse once stood next door, and the first public school was built across the way, in 1658. In 1787, before the current church building was built, Erasmus Hall Academy would replace the original schoolhouse, making Flatbush one of the most important centers in the entire county of Kings. (more…)