Wallabout

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Row house
Address: 117 Vanderbilt Avenue
Cross Streets: Myrtle and Park Avenues
Neighborhood: Wallabout
Year Built: 1852-53
Architectural Style: Gothic Revival
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes, part of Wallabout HD (2011)

The story: What do Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and this house have in common? The Gothic Revival, that’s what. Started in England in the mid-1740’s, and lasting, off and on, and here and there, well into the 20th century, the Gothic Revival, also called Neo-Gothic or sometimes Victorian Gothic in architectural terms, has been an enduring style of architecture, literature and culture. Even today’s “Goth” movement originated in the world of the Gothic Revival. As did this Wallabout house.

The Gothic Revival was an effort to return to the architecture and styles of the Medieval period. Architecture at the time, in the 1700’s, was firmly in the camp of the Classical movement, channeling the Greeks and Romans. In England, especially, there was a renewal of interest in a more local architecture and philosophy that one based on the Medieval church and culture. By the middle of the 19th century, this movement had been embraced by the Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris, and others, taking up not only a love for the architectural and decorative elements of the Medieval world, but the philosophy of craftsmanship guilds, handmade goods, and the trappings of a simpler, less industrialized world. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Semi-attached houses
Address: 76-78 Vanderbilt Avenue
Cross Streets: Myrtle and Park Avenues
Neighborhood: Wallabout
Year Built: 1850-51
Architectural Style: Italianate with Queen Anne details
Architect: James Brown (builder)
Landmarked: Yes, part of Wallabout HD (2011)

The story: As the 1800’s progressed, the Wallabout Bay area became one of Brooklyn’s fastest growing areas. This was because of jobs. Jobs in the new Navy Yard, at the piers, and for all of the related industries associated with the river, shipping and the sea. As the years passed, industry also discovered the area, as goods made in the factories of Wallabout could easily be shipped by river, road and later, rail. Then came the food related industries tied to the Wallabout Market. While the rich were building their suburban style homes on the hills rising away from the shore, the working people who made their living from the area settled in further down. (more…)

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Flats Building
Address: 83 Vanderbilt Avenue
Cross Streets: Myrtle and Park Avenues
Neighborhood: Wallabout
Year Built: 1850
Architectural Style: Italianate
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: Yes, Wallabout HD (2011)

The story: You should have seen us out there, that rainy March morning, early this year. About 20 dedicated souls willing to be soaked by a heavy rain, in order to follow Andrew Dolkart around Wallabout, learning about this fascinating neighborhood.(It eventually stopped raining.) As watchers of Brooklyn real estate and history, we often reduce neighborhoods to their desirability in today’s market, and totally miss the historic significance of a place. That’s what happened, in part, to Wallabout. Instead of “too far from the subway”, or “too close to the BQE”, we were learning about the architecture and the people who built the waterfront, the Navy Yard, and the industrial hub that surrounds both. It was a fascinating lesson. (more…)