Building of the Day: Third Street Gatehouse
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy. Address: Along the 3rd St. entrance path into Prospect Park Name: Gatehouse Neighborhood: Park Slope Year Built: Unknown, guessing…
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.
Address: Along the 3rd St. entrance path into Prospect Park
Name: Gatehouse
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: Unknown, guessing late 19th Century
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: Unknown
Why chosen: Here’s one of the forgotten ones. I couldn’t find out any information about this abandoned gatehouse. But I love it. It stands in the woods near the 3rd St. entrance to Prospect Park, unused, and deteriorating. I picture it in use during the Gilded Age, with a Parks employee inside, watching the thousands of people going into the park to enjoy Olmstead and Vaux’s incredible wonder. Perhaps it was an information kiosk, dispensing maps and information. When was it abandoned? If anyone knows anything about this building, please comment below. But do notice it when you walk into the park, it’s a great little building.
I was just going to say: maybe a folly.
The wooden toll house near the carousel is well-documented, but I can’t find a reference to the stone gatehouses in my park books. Paging Mr. Kevin ‘Forgotten NY’ Walsh…
Minard, you are probably correct, it does look like a MM&W.
What would the widget come in at on this?
Posted by: Pigeon at March 24, 2010 3:56 PM
Hmmm, pre-war, comes with plenty of outdoor space, close to 3rd street playground, and if that side of PPW is zoned for PS 321, I think it would go as a fixer upper for at least $500k. Buyer just needs be comfortable peeing in the woods.
MM,
Someday you might want to do something on the similar, but wooden, Flatbush tollgate sitting unlabeled in the park, near the carousel.
Montrose, It looks to me like this little sentry house may date to the same period as the peristyle and greek shelter, 1904, McKim Mead and White. It just has the look of MM&W, doesn’t it?
It’s a solid piece of work; a granite folly.
What would the widget come in at on this?
There are several of these around the park but this is the one that has the coolest placement.