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…
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.
Click on photo for a larger view
Since its not a well, I have a new idea…Put a grate about two feet down and make it a fire pit.
Get down into the well and read Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.” Then watch crazy things happen.
It puts the lotion in the basket.
I also think it’s a cistern. If it were filled with stones, it probably would make a great dry well for the garden.
BTW Sam, the NYC upstate water system didn’t serve the independent City of Brooklyn, whose water system was fed by wells on Long Island. I think the remnants of that system still serve part of Nassau County.
pipes from the house?
how interesting.
it was an early cesspool.
if so, it would not take runoff from the roof as that would cause it to be filled up sooner than necessary.
A cistern would collect pure rainwater for the family’s use. you would not mix waste water and rainwater.
I’m glad you are working around it and keeping it.
I’d line it with a non-contextual yellow brick and cement and then claim elitism if anyone objects.
If you are building your extension over it, my impractical and wildly expensive idea would be to clean it, light it and build a glass floor to expose the well. I stayed at a hotel in Arkansas built over an old mill, and they had done such a floor over the river in the lobby. If I remember the name (the Mill at something?) I will update later.
I am the homeowner and wanted to give you guys an update on what’s happening with the well:
We dug out the opening, dropped a ladder and climbed in. When we got in, we saw that there are 3 pipes coming from the direction of the house that emptied into the well. The bottom of the well is made of stone and there was absolutely no trash or debris in the well. The stone walls are a little moist, but there is not a collection of water at the bottom of the well. Based on what little I know about this stuff, I think it is a dry well that was used to collect water from the house and perhaps runoff from the roof.
Based on conversations with my contractor and engineer, I think we are going to be able to preserve it. We are going to re-configure the footings and the deck such that the opening of the well will be incorporated into the new patio. I’d really like to preserve the well so that our guests and future inhabitants of the house can appreciate it. This is one of those things that makes living in Brooklyn so cool. Keep your comments coming.
if it is only ten feet deep and close to the house, it probably is a cistern. a big one.
take more photos and document its location and then fill it in and cover it. open cisterns and wells pose very dangerous hazards, especially for children. It will always be there regardless.