Crown Heights North Tour Open Thread

The Explorers are such great kids! That’s fantastic to hear they volunteered for the house tour.

If you are at the eastern edge of Park Slope at Grand Army Plaza and Union Street, and walk east on Eastern Parkway, and cross Washington Avenue, you are at the western edge of Crown Heights. The distance is less than half a mile. (Google says .43 miles.) For some it’s close. For others it’s beyond comprehension. What do you think?

Unfortunately, I only saw one house on the tour, 1188 Dean Street. But I spent the rest of my time as a volunteer “house sitter,” which actually afforded me the opportunity to get feedback from tour-goers.

Before getting to the feedback, I must say that the one house I did see was simply spectacular. Mind you, this would have been my first house tour, so I do not have much to compare it to, but it was still awesome – the house is on a very deep lot, the walls were adorned with lovely woodwork, and the parlor floor showcased a commanding display of African art pieces. And it all blended together seamlessly.

Back to the rest of the tour — people came from all over, including some noteworthy politicos — State Assemblyman, Karim Camara and Borough President, Marty Markowitz – who incidentally was born and raised in Crown Heights — were among the community leaders at the opening ceremonies. Another highlight of the day – the young Explorers, which one poster already mentioned. I absolutely loved that this troop of young people (primarily black males) took their entire Saturday to escort tour-goers and to make them generally feel welcome in the neighborhood. For me this made the tour much deeper than brick and mortar.

Now, in terms of feedback from tour-goers — the houses that I heard people mention as being particularly impressive were the house on Dean mentioned above, one on St. Marks, and the one on Hampton mentioned in the original post. I asked one woman if she could pick a favorite but she could not – according to her, the houses are in various phases of development and each had a unique character that wasn’t necessarily comparable to the others. It seemed people were happy with the mix of houses – from “museum-like” showcases to houses that seemed more “lived in”. The community garden was another hidden gem that passers-by were pleasantly surprised to learn about. Not one single person who I spoke with had anything bad to say about the tour.

A handful of tour-goers who I met were new residents in the neighborhood and found themselves exploring it for the first time. These newcomers seemed particularly excited about the tour and happy with their decision to move to the neighborhood. Even the old-timers were energized by the tour — there was one older woman manning the community garden who recounted how when she was growing up in the area – which apparently at that time was considered Bedford Stuyvesant – she was ashamed to say that she lived in Bed-Stuy because of the stigma. Instead, she would tell people that she lived in Crown Heights. She was tickled at the fact that now because of a shift in neighborhood boundaries, she can rightfully claim Crown Heights and moreover, that people are actually touring her neighborhood.

Major kudos to all the people who planned this event, those who opened up their houses, and those who volunteered. It was fantastic!

Nice try, 7:02. No one believes you, so you can go away now.

Bob, here’s the info on those Dean St. Houses: This is from the PDF report issued by LPC for the landmarking of our area. If you go on their site, they have a link. I can’t link a PDF file. It’s from page 133.

“History –
This large group of ten Queen Anne style row houses was designed by architect George
P. Chappell and built in c.1889 for A.C. Brownell, at a time when improvements in transportation hastened the
construction of hundreds of exceptionally fine brick and stone row houses in the Crown Heights area. Brownell
was a builder and real estate agent who bought and sold old and new houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and
Crown Heights areas mainly in the 1880s. The row, which consists of a series of alternating and mirror-image
facades, is distinguished by a picturesque roofline, incorporating stepped gables, mansards, chimneys and
dormers, and variegated materials, including brick, various sandstones (including brownstone and limestone),
wood, pressed metal, terra-cotta, and clay tile. The creative use of differing shapes, materials, projections, and
recesses make this one of the quintessential and defining Queen Anne style rows in Crown Heights. There have
been some alterations, mainly consisting of painted masonry, replacement roofing, and replacement sash, but the
row remains largely intact. Research has not ruled out that these lots may lie within the site of a colonial-era
African burial ground.”

As a resident of Crown Heights, I was compelled to go on this house tour. When looking to buy a house 14 years ago, Crown Heights wasn’t even on our radar screen.
I went to the house tour and was very proud of what people were doing with their homes. The Hampton Place home was da bomb!

If anyone would like a vintage 1939-40 photo of their home, here’s how to get one. First of all, you must know your block and lot number. If you don’t know it, you can find it in reference books that are provided.

The NYC Archives are located at 51 Chambers Street. Within close proximity are the J,M,Z at the Chambers Street station;
2 & 3 at the Park Place Station; A,C,E at the Chambers Street/World Trade Center station; 2 and 3 at the Park Place Station; and the R and W at the City Hall station.

Or they can be ordered online at http://www.nyc.gov. Then type in “Tax Photos” in the search box.

gary