Push to Make Burg's Fillmore Place a Historic District
This afternoon the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg will submit a historic district nomination to the LPC for Fillmore Place. A couple of real estate developers built up the Williamsburg side street (bounded by Metropolitan, Grand, Driggs and Roebling) in the 1850s according to a master plan, and it contains an accumulation of…
This afternoon the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg will submit a historic district nomination to the LPC for Fillmore Place. A couple of real estate developers built up the Williamsburg side street (bounded by Metropolitan, Grand, Driggs and Roebling) in the 1850s according to a master plan, and it contains an accumulation of typical mid-19th century brick row houses that were meant to be affordable for middle- and working-class residents. Henry Miller, who grew up nearby, celebrated Fillmore Place in Tropic of Cancer:
It was the most enchanting street I have ever seen in all my life. It was the ideal street for a boy, a lover, a maniac, a drunkard, a crook, a lecher, a thug, an astronomer, a musician, a poet, a tailor, a shoemaker, a politician. In fact this is just the sort of street it was, containing just such representative of the human race, each one a world unto himself and all living together harmoniously and inharmoniously…
In a more plainspoken fashion, the Waterfront Preservation Alliance says the street should be a historic district because of its architectural cohesiveness and its significance as a planned development.
Fillmore Place Historic District [WPA] GMAP
Does anyone know what is planned for 161 Roebling Street, seen in the background of this photo?
I live on this block. It is peaceful and charming. I hadn’t known about the literary significance when I first saw my new apartment months ago, but as soon as I turned the corner onto Fillmore I thought, “this is a unique and quiet pocket in the world”.
Of course, it’s not all amber-colored nostalgia in a glass; williamsburg brooklyn is still brookyln, evidenced by the occasional loud, foul-mouthed youth below my window at 3 a.m. But I love it just the same.
“Sure, this sounds overly romantic, but with steel and glass reaching to the sky all around, a block like this is a pocket of nostalgia, a time warp, and a refuge to pass through on a morning dog walk.”
EXACTLY!
this won’t affect the new developments on Grand – they are outside the proposed district.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, this block is one or two generations older than all of brownstone Brooklyn (four or five when compared to Bed Stuy). Its rather like comparing Greenwich Village to the Upper West Side.
indeed, it’s context. as a w’burg resident, i can tell you that this block stands out – it feels completely different than its surroundings…almost like an alley. Like it’s safe for kids to ride around in Little Tyke cars, for practicing your throwing arm with your uncle, or chatting with neighbors on the stoop.
Sure, this sounds overly romantic, but with steel and glass reaching to the sky all around, a block like this is a pocket of nostalgia, a time warp, and a refuge to pass through on a morning dog walk.
The pic above doesn’t do it justice – next to the rest of the neighborhood, it’s a beautiful old block.
“These resolutely ordinary buildings aren’t worthy of this status just because they’re better than their totally banal surroundings.”
this statement is completely unfair, possibly even classist. north brooklyn was a historically working-class neighborhood that never had quite as much (or quite as nice) architecture as wealthier south brooklyn. i don’t think that’s grounds for writing it off, it’s still important to the neighborhood’s history. it’s more than fair to consider this block’s relevance contextually, relative to the neighborhood and not necessarily all of brooklyn.
Precisely, 1:15. The only way landmark status is going to remain meaningful — and therefore sure to be protected in the future — is if the stuff we landmark is genuinely worthy of it. These resolutely ordinary buildings aren’t worthy of this status just because they’re better than their totally banal surroundings.
“nice for williamsbrugh” does equal “worthy of landmark preservation”
i agree with 12:43. i love this little block. there are a few “nice” (in the traditional sense) spots in williamsburg that i can appreciate and would love to see remain intact.