History

English to Its Core: How Windsor Terrace Got Its Name

Brownstoner takes on Brooklyn history in Nabe Names, a series of briefs on the origins and surprising stories of neighborhood nomenclature. Past Prospect Park’s southwestern corner lies the residential nabe of Windsor Terrace, abounding in American flags, columned stoop-porch hybrids and off-grid or dead-end streets. Just nine blocks wide, Windsor Terrace is bordered by the…

by Hannah Frishberg

03/03/2016 2

Brownstoner takes on Brooklyn history in Nabe Names, a series of briefs on the origins and surprising stories of neighborhood nomenclature.

Past Prospect Park’s southwestern corner lies the residential nabe of Windsor Terrace, abounding in American flags, columned stoop-porch hybrids and off-grid or dead-end streets.

Just nine blocks wide, Windsor Terrace is bordered by the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Kensington, as well as Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park. Today, the area abounds in low-key, long-standing landmarks like Farrell’s Bar and Kensington Stables.

Despite its petite perimeters, an astounding number of highly regarded films have been shot in the area, from Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) to Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).

Prospect Park West in the mid-1990s. Photo via NYPL — Prospect Park West in the mid 1990s. Photo via NYPL

The nabe’s name comes directly from Mother England’s southeastern town of Windsor, which English settlers deemed a proper title for the Brooklyn neighborhood. Like many swaths of Kings County, the area was originally Canarsee Indian territory and subsequently became farmland, in this case owned by John Vanderbilt.

While many neighborhood old-timers are holding fast to their properties in Windsor Terrace, preventing total turnover, the area’s time-worn landmarks increasingly contrast with fresh storefronts, new development and young transplants drawn to the nabe’s proximity to Prospect Park, Park Slope and the hub of neighborly culture Brooklyn has always been.