BASICS OF INVESTING

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Stuyvesant Heights is a residential district that was largely developed between 1870-and 1920. It lies in the north-central part of Brooklyn. The name "Stuyvesant Heights" came into local usage during the first decade of the 20th century and distinguishes it from the larger Bedford-Stuyvesant area in which it lies, and under which name it was originally heard by the Commission. The name Stuyvesant Heights derives from the fact that Stuyvesant Avenue is the district's principal thoroughfare.

An Historic District should be possessed of such a distinctive quality that, on entering it front any aide, one should at once become aware of a neighborhood set apart from its surroundings. Stuyvesant Heights is just such an area, it is almost exclusively a residential neighborhood. Its pleasant tree-shaded streets and broad avenues are lined with a variety of dwellings. While there are an unusual number of free-standing suburban-type residences and over a dozen four-story apartment houses, it is the row upon row of two and three-story houses, many set behind attractively planted front yards, that gives the district its unusually harmonious character and special quality. There are only two commercial buildings within the district, although several small stores serve community needs. There are also four churches of various denominations and two parochial schools. Decatur Junior High School, built in 1965, is located just outside the Historic District.

The development of the area, concentrated in the five decades between 1870 and 1920, reflects the successive stylistic phases of American architecture as Interpreted by local builders and architects. The Italianate mode, popular in the 1860s, is characteristic of the earliest houses and is continued on into the seventies, often modified by French Second Empire and neo-Grec details. The neo-Grec style continued well into the 1880s when it was supplanted by the more sophisticated styles of the later 19th century—the Romanesque Revival, the Queen Anne mode and the new classicism inspired by the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Of the three groups of ecclesiastical structures in the district, two are Victorian Gothic in character, while the third is a fine example of the Romanesque Revival style. The turn of the century saw the influence of the neo-Federal, neo-Georgian and neo-Renaissance styles. Late in the second decade of this century, house designs derived from the Spanish Renaissance appeared.

The majority of streets offer an interesting mixture of architectural styles, while within each style there is a delightful variety of design. Visual harmony is assured, however, through the predominantly low building heights, the long rows of townhouses and the use of a variety of materials in harmony with one another. Brick and brownstone predominate in the older portion of the district; at the turn of the century, limestone makes its appearance, first on Bainbridge Street and later along Stuyvesant Avenue. Decorative terra cotta appears occasionally. The ironwork at the stoops and yard railings includes standard designs and castings found elsewhere in the city, but here they are for the most part unusually well-preserved.

It is interesting to note that there is a certain time lag in the introduction of new architectural styles compared to their appearance in Manhattan. This indicates the innate conservatism of most of the local builders. Stuyvesant Heights contains, however, a number of elegant, architect-designed apartment and row houses, notably those by Magnus Dahlander, a Brooklyn architect, and William Debus, whose office and home were in Manhattan. These buildings were as fashionably up-to-date as anything built in Manhattan. This is also true of the two commercial buildings of the district, which were designed by well-known Hew York architects and are located on the east side of Throop Avenue between Decatur and MacDonough Streets.

The present gridiron street system was laid out in 1835, as shown by the Street Commissioners' map of 1839, and the blocks were lotted. The new grid system led to the abandonment of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Turnpike in favor of a continuation of Brooklyn's Fulton Street, which was opened up just south of the Historic District in 1842. The lands for the Street grid within the Historic District, however, were not sold to the City of Brooklyn until 1852. Earlier in the same, year, Charles W. Betts had purchased Maria Lott's tract of land. This marked the end of two centuries of Dutch patrimonial holdings. Betts, as Secretary of the Brooklyn Railroad Company, acquired the land for the trolley lines on Fulton Street and for investment purposes. Most of the streets were not actually opened, however, until the 1860s.

The streets in the district were named after prominent figures in American history. Stuyvesant was the famous last Director General of the Dutch Province of New Netherland, while Francis Lewis was

A few clues, including the "Rainbow Hotel", but I had no firm idea of location on this one. But thanks to users' comments it looks pretty certain to be Newgate Street, London, and there are records of a pub called the Rainbow at number 24 (in 1839).

I'm guessing early 1900s?

<< Arhiva >>