Tour # 1: Brooklyn Heights and its
one-and-only Promenade
A stone´s
throw away from the most bustling financial center in the world ―literally a
twenty-minute walk across the Brooklyn Bridge― step into this centennial
neighborhood full of authentic period brownstone houses, the city´s first
historic district. Think sepia.
Join me
in this 2.5 miles´ tour around a residential, family-friendly enclave, which boasts
a unique array of original brownstone town houses dating back to mid-19th
century, coexisting quite harmoniously with the earlier clapboard houses from
the 1820´s and the later brick houses from the 1830´s. In many blocks you can
see a sequence of wonderful examples of each style and decade, while in others
you will just see entire rows of different types of brownstone houses, which
keep attracting many film-makers because of the authenticity of their
architecture and their incredible state of preservation. Some streets still
feature gas lighting which evokes bygone days, and will really take you back a
century.
Neighbors
take pride in making their houses look always beautiful, and decorate their
stoops and windowsills with seasonal flowers, hydrangeas in spring, mums and
pumpkins in autumn…
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| Purbird Restaurant |
Getting
there…
No matter
where you come from, getting there is a no-brainer. The A-C train will take you
to High Street Station, the 2-3
train will drop you off at Clark Street,
and the 4-5 is another option, which will take you Borough Hall, a good destination too. You can also walk or bike
through the Brooklyn Bridge, no more than a 20-minute walk and an even shorter
ride.
What
you´ll see…
A broad sampler of many architectural
styles all combined in a very small historic neighborhood, incredibly well
preserved and in mint condition. Anything and everything from colonial
clapboard, shingles, brick, brownstones, Queen Anne´s, Italianates, Greek
Revivals, Federal, Gothic Revival, to gorgeous stained-glass windows, mansard
roofs, enchanting turrets, bay windows, and more. All of this along tree-lined streets, not to
mention the unparalleled views of Downtown Manhattan. So what´s not to like?
Off
we go…
Your
starting point should be the corner of Orange
and Henry streets, few steps away from High Street Station (A-C train),
where you want to start walking west down Orange towards the waterfront. At the
corner of Orange and Hicks, Plymouth
Church and School [i]
rise handsomely.
Abraham
Lincoln is said to have attended services in this Congregational Church, founded
in 1847 by New Englanders. Abolitionist Henry Beecher was its first preacher.
Beecher´s sister, Harriet, is the author of the anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom´s
Cabin, a best-selling book in the 19th century, second only to the
Bible.
At the
corner of Hicks St, turn right/north
towards Middagh St. As you walk down Hicks, you will see an array of
architecturally and historically interesting houses, such as Nos. 72, 70, 68,
57, 60 and 58, built in the early 1800´s. In just two blocks you see examples
of colonial clapboard houses, shingle houses and brick houses. Notice No. 57 (photo)
which features a mansard roof added many years later, as was the fashion around
the French Second Empire era. You will see these mansard roofs once and again
when you do the Park Slope tour.
Once you´ve reached Middagh St, turn left/west and walk just one block. On both sides
of Middagh there are also plenty of fascinating historic middle-class houses.
Not to be missed is the house right at the corner of Middagh and Willow, the
oldest house in the Heights (photo).
You will now turn on to graceful Willow St and walk up to Pierrepont, almost
half a mile of mesmerizing houses, one just after the other. All different, all
unique, all marvelous. Here is when you start to see some of the lavish brownstones
and Queen Anne´s which give the street its aristocratic flair. 70 Willow St used to be Truman Capote´s temporary
home, recently sold for $ 12 million and currently under serious renovations.
He didn´t actually own the place but rather lived in its basement, as a
permanent guest of Oliver Smith´s (from 1955 to 1965). Capote once invited
Jackie Kennedy to have lunch at 70 Willow, and tried to conceal the fact that
Smith was the real owner. Whether he got away with it, remains unknown…
As you walk, perplexed, down Willow
Street, I do recommend two small detours, which are certainly worth the while: first
one is at the corner of shady Cranberry
St, where you might want to turn right/west just a few yards and take a
peek at the pretty houses on both sides of the street (photo below, right). You
will also be getting a first partial glimpse of downtown Manhattan´s skyline,
but tantalizing as this sounds, I ask you to bear with me and return to Willow.
You´ll get to see those dramatic views shortly. Promise.
The second detour is at the corner of
Pineapple, where you want to turn
right/west towards the waterfront, and then left/south on to Columbia Heights. Admire the handsome houses on this block of
Columbia Heights, with their backs right on the one-and-only Brooklyn Heights
Promenade! (photo below, left).
Once
you´ve reached the corner of Clark St,
make a left/east turn and get back to Willow,
ready to face its longest block. Each
and every one of the houses on both sides of Willow is magnificent in one way
or another —some of them are identified as landmarks of New York. Just take
your time and admire this real sight for the sore eyes! Anything from Federal
style to Queen Anne´s, to Greek Revivals, is depicted to perfection in this gem
of a street.
You will
now turn left/east on Pierrepont St,
and walk among gorgeous Greek Revival style mansions and impressive town
houses, reminders of a glorious past, until you reach Henry St. At this corner stands the notable Romanesque Revival
terra-cotta and sandstone Herman Behr
Mansion[ii].
Built in 1888 as the Behr family house, it then became a hotel of questionable
reputation; later on, it served a
more noble purpose, when occupied by Franciscan monks, to be finally
transformed into rental apartments. It was last sold in 2008 for circa $11
million. In 2013 massive restoration work was done on the façade, and this is
how it looks today. The only inexplicable addition is the awning one could say
is there to protect the entrance, but perhaps if you manage to squint your eyes
somehow, you might avoid seeing it. Or maybe not…
You will
now turn right/south on Henry towards the commercial, lively, fun Montague Street. There is still more to
see on the South side of Brooklyn Heights, so we´re not heading to the
Promenade just yet. Thus, take another leap of faith and turn left/east now on
Montague, where you will find all sorts of places to sit for coffee, or have a
bite or a more serious meal, whatever soothes your soul at the moment. Anything
from the ever-reliable Starbucks to
the fancier Le Pain Quotidien, plus a
lot of alternative diners and cafes, such as Armando Ristorante, The Custom House, Happy Diner, Monty Brick Oven Pizza, Chipotle, and so forth. Another possibility is to enter the
wonderful Garden of Eden, a deli
market worthy of its name, and grab any of their gourmet salads or snacks to
go. If you feel like you could use a restroom at this point in time, Starbucks and Le Pain are always there for you.
As you
keep walking up Montague St towards Court St, to your left you will see a
magnificent national historic landmark, the Church of St. Ann and the Holy
Trinity[iii],
a dark red Gothic Revival building profusely ornamented with stained-glass
windows, which beautifies the corner of Montague and Clinton, together with the
other two also striking buildings on Montague on the other side of Clinton St,
which happen to be two of the banks of the neighborhood. As you see, everything
in the Heights needs to be splendid in some way.
You will
keep walking up Montague St till you reach the corner of Court St, where you now want to make a right/south turn. Ahead of
you is the massive Greek Revival Borough Hall marble building, the Municipal
Building and others which form part of the civic center of the borough. Keep
walking on Court St, past Remsen St, until you find yourself at the corner of Joralemon St —another Starbucks store at that corner, in case
of need.
It is now
time to make another right/west turn on Joralemon. As you start walking, on
your left, you can appreciate the Packer Collegiate Institute, a wonderful
Gothic Revival building. Also interesting, the house at 135 Joralemon which
nowadays appears to have been dwarfed by the other large buildings of the
block, such as the yellow brick mansion at No. 129 (photo below).
Facing
the house at 135, you might like to make a short detour on Sydney Place to
admire St. Charles Borromeo Church, beautiful for its simplicity. A good
example of how less can be more.
Keep
walking down Joralemon, and as you reach Henry Street, observe what was once a
family home, on your right, across Henry, which still boasts gas street lighting,
reminiscent of the early 1800´s. Walk a
little further until you see Garden
Place open on your left. Enter this quaint, almost exclusive short street,
and take a while to look at some of its elegant brownstones. The entrance door
of No. 10 ―not a brownstone― is simply adorable, and you might note it has a
smaller version of the same door to its right, behind that gate. So neat…
(photo). No. 19, very different, also to be noted.
When you
reach the end of Garden Place, make a right/west turn on State Street and
another right/north turn on Hicks Street.
A very singular
block this one of Hicks, which features a row of former carriage houses, some spectacular
Queen Anne´s, plus the magnificent Beaux Arts building, Engine 224.
You will now continue strolling up
Hicks street one more block, until you walk past Grace Church [iv]
and its stained-glass windows ―three of them by Louis Comfort Tiffany―, to reach
the very gracious Grace Court on your left and then Grace Court Alley, on your
right. One of the singularities of Grace Court is that you get to see the
gardens of the heavenly beautiful Remsen mansions, better appreciated from this
angle than from the proper Remsen street itself. Grace Court ends right
there, on the waterfront, but gives you no access to the Promenade, where we
will be getting in no time. Enter Grace Court first, not necessarily all the
way to the end, but at least a few yards to admire, on your left, a row of
classical brownstones adjoining the Church, one of which boasts this superb
stained-glass window, which strikes me in awe every time I see it.
On your way back to Hicks, look at
the north side of the street now, to see the rear side of some of those Remsen
mansions and their nonchalant gardens.
To
Continue now on to Grace
Court Alley, another hidden and very private gem in the area. An entire row of
former carriage houses, evolved into stylish and one-of-a-kind duplex
apartments.
Return to Hicks St now and
make a right/north turn, which will take you back to Montague Street. Once you reach the corner of Hicks and Montague,
even if we will now be turning down left/west, do take a few minutes to admire
to your right the grand Bossert Hotel
building, with its Italian Renaissance Revival exterior, currently under
serious renovation after having been occupied by the Jehovah´s Witnesses
community, who maintained it beautifully for many years. Opposite to the hotel,
you can see two marvelous examples of Queen Anne red brick and terra-cotta
apartment buildings.
Once you´ve indulged
yourself with this sudden flash of the grandeur of Montague St, finally turn
left/west one block, up to the corner of Montague Terrace, which will be the
last little detour you´ll make before stepping into the Promenade. On your way,
to your right, admire the pretty Heights Casino building, and to your left do
stop and look at No. 62, another outstanding example of red brick Queen Anne
and Edwardian style building, better appreciated from the other side of the
road. Do look all the way up (photo).
Once you find yourself at
the corner of Montague Street and Montague
Terrace, turn to your left/south for one short block, which will take you
to elegant Remsen Street. From that
corner, get a glimpse of the magnificence of some of those town houses and
their splendid entrances.
Now, turn away from the
stately Remsen and make a right, to access the entrance to the Promenade, while
you walk past a huge brownstone and brick mansion with very pretty gardens. Follow
the path and step into the world-famous Brooklyn
Heights Promenade. Stroll your way along breathtaking dramatic views of Downtown
Manhattan skyline to one side, and lavish homes with the best backyard someone
could ever dream of, to the other side. Ahead of you in the distance, three
icons of New York City: The Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, and the
prettiest of them all, the glittering Chrysler Building.
Look
unto your left, this is what you´ll get:
Look
unto your right, and this will be the sight:
So
this is the end of this lovely tour, which I hope you´ve enjoyed as much as I
have. If you are dead tired by now, and are considering to call it a day, you
should exit the Promenade at its north end, if you wish to catch the A-C train;
you´ll find yourself at Columbia Heights and between Orange and Cranberry
streets, so walk up to the East on pretty Cranberry Street, which we haven´t
really covered, and you´ll soon find yourself at Cadman Plaza, where the High
Street station is. If the 2-3 train works better for you, exit the Promenade a
little earlier, when you reach the corner of Clark Street. Walk up Clark and
before you reach the corner of Henry Street, you´ll see the entrance to the
station. Last, but not least, if your need to take the 4-5 train, you need to
get yourself all the way back to Borough Hall station, at the corner of
Montague and Court streets. You know your way around now, but in case of doubt,
look at the map at the beginning of this tour description and pick whatever
route floats your boat.
Another
great resource for getting back to Manhattan is across the Brooklyn Bridge.
This is something you will have to experience sooner or later and it´s always a
lot more impressive when you cross it from Brooklyn towards Manhattan. If you
go for this option, all you need to do is get yourself to Cadman plaza and look
out for the path which takes you right to the pedestrian entrance. So,
literally, cross that bridge when you get there!
However,
if you feel you still have it in you to keep enjoying some of the many beauties
that make this borough so fascinating, and can spare another 40 to 45 minutes,
you are in the right place and at the right time to add Tour No. 2 to your
Brooklyn experience: Lofty Dumbo and the
Brooklyn Bridge Park!
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