Heights History:The Nabeguy Collection

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

BHB  community member Nabeguy has posted many vintage photos of Brooklyn Heights to the BHB Photo Club on Flickr.  About the pics he says:

These photos were taken in November 1961 by my father, who, along with other like-minded neighbors, was in opposition to the proposed zoning variance that would allow for construction of the Cadman Towers. He wanted to illustrate the variety and depth of the 19th-century architectural heritage that was at stake. In one of his last-ditch efforts to forestall the wrecking ball, he lobbied to have the building on Cranberry St. in which Walt Whitman set the type for “Leaves of Grass” designated a National Landmark. Obviously, his attempts were in vain, but we do now have the Whitman Townhouses, and these photos, as reminders of what was lost.

More photos after the jump.

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

nabeguy photo

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  • benita berman

    So, bornhere, since47 is your sister? And you were allowed to climb up on the stage because you were younger and didn’t want to be left out. You gave your permission to have the picture posted? Where did you go after you left PS8?

  • bornhere

    Benita – After kindergarten, I went to Friends (1st through 12th). And I’m laughing as I type this because my sister is active in community theater and I STILL feel left out :) (But I have learned to keep the tantrums down to a minimum.)
    When did you leave the Heights?

  • benita berman

    bornhere – After PS8 I went to Erasmus Hall HS for 9th grade. My grandmother, who owned two brownstones, decided to move to Florida. She kept 97 Clark Street until she was forced to sell by the city to make way for Cadman Towers. My parents owned 95 Clark and they decided to move to Florida as well. I was so glad to get a picture of both 95 and 97 from nabeguy (it’s the 2nd one). It’s wonderful that you and your sister have been able to stay in the neighborhood – I always loved it there because it’s so special. I live in Chevy Chase, Md.. now. At one point, my husband and I bought a house in Georgetown, DC, because it reminded me so much of the Heights. The living room had a medalian on the ceiling that was so much like my grandmothers’. I come back as often as I can – my younger daughter and husband started out in the Heights and now live near Prospect Park.

  • benita berman

    bornhere – I was reading back some comments on the sites devoted to the St. George Mural. Particularly, your comment of April 13th on the trashed mosaic being dangerous site. Obviously, you were correct about the replacement with a “new wall”. I got a report from my daughter that the mural wall is now a big white painted wall. Not that I want some copy of the past mural, but I was annoyed at their specious comments. By the way, my two grandsons go to Friends.

  • nabeguy

    Wait a minute, bornhere and since47 are sisters? I guess the family that posts together…

  • benita berman

    Yes, check out the photo link above posted by since47 on May 2nd and you will see the resemblance. Since 47 is the older sister who was in the play at PS8.

  • http://bricartsmedia.org Janine Herman

    I would love to get in touch with ‘since47’…sounds like you’ve got some good stories/memories of BH and I would love to capture them for a segment of Neighborhood Beat, Brooklyn Heights, which is a local TV show that I produce for Brooklyn Independent TV.

    Please send me an e-mail if you’re interested. Would be a simple interview/tour of your neighborhood.

  • http://bricartsmedia.org Janine Herman