Brooklyn Heights Blog » History

Heights History: A Magnificent 1905 View Looking Up ‘Columbia Street’

Chuck Taylor — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:12:06 +0000

This wondrous 1905 image shows Brooklyn Heights looking northwest up what was then known as Columbia Street. The background reveals nearly the entire span of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the upper right corner of the photo is the renowned Hotel Margaret, between Orange and Cranberry Streets, which was built in 1889 as the neighborhood’s “first skyscraper”; unfortunately, it burned down during a 1980 renovation.

(Photo: NYC Vintage Images) Below, the Hotel Margaret…

BHA, Other Groups Settle with City and State over Park Land

Claude Scales — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:00:06 +0000

Last year, neighborhood and preservation organizations, including the Brooklyn Heights Association, prevailed in lawsuits in both federal and state courts in which they contested the actions of the National Park Service and the city and state governments to transfer the Tobacco Warehouse site from Brooklyn Bridge Park for use as a new home for St. Ann’s Warehouse Theater, as well as the Empire Stores building for possible commercial development. Following the court decisions, BHA and the other successful plaintiffs began negotiations with city and state officials to establish rules governing possible development of these sites. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced that an agreement had been made under which, among other things, additional land will be added to Brooklyn Bridge Park should the Tobacco Warehouse and Empire Stores be made available for non-park use.

According to BHA President Jane McGroarty, the principal provisions of the agreement are:

* There will be 38,000 square feet of new parkland in DUMBO for Brooklyn Bridge Park. This is significant since the initial attempt to develop the Tobacco Warehouse did not include any replacement parkland. If we do not believe that the substitute parkland is properly valued, we will have the right to submit an independent valuation to NPS during the conversion process.

* The agreement states that the National Park Service should decide the conversion issues on the merits, without political considerations.

* The BBPC must hold regular briefings for the community every two weeks during the conversion process, and place any correspondence about the conversion on its website. This is another major victory for us, as it ensures that any conversion process will be transparent.

* BBPC will keep the Tobacco Warehouse open to the public until any development takes place. Any construction plan will protect the historic character of the Tobacco Warehouse. The community will have a role in managing the use of the public space in the Tobacco Warehouse after any construction project is completed.

Ms. McGroarty expressed gratitude to the city and state officials who “graciously came to the table to partner with us.” She thanked Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation President Regina Myer and BHA member Hank Gutman “for their very constructive roles during the negotiation process.” She said “State Senator Daniel Squadron and Senate Assembly Member Joan Millman were also extremely helpful to us in forging the right result.”

It is clear from Ms. McGroarty’s statement that the BHA will not oppose adaptive re-use of the Tobacco Warehouse site, including its use as a space for St. Ann’s Warehouse, provided that it is done within the rules established by the agreement.

Photo: DUMBO NYC.

Roof Cornice Breaks Off At 7 Old Fulton Street

Chuck Taylor — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:15:06 +0000

Our faithful videographer & correspondent Karl Junkersfeld was on the scene on the Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO border as a piece of the roof cornice at 7 Old Fulton Street—which houses a restaurant by the same name and has apartments above—collapsed onto the street, at 12:45 Monday afternoon. Fortunately, no one was injured. Karl notes that a similar incident recently took place at Grimaldi’s Pizza up the street. See his 1:21-minute report below.
YouTube link is here.
(Below: Before the incident. Photo from Flickr)

Heights’ Downtown Neighbor Reclaims Residential Rights

Chuck Taylor — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:16:42 +0000

In recent times, the 15,000 folks that reside across the half-square mile of Brooklyn designated as “Downtown”—unfolding at the ends of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges—have again earned the right to call their locale a “neighborhood.” With a massive influx of new residential projects, it is no longer merely “near Brooklyn Heights” or “on the edge of Boerum Hill,” says Nora McCauley, who has lived in the destination for six years. “I’ve started to say just that I live Downtown.”

That’s the calling card of a Thursday New York Times story titled “To the Heights and the Slope, Add ‘Downtown’.” The piece delves into the history of the area, recalling that the first land rush came in the early 1800s, after Robert Fulton’s ferry service eased the link to Manhattan. Country lanes were transformed into lively blocks of city dwellings.

But “a century and a half later, efforts at ‘slum clearance’ demolished many of those same buildings,” the Times reports. “In place [came] Cadman Plaza, a linked collection of three high-rise co-ops, with shops and parks. In the same spirit, the city in the 1990s closed streets near Flatbush Avenue for the creation of the 14-building MetroTech Center. Low-slung tenements were relegated to the wrecking ball in favor of hulking bank offices.”

McCauley once rented a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights with access to a garden. In 2006, she paid $660,000 for a 2-bedroom Downtown condo that faces the “urban bustle” of Court Street. “We definitely sometimes miss sitting on a stoop,” she says in the NYT, but relishes the year-round farmer’s market in front of Borough Hall: “It’s hard to beat in terms of convenience.”

The Times adds, In February, Downtown officially became more similar to the Heights when the city approved the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, which covers more than a dozen buildings. As well, the story reflects its rejuvenation as an active neighborhood: “Years ago [sidewalks] were empty on Saturdays and Sundays, after the courts adjourned. But shoppers, tourists and bicyclists now” pervade.

The New York Times also discusses the new high-rise residential developments changing the face of Downtown Brooklyn, along with current prices, the commute, what to do and more history. Read the story here.

(Photos: Top: Chuck Taylor; below: C.J. Hughes/NYT)
“A bluestone plaza in Columbus Park, seen from the steps of Borough Hall, is one of many magnetic spaces in Downtown Brooklyn, an oft-reinvented area that residents seem increasingly to see as special and worth preserving.”

Brooklyn Heights Cinema At 70 Henry Street To Be Razed, After All

Chuck Taylor — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:16:08 +0000

After a push & pull tug of war throughout 2012, it appears the beloved Brooklyn Heights Cinema building at 70 Henry Street is about to meet the wrecking all, after all. But there’s hope: Plans call for a movie theater on the ground level.

BHB Top 10 2011 honoree and Cinema owner Ken Lowy—who wrote this guest post in January—said then that his lease runs until June 30. According to a Brownstoner post today, a new five-story rental will indeed replace the current building, which will result in shuttering of the theater in August.

SEE KEN LOWY’S COMMENT ON THIS POST AFTER THE JUMP…

On Wednesday, architects Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel presented plans to the CB2 Landuse Committee for a five-story, 17-unit building with a movie theater on the first floor and in a section of the basement. There will also be additional commercial space along Henry Street.

Brownstoner says that architect Randolph Gerner addressed preservationists’ concerns that the building is “an integral part of the Brooklyn Heights Landmark District and should not be demolished,” but refuted that the lot originally housed a five-story tenement with a one-story attached building for the proprietor of the site.

Gerner said a commissioned historical report of 70 Henry deemed that the one-story building—now the theater—underwent enough change so that it “no longer retains its historical significance,” according to Brownstoner. He added at the hearing, “We’re borrowing from historic materials in a modern fashion.”

The proposal involves a brick facade and massive steel windows reminiscent of the nearby new 20 Henry Street condo addition, sans balconies. The committee approved the design and, says Brownstoner, “seemed pleased that the movie theater would be retained.”

KEN LOWRY WEIGHED IN WITH THE FOLLOWING COMMENT BELOW:

We’ll find a temporary location close by and yes, we will be back. I will be signing a legal document guaranteeing I’ll be back. As long as we have a temporary location and keep it going, coming back will be easy. And we will still have music and silent films at the temporary space. Also, we’ll be at the current location until at least the end of August.

30 Henry Street Reaps $500K Above Asking Price

Chuck Taylor — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:37:29 +0000

DUMBO-based developer Fortis Manor, which purchased the homely one-story Brooklyn Eagle Building at 30 Henry Street & Middagh in November 2011, paid $3.5 million for the property, according to a post today on Brownstoner. Broker Massey Knakal confirmed the figure, which is $500K over its asking price of $3 million.

That comes out to a cost of $209 per buildable square foot. Brownstoner notes that the site allows for a total of 16,740SF on the site. As previously reported, a six-story red brick building is slated to take its place.

The Brooklyn Eagle building was constructed in 1963 and was thus landmarked, but it has already been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its new incarnation. A rendering for the future building is below.

(30 Henry Street photo: Brownstoner)

Quote Of The Day: 1966 Heights Was ‘Brought Back From Slum Death By Influx’ Of Gays

Chuck Taylor — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:35:59 +0000

Writer and theologian William R. Wineke, a columnist for the Wisconsin State Journal and an ordained clergyman of the United Church of Christ, expresses his views on same-sex marriage in an opinion piece for WISC-TV Madison, Wisconsin’s news website Channel3000.com.

We’re neither supporting or dissuading the author’s perspective here, but highlighting his reflections on Brooklyn Heights some 45 years ago. Wineke describes living here in 1966 as “a beautiful community of brownstones that had been brought back from slum death by an influx of gay and lesbian citizens.”

That’s long before I (your BHB scribe, not Wineke) moved to the nabe, although I’ve heard fascinating anecdotes about gay haunts and a robust shadow populace in decades past. Anybody care to add perspective about Wineke’s conjecture that the Heights was gentrified and/or aggregated by the gay community?

There’s more in the Channel3000 piece, relative to Winike’s time in Brooklyn Heights. He adds: “At that time, the question wasn’t whether gays should be allowed to marry—but whether they should be allowed to join our churches. Most of my neighbors were gay, I guess. The only difference between them and me is that they liked to watch football on television and I liked to read on Sunday afternoons. One thing was clear even then: My neighbors were no threat to western civilization or to Christian values. To the contrary, they upheld the civilization and values of our neighborhood.”

See the full opinion piece, “Give Up the Bigotry” hereand

SOLD! Historic Bossert: Plan In Place To Convert Back To Hotel

Chuck Taylor — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:31:55 +0000

After revealing last week that Brooklyn Heights’ historic Bossert Hotel was returning to its roots as a hotel, Brownstoner reports today that city filings offer a confirmed buyer for the Jehovah’s Witnesses property.

David Bistricer has plans to turn the structure into a 302-unit “Hotels, Dormitories,” in DOB-speak. Meanwhile, according to the filings, the architect of record on the job is Gene Kaufman, who has been in the news lately for his plans to renovate the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, a landmark in its own right.

Bistricer had this to say to us about the plans for the Bossert: “The facade is not going to be touched because it’s in impeccable condition. The present owners kept it in very good shape. The plans have not been finalized for the interior of the building but we are going to upgrade the plumbing and electrical.”

Well, now we know who some of the players are for a building that qualifies as a national treasure, since it is public record. What is not yet public record is how much the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ are in contract to sell the structure for, though some real estate insiders we have spoken to opine that it could be close to the $90 million price that the property almost sold for back in 2008.

(Photo: Brownstoner)

Intro To Brooklyn Heights… From The 1939 NYC ‘WPA Guide’

Chuck Taylor — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:20:16 +0000

As part of a government-sponsored project to put the nation’s talented writers back to work during the Great Depression, the “WPA Guide to New York City” was published in 1939 by Federal Writers Project. The travel triptych was deemed by the New York Times as “one of the best books ever published about New York.”

Its passage on Brooklyn Heights is a precious view into a bygone era. The full descriptor is below, but here are some choice passages:

* The seclusion of the Heights was destroyed in 1908 when the IRT subway opened the neighborhood to commuters. Many of the patrician inhabitants fled; the old Victorian mansions were partitioned into studios and apartments; and writers and artists were attracted to the region. Many hotels, the Touraine, the Towers, the Bossert, and the huge St. George were erected.
* Brooklyn Heights, bounded by the East River, Fulton Street, Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, is an old, distinctive residential quarter, famous in Victorian days for its churches and its clergymen.
* Late in the nineteenth century, Brooklyn Heights was an aristocratic neighborhood whose residents set the tone in manners and customs for the elite of the entire city.
* The view from the apartments, hotels, and rooming houses along Columbia Heights, the street that edges the bluff, is one of the most exciting in the world. A popular vantage point is the plaza at the foot of Montague Street.

And now the full Brooklyn Heights entry. Unfortunately, no author is attached to the piece.

Brooklyn Heights, bounded by the East River, Fulton Street, Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, is an old, distinctive residential quarter, famous in Victorian days for its churches and its clergymen. The Heights section occupies a bluff that rises sharply from the river’s edge and gradually recedes on the landward side. Before the Dutch settled on Long Island in the middle of the seventeenth century, this promontory was called Ihpetonga (“the high sandy bank”) by the Canarsie Indians. The natives lived there in community houses, some of which were a quarter of a mile long. Apartment dwellings were not brought back to the Heights until the twentieth century, and today there are but few.

The view from the apartments, hotels, and rooming houses along Columbia Heights, the street that edges the bluff, is one of the most exciting in the world; it includes Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, Governors Island, the Statue of Liberty and the shipping factories and wharves along the East River. A popular vantage point is the plaza at the foot of Montague Street. The distinguished artist Joseph Pennell found the vistas from his studio atop the Margaret Hotel on the Heights more exciting than those from the London Embankment, and he made many etchings of the harbor. The locale was also made famous by Ernest Poole in his novel, The Harbor.

Late in the nineteenth century Brooklyn Heights was an aristocratic neighborhood whose residents set the tone in manners and customs for the elite of the entire city. Many of the brownstone mansions belonged to the merchants whose trading ships docked near by. The piers ran back to warehouses whose roofs were planted with real lawns and trees, forming backyard gardens for the houses above them.

The seclusion of the Heights was destroyed in 1908 when the IRT subway opened the neighborhood to commuters. Many of the patrician inhabitants fled; the old Victorian mansions were partitioned into studios and apartments; and writers and artists were attracted to the region. Many hotels, the Touraine, the Towers, the Bossert, and the huge St. George were erected.

Is The Bossert Being Converted Back To The ‘Waldorf Astoria of Brooklyn’?

Chuck Taylor — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:13:10 +0000

Consider this a potential game-changer for Brooklyn Heights: The magnificent Bossert at 98 Montague Street, owned & maintained by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is apparently returning to its original domain as a hotel. Brownstoner reported Tuesday that according to a Public Hearing notice sent out by Community Board Two, a variance application has been filed to allow “reconversion of the existing community facility hotel back to its original, transient hotel use.”

What remains unclear is whether the flip is a maneuver on the part of Jehovah’s Witnesses to find an interested buyer for the building. It was first put on the market in 2008, just as the economy flatlined. A $90 million bid fell through, and the property has failed to draw serious interest since.

The religious group bought the Bossert in 1988 and meticulously returned the majestic 14-story building to world-class grandeur—restoring its one-time reputation as the “Waldorf Astoria of Brooklyn.” Currently, it is utilized as free lodging for Jehovah’s Witnesses visiting and studying at Brooklyn Heights’ Watchtower. The 200,000-square-foot building is configured into 224 apartments.

The Hotel Bossert was built in 1909 by Louis Bossert, a Brooklyn lumber magnate and opened as an “apartment hotel.” During the 1920s, it was known for its two-level rooftop restaurant that provided panoramic Manhattan views. In the 1950s, the Bossert was home to several Brooklyn Dodger players, and following the team’s win over the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series, Dodgers fans and players notoriously gathered in the lobby.

A public hearing will be held Wednesday, May 16 at 6 p.m. at the Dibner Library at 5 Metrotech Center.

(Top photo: Josh Derr; Below: BHB)

Sign Of The (Past) Times: Hebrew National At 139 Montague Street

Chuck Taylor — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:06:16 +0000

The former La Traviata cafe, which is en route to becoming an Irish pub and restaurant, has revealed its roots, as the shuttered eatery’s signage came down today. Before La T took over 139 Montague Street (between Henry and Clinton) some 30 years ago, a full-frontal sign heralded “Hebrew National.”

Sure enough, our precious 1976 Montague Street Revitalization Proposal verifies that a restaurant by that name was based at the address some 35 years ago. Who remembers more?

La Traviata closed in November 2011. BHB first reported in February that RDR Bar & Restaurant Corp. plans to open a Tavern-Restaurant in the space.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor/Vintage: 1976 Montague Street Revitalization)

Vintage Image: Key Food Market, 1976

Chuck Taylor — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:30:13 +0000

The 1976 Montague Street Revitalization project offered grand plans for the ailing Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, and included numerous photographs of everyday life. Of course, some 36 years later, these casual B&W shots offer a cool triptych to a time gone by: the fashion, hairstyles and simply the way folks gathered back in the day.

We’re featuring Key Food here—nothing overtly dramatic, but entertaining for those very reasons. And below, the view at 106 Montague Street today. Who knows, a few decades from now, we’ll probably be smiling over how “vintage” these millennial images are.

For a campy walk down the aisles of 1960s & 1970s supermarkets, take a look here.

(Current photos: Chuck Taylor)

Last Minute Weekend Suggestions

Claude Scales — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:47:26 +0000

The Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton) will present a screening of Nancy Buirski’s film, The Loving Story, a love story about a couple whose wedding set the stage for the Supreme Court’s decision, in Loving v. Virginia, that struck down statutes prohibiting interracial marriage.

The show begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, and there will be a discussion with Buirski afterward. The event is free with museum admission, which is free for BHS members; for non-members it is $6 for adults, and $4 for seniors over 62, teachers, and students 12 and over (college students must have ID; children under 12 are free).

Don’t forget Theater 2020′s Comedy of Errors, with performances tonight (Friday) and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. More details at the linked post.

Finally, weather permitting, get a view of an astronomical double treat, a “Supermoon” and the eta aquarid meteor shower tomorrow (Saturday) evening. (Image: NASA.)

2012 Brooklyn Heights House Tour: A Preview Of Its Five Historic Townhouses

Chuck Taylor — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:42:47 +0000

The 2012 Brooklyn Heights Assn. Landmark House & Garden Tour, which takes place Saturday May 12, has announced the five privately owned historic townhouses that comprise the annual event.

Highlights of the five homes include:
* A four-story townhouse circa 1873, designed in a classical revival style. After decades as a multi-unit building, it was updated by a gut renovation, preserving what few original elements remain. It is now a spacious home to a family of five.

* A three-story brick and sandstone carriage house constructed in the 1870s. During the 1940s, this building was a social club cum gym, owned by a famous boxer. The current owner’s attention to detail is evident throughout this inventively designed family home.

* A Federal-style row house built in 1826. There is an unusual rear addition dating from the Victorian era, featuring stained glass windows, oak paneling and basket-weave floors. Top floor bedrooms feature charming vintage wallpaper and wide plank original pine floors.

* Built in 1848, this Greek Revival townhouse—from the 1890s to early 1900s—was the home and office of Dr. Robert Latou Dickinson, a pioneer in women’s reproductive health, then became the Alpha Chi Ro Fraternity house, and was later rented by church groups during the Second World war as a hostel.

* This grandly proportioned 1856 Renaissance Revival style brownstone offers unmatched views of New York harbor, the lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The entrance foyer offers red marble floors, Fortuny-covered walls, Tang dynasty horse and Empire-style pedestals featuring Wedgewood basalt heads of Paris and Mercury.

The go-at-your-own-pace, self-guided House & Garden Tour, from 1-5 p.m. is $40 for general admission, and $30 for BHA members who reserve in advance. Tickets, which support the Brooklyn Heights Assn. are tax-deductible, and available (along with much more info, including interior pics) here.

Tour BHS Building Thursday Evening

Claude Scales — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:21:33 +0000

The Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton) will present a guided tour of its historic building this Thursday evening, May 3, starting at 7:00 p.m. The building, completed in 1881, is noted for its elaborate terra cotta exterior decoration, but its interior is also dazzling, including elaborately patterned tile floors, carved woodwork, and stained glass windows. The Othmer Library is a spectacular space. The building was designed by George B. Post, among whose notable surviving buildings are the New York Stock Exchange and the Wisconsin State Capitol.

The tour is free for BHS members; for non-members it is $6 for adults, and $4 for seniors over 62, teachers, and students 12 and over (college students must have ID; children under 12 are free). There is more information here.

Everything You Could Ever Want To Know About The Hotel St. George

Chuck Taylor — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:30:29 +0000

Brooklyn real estate blog Brownstoner has been running a book-length series on the history of Brooklyn Heights’ Hotel St. George, which includes a phenomenal collection of vintage images and every detail you could ever imagine about the historic locale. “Montrose Morris” posted Part VI April 26, with more to come.

You’ll need either a strong pot of java or a couple rich brandies to get through the read… truly comprehensive.

(Photo: St. George 1912, Brownstoner)

Help Needed for BHA House Tour

Claude Scales — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:38:09 +0000

The Brooklyn Heights Association’s annual House Tour (the photo was taken in one of the houses on this year’s tour) is coming soon, on Saturday, May 12. You can find more information, and buy tickets, here.

The BHA needs “house volunteers” who “are asked to take a shift, watching rooms to be sure there is no touching, no photo taking, etc.” either from 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. OR from 2:20-5:05 p.m. Volunteer bakers are also needed to make three or four dozen cookies, squares or bars and deliver them in a covered container to Plymouth Church (enter at 75 Hicks) on Friday, May 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. If you would like to be a house volunteer, bake, or both, please e-mail info@thebha.org.

Memory Lane: Abraham & Straus Department Store, Born & Bred In Brooklyn

Chuck Taylor — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:35:25 +0000

Without the commanding presence of Brooklyn’s heralded Abraham & Straus, we surely would not have today’s Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Filene’s or Stern’s.

In 1865, before the Brooklyn Bridge linked New York’s largest borough to the rest of the
city, Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler opened dry goods retailer Wechsler & Abraham on Fulton Street in the heart of Downtown.

In 1893, the Straus family and Simon Rothschild bought out Wechsler’s interest in the company and renamed the joint Abraham & Straus—which also had controlling interest in R.H. Macy & Co. in New York. By 1900, A&S had 4,650 employees. In April, 1912, co-founder Isidor Straus and his wife Ida went down with the Titanic. Oops.

Within 15 years, the thriving company bought & renovated an ornate Art Deco cast iron building down the street, and the glistening new department store became the ultimate destination for Brooklyn Heights’, Downtown Brooklyn’s and the surrounding areas’ upscale clientele.

The space was continually expanded through 1928 until it took up an entire city block at 422 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. The A&S anchor store represented the height of white-glove service and elegance in the department store biz, mobbed with customers who were doted upon by uniformed elevator operators, along with a gourmet food center, furs, restaurant, art gallery, beauty salon, stamps & coins and a “wig bar.” There was even space where you could pull in your horse & buggy and park comfortably underground.

In 1929, Abraham & Straus, Bloomingdale’s, Filene’s & Lazarus merged to form Federated Department Stores and set up base in Cincinnati. In 1950, the company purchased Loeser’s in Garden City and converted that to Abraham & Straus, continuing suburban expansion in Hempstead, N.Y., in 1952, followed by Manhasset, Smithtown, Babylon, White Plains and Manhattan; Monmouth, Short Hills and Paramus, N.J.; and King of Prussia and Willow Grove, Penn.

Throughout much of the 20th Century, Abraham & Straus maintained stance as the powerhouse of Federated. However, over-expansion to other regions and vapid business strategies toppled the fortunes of A&S and by the late 1970s, after a real estate developer purchased Federated, it merged with Boston’s Jordan Marsh. In 1994, the beloved A&S brand was shuttered under the Macy’s banner, with a handful of stores becoming Federated’s low-end Stern’s. Fortunately, A&S lives on, if only in spirit. At the original location on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, a prominent plaque is outside of what is still Macy’s today, paying homage to the company’s grand history.

In 2003, the Brooklyn Heights Assn. and Municipal Art Society added the building to 28 historic structures in Downtown Brooklyn, meriting landmark designation. Sadly, Macy’s nixed the “wig bar.”

(Photos: Archive; Current: Chuck Taylor. Much of this information came from Plummer & Associates Blog. A generous thanks.)

Heights History: 1940s’ Mammy’s Pantry, 122 Montague Street

Chuck Taylor — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:53:31 +0000

Long before there was a Housing Works Thrift Shop or a Fish’s Eddy—or for that matter, a Brooklyn Heights Promenade—122 Montague Street was the location of beloved Southern-style restaurant Mammy’s Pantry. In the 1940s, the eatery served up a lunch and dinner menu of such goodies as Maryland Crab Cakes, Southern Fried Chicken, Shrimps Creole and Chesapeake Bay Oysters. For desert, one could order homemade cakes and pies, Mammy’s Pastries, Bittersweet Chocolates, Jams & Jellies or its renowned Cobbler. Wash it all down with generous juleps, swizzlers, fizzes, wine or cocktails from the bar.

Mammy’s, which endured at least from 1941 to 1947, was owned by “Mrs. Christine Heinemann, a grand cook from Virginia,” according to a column in November 1944 from Gourmet magazine “Food Flashes” columnist Clementine Paddleford. Its manager was a Brooklyn Heights resident, Ruth Wagner. Paddleford called Mammy’s “one of the city’s beloved of the home-style restaurants.”

An ad in the January 17, 1941 Brooklyn Eagle, promotes Mammy’s as “a delightful place to enjoy a meal. Dine in the Brooklyn Heights Room or the more formal Old Dominion Room.” Sunday dinner was served from 12:30 to 8 p.m., for 70 cents to 95 cents. Virginia breakfast was available Sunday mornings for 50 cents.

The precious two-fold linen postcard for Mammy’s Pantry also reveals a lot about the eatery, including air conditioning, music by MUSAK and its telephone exchange: MAin 4-4446 and 4-9365. It also boasts an illustration of “Mammy” that would be anything but politically correct today, although at the time it represented Southern hospitality and cuisine.

A handy color map of the neighborhood, with “a chart to find your way around,” offers historical markers of Brooklyn Heights, including: “Here was the Ferry to Wall Street,” “Blare Edwin Booth stayed,” “Tom Paine’s house” and “Here Beecher auctioned Sarah the Negro slave.” The map also reveals a pre-Cadman Plaza Park and pre-Promenade Heights (the latter would be dedicated in 1950).

Mammy’s was apparently more than an eatery enjoyed by Brooklyn Heights locals. In Paddleford’s Gourmet column in November 1944 , she wrote about World War II’s rationing of bread ingredients, and welcomed the return to Mammy’s menu of “Brooklyn’s famous orange bread, a war casualty for months.”

Paddleford said, “It’s a bread dark as fruit cake. It has an orange peel tang for the palate, made as it is with the whole oranges (minus their seeds) put through the food chopper. Raisins are added to the pulp, and pecans coarsely cut. White flour goes in, whole eggs and seasonings. The oranges are shipped direct from a Florida grove, the pecans come from a grower in Georgia, and the baking is supervised by Mrs. Heinemann. But the recipe is Northern, from a farm woman in upstate New York. The little 35-cent loaf will cut 10 to 12 slices, depending entirely on the sharpness of the knife. The bread needs only the thinnest streak of butter to be the last word with tea. Or use it with cream cheese. It is as fragrant as a pomander, the flavor truly orange.” She adds that “the women who shop after luncheon at (Mammy’s) retail bread case say, ‘Good to see the bread back again.’”

Likewise, in July 1943, Paddleford referred to New York “dining rooms” offering “field-to-table sweet corn steaming hot from the pot,” which included Schrafft’s Restaurants; The White Turkey Town Houses, 220 Madison Avenue and 1 University Place; The Skipper Restaurant, 17 East 48th Street; Mammy’s Pantry, 122 Montague Street, Brooklyn; Abraham & Straus Restaurant, Brooklyn; and Bamberger’s in Newark. She notes that Skipper, Mammy’s Pantry and Bamberger’s also sell the corn “to the carry-home trade.”

Meanwhile, the building at 122 Montague Street was constructed in 1900, according to various city records, stands five stories tall, and includes three residential rentals, as it has throughout much of its history. In 1976, according to the Montague Street Revitalization plan, it housed Piccadeli Restaurant, which offered table service, a bar and take out. From that point, it is unclear what occupied the space until around 2007, with the short-lived Fish’s Eddy and its current tenant Housing Works. Various websites refer to The Montage Street News and Montague Street Saloon at 122 Montague Street, but seem uncertain.

For sure, there are numerous long-time residents of Brooklyn Heights who have their own memories of Mammy’s Pantry. Please… serve ‘em up!

(Photos: Online archives/Current: Chuck Taylor)

Heights History: The Brooklyn Waterfront 30 Years Ago

Chuck Taylor — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:23:52 +0000

While this photograph from the U.S. Library of Congress’ digitized collection may not be in color, who doesn’t recall the powder blue warehouses that lined the Brooklyn Heights waterfront below the Promenade? Progress on Brooklyn Bridge Park may seem sluggish, but things have certainly changed, haven’t they? (Photo: Jet Lowe, 1982)

Next Homer Fink ‘Hidden Brooklyn Heights Walking Tour’: April 21

Chuck Taylor — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:41:54 +0000

The next jocular, wonderfully educational Homer Fink’s Hidden Walking Tour takes place this coming Saturday, April 21, at 11 a.m. Learn about the odd, weird, controversial and amusing history of America’s First Suburb over a sprawling 90 minutes of fun, led by the faithful kingpin of the Brooklyn Heights Blog, Cobble Hill Blog and Brooklyn Bugle. More info is available by clicking here.

Event Registration Online for Homer Fink’s Hidden Brooklyn Heights Walking Tour powered by Eventbrite

Another Hefty Re$idential Property Hit$ The Heights Market

Chuck Taylor — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:35:05 +0000

Brown Harris Stevens has just listed a townhouse for sale at 32 Livingston Street with the kind of lofty price tag we’re becoming accustomed to in Brooklyn Heights: $6 million. This follows the sale of the Capote House on Willow for $12 million in March, a Garden Place townhouse for $10 million in February and a Watchtower residence on Orange in January for $7.1 million.

Curbed is certainly seduced by the Livingston property’s historic beauty, which BHS describes as a “great American home available to connoisseurs, preservationists, townhouse lovers, or anyone that would like become one.”

The 25X54-foot brownstone, built in 1850 and “mindfully preserved for 162 years,” is currently configured as an upper triplex with a full “versatile” attic, a garden floor rental and a high-ceilinged cellar. The main living space features 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3 wood-burning fireplaces and 4 decorative fireplaces, along “with the highest degree of craftsmanship and thought, in grand Italianate style.”

Much more detail is available with the full listing here, including the full floorplan and eight photos.

(Photos: Brown Harris Stevens)

On This Day: April 12, 1816, Brooklyn Became a Village

Chuck Taylor — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:14:51 +0000

On April 12, 1816, New York officially incorporated the village of… Brooklyn. The State of New York legislature passed an act of incorporation on this day—with the participation of Brooklyn Heights founding father Hezekiah B. Pierrepont—that gave Brooklyn its first charter, establishing its official boundaries.

Among the primary regions defined was Brooklyn Heights, which the Brooklyn Eagle says was once known as Clover Hill, and before that “Ihpetonga,” a Native-American name meaning “a long sandy bank.” The area was renowned for its fine fruits and vegetables, which were popular for sale in Manhattan. “There were waving fields of grain, orchards of apple, peach and plum trees, huge vegetable gardens and berry patches.”

The first boundaries of Brooklyn, according to the village charter: “Beginning at the public landing south of Pierrepont’s distillery, formerly the property of Philip Livingston, thence running along the public road leading from said landing to its intersection with Red Hook Lane, then along Red Hook Lane to where it intersects the Jamaica Turnpike, thence a northwest course to the Wallabout Millpond, thence through the center of the millpond to the East River, and thence down the East River to the point of beginning.” Um, did you follow all of that?

The Brooklyn Eagle, adds, “Meeting after meeting had been held at Hezekiah B. Pierrepont’s residence and at various taverns scattered throughout the area. Once incorporated, farms could be opened up and residences (could) take the place of orchards and gardens.”

(Photo: Colonnade Row from an 1840 engraving of Brooklyn Heights, built in 1837 by General James E. Underhill. It burned down in 1853./Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

Save the Date: BHA House Tour Saturday May 12

Claude Scales — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:44:57 +0000

The Brooklyn Heights Association will hold its annual House Tour on Saturday, May 12. More details will be given on BHB when available. The photo, by our own Homer Fink, is from the 2008 tour. There is no assurance that the house shown in the photo will be included in this year’s tour, but the roster of houses open for viewing has consistently been spectacular.

Heights History: 52 Livingston Street, Then & Now

Chuck Taylor — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:00:07 +0000

The standout Gothic Revival three-story brick row house at 52 Livingston Street (between Court & Clinton streets) has changed precious little since this Brooklyn Public Library photograph was taken in 1953, nearly 60 years ago. (Then & Now pics below the jump.)

Among few changes following its construction in 1846 (despite conflicting reports of it being built in 1901), according to Clay Lancaster’s 1979 book “Old Brooklyn Heights: New York’s First Suburb,” are the addition of the structure’s humble third story and the signature Romantic-style lace-like ironwork, cornice, porch and fencing, likely added in 1854 to complement the Packer School, being built across the street at that time. The stucco facade was also removed post-1953.

Lancaster notes that the 1847 City Directory says it was home then to “widow Matilda Brown.” Another resident at the turn of the 20th Century was Dr. Mary DeBooij Ingram, a female physician who died in 1932, at the age of 81. She was born in Scotland, received her education in Edinburgh, London and Paris, and ended up in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Training School for Nurses. Ingram earned a degree in medicine from the University of Michigan and practiced in Brooklyn for more than four decades.

Today, according to Trulia.com, the 4,500-square-foot building is a duplex, with two residential units, valued at $4.4 million. In 2006, a 1-bedroom unit with separate entrance and shared garden was listed for rent by Corcoran for $2,000 a month. The entire building changed hands in December 2010.

Livingston Street, meanwhile, was named for Philip Livingston, one of the four signers from New York of the Declaration Of Independence, says Leonrd Benardo & Jennifer Weiss in their 2006 book “Brooklyn By Name.” It was at Livingston’s 40-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights that George Washington and his officers agreed to retreat from Long Island. Livingston fled the estate when it was occupid by British forces, transforming it into a brewery and hospital. It was later acquired by Teunis Joralemon, among the neighborhood’s elite landowners.

(Photos: Brooklyn Public Library, Chuck Taylor/February 2009)

FASCINATING: Just-Released 1940 Census Data Reveals Who Lived In Your Digs

Chuck Taylor — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:05:54 +0000

Ever wondered who was cooking pot roast on your antique stove in 1940? Who hid that stamp beneath the floorboards when you were gutting your Willow Street coop bedroom? How much that Middagh Street apartment cost to rent 70 years ago? Now’s your chance to find out. In partnership with Archives.com, the U.S. National Archives released Census records from 1940 online on April 2—comprising 3.8 million images scanned from some 4,000 rolls of microfilm.

The website offers access to maps and hand-written info about every known address in all 48 states in the Union, allowing you to find census maps and descriptions to locate an enumeration district, browse census images to locate any household interviewed in the 1940 Census and then save and/or download images. The Search page is here.

Warning: The site is slow, if not clunky, as hundreds of thousands are discovering this fascinating window to the past all at once. It’s also a bit unnerving to navigate. The best tutorial I found is at Gawker.com here.

Happy hunting! Be sure to share anything revealing with all your friends here on the BHB. We’ll also be scouring for tidbits over the next several weeks.

(Image: Gawker.com)

Image Of The Day: Brooklyn Heights Shoe Master, 100 Henry Street

Chuck Taylor — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:56:40 +0000

The Brooklyn Heights Shoe Master at 100 Henry Street, inside the St. George Hotel 2/3 subway entrance, sure looks like it’s been in place for decades. One factoid: A phone number in a lighted box above the store is no longer relevant: 852-2016. Has the joint been there long enough to have had a 212 exchange? (Current tele is 718-243-2355.) Who knows more about this little hole-in-the-wall biz? Let’s go back in time together…

Oh, and… psych! The image above was digitally aged to look as if it’s from a bygone decade. See the April 2012 view below.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

Heights History: Montague & Henry, Then & Now

Chuck Taylor — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:34:08 +0000

The corner of Montague and Henry streets, at the current location of Andy’s Chinese, has no doubt seen a revolving door of businesses over the past 100+ years. But the actual building, constructed in 1900, has thankfully maintained its architectural integrity with surprising few changes, as we see from parallel Now & Then images from 1916 & 2008.

Long ago, on the lower level of 128 Montague was Kreinbrink & Steich Tailors. Above: John Wallace Insurance, a “New York Underwriters Agency.” Also note in this wintry image (there’s snow on Henry Street) the street sign and interesting light pole at the corner, which has certainly changed over the past 100 years.

Meanwhile, Melanie Hope Greenberg provided an image (below) of the same corner from the 1980s, first published on BHB in February 2009, which shows a cheese shop in the current location of Andy’s, and Hair Unlimited onto its left. On the upper level is Chuan Yuan Szechuan Restaurant. And across the street in the current location of Corcoran Realty are a dry cleaner and “Montague Meats.”

Next, a more modern photograph, taken in summer 2008, showing current Andy’s (which has been open for at least 17 years) and upstairs, Vegetarian Ginger—as well as the now-decimated beautiful tree to the left of the image, which was wiped out Feb. 29 when a truck swiped the corner. And finally, the corner today.

According to public records, the building is owned by Adkha Realty Corp., and has a market value of $1.6 million. Total square footage of the building, including six walk-up residential units, is 8,022 sf.

(Photos: New York Public Library, Melanie Hope Greenberg, Chuck Taylor)

Heights History: The Promenade Restaurant On Montague Street

Chuck Taylor — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 04:01:50 +0000

Before the popular Heights Cafe opened at 84 Montague Street and Hicks Street, there was The Promenade Restaurant—teeming with 1970s (1980s?) charisma. A sign at the corner entrance boasts Steaks, Chops and Seafood, while in the postcard image above, you’ll note there was also a second doorway on the Montague Street side, advertising Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Inside, thick gold drapes hung in the windows, along with vinyl booths lining the premises, complete with coat hooks, chandeliers against the walls and glass globes over tables. The back of the restaurant’s postcard offers, “10 minutes from Downtown Manhattan. In the historic Brooklyn Heights section. Full menu at reasonable prices. Greek specialties, wines, liquors, cocktails.” The joint’s hours: 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week. Its also intriguing to note that The Promenade had a 212 telephone exchange. Who knew (and who remembers)? This updates a 2009 BHB post with photo immediately below from Melanie Hope Greenberg. Following Melanie’s photo are a contemporary view of the Heights Cafe, and a vintage Promenade Restaurant posstcard.

Above, Melanie Hope Greenberg’s image of the Hicks Street side of The Promenade Restaurant. Below, photo of the Heights Cafe by Chuck Taylor, winter 2009.

Take A Look At Me (Then &) Now: 156 Henry Street, From Bohack To CVS

Chuck Taylor — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:38:46 +0000

The sweet red brick building at 156 Henry Street at the intersection of Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights holds a modicum of mystery. Despite hours of research, I could find little info on when it was built or why it stands alone as a quaint two-story structure among so many multi-story apartment buildings on all sides.

What I do know is that throughout its life, the street level has housed at least three businesses: two supermarkets and now, a CVS. First was Bohack, which opened its first family grocery on nearby Fulton Street in Brooklyn in 1887. After going public, the chain expanded into Manhattan and the Bronx until its demise during the recession of the mid-1970s. The last store shuttered in summer 1977.

Next in the location was well-known New York supermarket chain D’Agostino, first opened in 1932 during the Great Depression on the Upper East Side. By 1981, the grocer operated 15 Manhattan locations and one in Brooklyn—at 156 Henry Street. The store was obviously in place long enough to update its logo signage, as seen below.

Within the past decade, D’Agostino departed Brooklyn, making way for CVS to mark its territory in the Heights, competing with drugstore neighbors Duane Reade and Rite Aid.

Above the store, there’s a one-bedroom rental apartment, last listed by Corcoran (date unknown), described as: “Sunny, quiet, beautiful 1BR in the heart of Brooklyn Heights, steps from restaurants, shops, subways. Near Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Kitchen & bathroom totally renovated. Beautiful decorative fireplace & gorgeous wood floors. Pets welcome.” No price was listed on the site. Pics from the listing of the upstairs unit below…

Finally, a little perspective about Love Lane, across from 156 Henry… In pre-Colonial times, it was an Indian trail leading to the nearby East River. When the Dutch arrived in Brooklyn, it became a popular path for romantic walks, thus the name. An 1894 New York Times article hints, “The oldest residents remember a time when there was a cool, shady path leading down ‘Lover’s Lane,’ where plump, rosy-cheeked Dutch maidens, with their sweethearts, meandered on summer evenings out through the turnstile and down the grassy bank to the water’s edge.”

Today, the closest you’re going to that blush get is a flash of your CVS bar code, hoping for bountiful bargains… and a sentimental feeling standing in a space with such robust history in beloved Brooklyn Heights.