Brownstone Houses

I guess it's fitting at this time of the year (Halloween) to talk about some of the houses in Brooklyn. Growing up I just knew they were old. I felt for sure some were haunted. All houses have history - many have mysteries as well. I may have to put that in another post.

Brownstone owners often find themselves stumped as to the 'what and why' of a house feature. First the yard had no grass, front or back. If there was a tree out front, there may have been a little grass around the tree. Probably not! Growing up, I didn't realize the gate and fence surrounding the front yard was antique iron. The gate was something to swing on.

All the house were connected, so you could walk across the roofs. We never called them row houses. The front steps is a stoop. To enter the house from outside to the second floor required a flight of steps leading up to the front door, known as the stoop. Because this is the predominant architectural style in Brooklyn, there are a lot of stoops. It was the place to hang out, especially during warm weather. We waited for the Good Humor ice cream truck in the evening. Waited for the crew to show up, before heading to the park, playing "stoop ball" or having a game of stickball in the middle of the street. There were not that many cars driving through the block. The stoop also served as one of the bases. Wasn't usual to hear the older people in the hood yelling such expressions as "Fugheddaboudit", "Oy Vey!" and "Schmuck" at the kids who seem to be in their way during these games.

These same old buildings are worth millions today. Many of the people living in the brownstones are there by choice, not born in Brooklyn. Houses are being renovated to be more "green." There even walking tours of neighborhoods.

FREE EVENT- 2008 Street Games

Kids, teens, and parents, take advantage of this chance to learn and play “old school” games like:
Stick Ball

Stoop Ball
Box Ball

Skully
Hopscotch

Jacks
Double-Dutch
Red Light, Green Light

Our Lady of Victory

Our Lady of Victory, [Est. 1868] 583 Throop Avenue at McDonough Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11216 was my first elementary school. The property was sold many years ago. You could tell the church was a grand church for another time.

The church, which was designed by Mr. Thomas Houghton, cost $160,000 to complete, and contains many original and beautiful details. The white marble altar, also designed by Houghton, was a gift from the president of the Emigrant Savings Bank, James McMahon; the tabernacle was given by Mrs. Cahill; the marble baptismal font was given by Dr .Sullivan. To ensure that he wouldn’t be outdone, the bank president also donated a solid gold chalice and a white silk cape “embroidered in rich designs.” The Stations of the Cross were made in Munich, and the painting and decorations were done by Baraldi, a famous painter based in Philadelphia. Six years later, in 1901, an elaborate new pulpit (since removed) was ordered from the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of Corona.

I don't know what occupies the building today or if it's still standing. The parish closed but the school was opened for sometime. The school was run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The church's 25-bed men's shelter, ''Our Father's House,'' - operated in a gray, granite former convent adjacent to the church - closed after serving more than 1,400 people since October 1974. 'The House Is Dying'.

2007 Three parishes in Bedford-Stuyvesant---Our Lady of Victory, Holy Rosary and Nativity of Our Blessed Lord/St. Peter Claver---have joined to become St. Martin de Porres parish, honoring the patron saint of interracial justice. The worship sites of this new merged parish remain Our Lady of Victory Church, 583 Throop Ave, Holy Rosary Church, 172 Bainbridge St., and Nativity/St. Peter Claver Church, 29 Claver Pl. The latter itself was formed by the merger of two parishes in 1973.

St. Gregory School the Great

One of the Catholic elementary school I attended was St. Gregory's. It was not far from the Children's Museum. St. Gregory is located on 991 St John's Pl, Brooklyn. A lot of saints in Brooklyn. The school is in Crown Heights, between New York and Brooklyn Avenues. In 1907, the Sisters of Mercy were invited. The first school was opened in two houses at 995 and 997 Saint Johns Place in September 1912. It was staffed by four Sisters of Mercy who came daily from their convent, located at 273 Willoughby Avenue. The present permanent school at 991 St. Johns Place was opened in February 1922. It is a three-storey building consisting of 16 classrooms and an assembly hall.

Three factors caused a financial drain and extensive diocesan subsidies in Saint Gregory’s School and the other parish schools of St. Matthews, St. Joseph, and St. Teresa. In June 1974 the parishes of Crown Heights working together as a cluster, decided to close the four schools and consolidate their resources to open two schools. Thus, Saint Gregory reopened in September 1974 as Unity Catholic School and St. Teresa, as Holy Spirit School.

Brooklyn Children's Museum

One of my favorite places growing up in Brooklyn was a pioneer in education, the Brooklyn Children's Museum. It was the first museum created expressly for children when it was founded in 1899. This picture is the way I remember the Museum, in a limestone mansion on St. Marks near Kingston Ave, in Crown Heights.

The Brooklyn Children's Museum opened its doors in a Victorian mansion. It was one of the biggest houses I'd seen. Located in the heart of Crown Heights, Brower Park has been an outstanding educational and recreational resource for children for over a century. Brooklyn Children's Museum opened in the William Newton Adams House in 1899. With hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, field trips, workshops, and school visits-all specifically arranged for children-this museum was the first of its kind in the world.

Parcel to the north of the park was acquired in 1923, and the Brooklyn Children's Museum expanded into the L.C. Smith House by the late 1920s.

American doll maker Madame Alexander donates a unique 36-piece set of Coronation Dolls in honor of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The best exhibits were the china doll collection. the other great exhibit were the Lionel trains. There was always a line to get to the controls.

Yankee Stadium

New Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium in the Bronx was opened and closed and opened: Home to the New York Yankees (AL) first opened April 18, 1923, closed September 30, 1973, reopened April 15, 1976. The Yankees use to own the stadium which is now owned by New York City. On February 6, 1921, the Yankees announced the purchase of 10 acres of property in the west Bronx. The land, purchased from the estate of William Waldorf Astor for $675,000. The Astor are an old money family in New York. The Yankees would build the most famous ballpark in history.

On Sunday, September 21, 2008, Yankee Stadium closed its gates for good. Before the game, fans were allowed to walk on the field, and several former Yankees stars attended a formal ceremony. After a rain delay, the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3. Not the worry, the Yankees will stay in New York. The team began playing at the new Yankee Stadium, built across the street. Original street address was 800 Ruppert Place.

The Yankee Stadium subway stop is located right outside the Stadium at the corner of 161st Street and River Avenue. Several subway lines conveniently reach the Stadium and a trip from midtown Manhattan takes less than 25 minutes. The #4 train, as well as the B (weekday rush hours only) and D trains make stops at 161st Street/Yankee Stadium.

Baseball in New York

Ebbets Field did not start as a housing development. The site had a long baseball history. An important place in Brooklyn. It's hard to find information doing internet search. Ebbets Field was the home to the Brooklyn Dodgers before the flew cross country to California. Ebbets Field was opened in 1913, and demolished in 1960 to make way for housing.

It was named after Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets. Jackie Robinson became the first black man in the 20th century to play in Major League Baseball here on April 15, 1947. The only year in which the Dodgers won the World Series while tennants of Ebbets Field was 1955.

Ebbets Field was built over a garbage dump in an area of Brooklyn called Pigtown for the cost of $750,000. The neighborhood of Flatbush grew up around the ballpark. I was not old enough to go to any games at Ebbets Field.

Today, people in Broolyn only know Ebbets Field as an apartment complex.

Pigtown is gone; Dodgers are gone; and the real Ebbets Field is gone.

Even if the fans had had cars to drive, parking around Ebbets Field was limited to spots found on the street. We don't need cars in New York. People walked from the Brighton Line Prospect Park station to Ebbets Field. They passed the aroma from the Bond Bread bakery on Flatbush Avenue according to Randy Kennedy.

Map of Brooklyn