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Victorianconcentration Flatbush of lavish, text by deborah freeman. the f latbush section of contains the largest graphic design by joy makon. sprawling Victorian homes in the United States. The term Victorian architecture photographs by paul katcher. © 2010 Big Apple Greeter 1/2010 refers to a number of architectural styles from the Victorian era including Colonial Revival, Big Apple Greeter Tudor, Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts, and Greek Revival. Seven- and eight-bedroom single- 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-669-8159 family homes, rarities in New York City, are common in Victorian Flatbush. Web: www.bigapplegreeter.org 1 ( + . 0

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0 () erasmus hall albemarle road high school (. Where is Victorian Flatbush? so that the front yards (+ old Flatbush families.(, A Flatbush is in Central Brooklyn, would combine into a large graveyard in the back bounded by to the north, unified majestic sweep. has tombstones from the Avenue H to the south, New(' York (*He planted carefully 18th and 19th centuries. Avenue to the east, and chosen Norway maple The original church at that greeter’s secret: The current Beverley Avenue to the west. Prospect Park trees for permanence, Road subway stationhouse and site was built in 1654 under (/ South, a typical example of Victorian alternating every twenty below-grade platforms were the direction of Governor completed in 1907. The stationhouse Flatbush, is bounded by Church Avenue feet with Carolina poplar is on the National Register of Historic Peter Stuyvesant and to the north, to trees for immediate Places and features artwork by Patsy included a stockade for (-Norvell called Garden Stops(. featuring (/ the west, Cortelyou Road to(( the south (+shade, reasoning that the etched images of leaves on the inside protection against and Ocean Avenue to the east. poplars would die out as glass windows. marauding Indian bands. the maples reached maturity. Gateposts Tucked away in the back, behind the About Victorian Flatbush engraved with the initials “PPS” were graveyard, is the parsonage, built in Established as a town in 1652, Flatbush installed at the entrances of many of the 1853. Like many Flatbush buildings, it is derives from the Dutch vlacke bos streets; most are still standing. He also a combination of styles: a Greek Revival meaning flat woodland. Flatbush renamed the numbered streets to the (.house( with Corinthian(/ columned+(0 . 0 remained primarily farmland until the more elegant names albemarle, rugby, verandah and Italianate details. The 1880s when the new railroad lines buckingham and westminster. parsonage opens onto Kenmore Terrace, provided access between the then- was designated an a small street with nice brick)' rowhouses. separate cities of New York and historic district by the New York City , Brooklyn to commuters. Flatbush Landmarks Commission in 1978. ) erasmus hall academy at 911 / (' became part of Brooklyn in 1894, just at Church Avenue is a four years before Brooklyn became part It’s Easy to Get to Federal-style wooden building inside Victorian Flatbush of New York City. In the 1890s, real the courtyard of Erasmus greeter’s secret: estate developer Dean Alvord bought a D by subway: Q train to Church Hall High School. Barbra Streisand large tract of land south of Church Avenue, Beverley Road or Cortelyou Established as a private and Neil Diamond * - both attended Avenue which was eventually named Road. B train to Church Avenue. academy in 1786, Erasmus Hall High School during the Prospect Park South. His goal was to by bus: Bus lines that service Flatbush Alexander Hamilton and same time period create a suburb for “people of intelli- include the B23, B35 and B41. Aaron Burr both and sang together gence and good breeding,” according to contributed to the in the school choir. his original prospectus. While other Things to See and Do in building fund before their famous duel. parts of Brooklyn were building Victorian Flatbush If you peek through the gate, you can rowhouses, Alvord wanted detached ( the f latbush reformed+ see a statue. of Desiderius Erasmus,0 the homes built under careful restrictions. protestant dutch church at the Dutch Renaissance philosopher. () (* (- He installed all utilities and paved all the corner of Flatbush and Church Avenues Generations of students have thrown streets before selling one plot of land. He was built in 1796 and features pennies into his open book. Legend has required that fences, hedges and plant- Romanesque) arches and many, original it that if the penny stays in the book, the ings not extend beyond the house lines Tiffany windows depicting the homes of lucky0 student/ will() pass his exams.('

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dressed up for arygle road the holidays - * f latbush town hall at 35 Road and Church Avenue. The neo- Roman bathtub. On the market for Snyder Avenue between Flatbush and French Renaissance house at 100 $26,500, it took three years to sell. Bedford Avenues is a Gothic-style was built in 1908 buckingham road 0 building erected in 1875 for use before ( by Arthur Harmon, architect+ of the . On Rugby Road near Church Flatbush became part of Brooklyn. Empire State Building. The Victorian Avenue, see the Spanish Mission style shingle house with the bell-capped house at and the Swiss ( . 0 94 rugby road + Dean Alvord created albemarle tower at 115 buckingham road was chalet at 100 rugby road that is as his main boulevard, with a built in 1900 for M. G. ()Gillette of razor currently(* painted blue and(- white. The road ) , / (' planted strip extending down the fame. The unusual house at 131 house at 101 rugby road achieved middle of the street. This strip, called ( buckingham road has+ Japanese-style fame. as the boarding house0 where ) the, Flatbush Malls, is lined/ with a details(' painted in contrasting shades Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline lived in mixture0 of pine and() oak trees, holly and was built by Dean Alvord as a the movie Sophie’s Choice. It was bushes, and other trees and shrubs, as promotion for his Prospect Park South painted pink for the filming. well as seasonal flowers that grace the development. “Oriental- style” was in )* , (' (. intersections. Albemarle Road also vogue among the upper(+ class of the late / (,The Colonial Revival house at boasts some outstanding houses. The 19th century, but usually just one room 136 stratford road near Turner Place * Queen- Anne white clapboard house at in a house was decorated this way. with a temple front was built in 1905. 1305(' albemarle(* road near Argyle Alvord advertised the house in Country ( . 0 ( Road+ was built in 1905 for. a Mr. Life+ 0 in America magazine. The 1903 On Argyle Road near Albemarle George Gale. It has a large two-story * advertisement emphasized- its “dainty” Road, see a good example(/ of Georgian portico with porches on either side and beauty but added it was “thoroughly architecture at 141 argyle() road and a (* (- has over 20 rooms. practical,” complete with a porcelain large Tudor house at 183 argyle road. ) (-, (. (/ ) , Further along Albemarle Road (' / (' ( ((+ (+ ./ () 0 (* (- near Marlborough Road, see the 0 () Colonial Revival house at 1440 albemarle road with a huge temple () (* (- 0 () front and Doric columns. The nearby (+ (, (. mansion, at near ) - 1510 albemarle* / road -(' * was built in 1900 and includes a conser- (. (/ (0 vatory and a stable. It was once owned 0 (+ () (, (. by Captain James P. McAllistor of the (' (* McAllister Brothers Tugboat Company. )' (+ (, (.(/ ('* (* - The streets crossing Albemarle Road have similarly eclectic and () (* (- beautiful houses. Consider the block of () (* (- (/(- (. (/ Buckingham Road between Albemarle ('(( buckingham(*(+ road D (. (/ the japanese house (-0 bigapplegreeter.org 3 victorian f latbush (/ ((0 (+() () () (* (- (. (/ (-(+ (, (. (( (+ (+ (, (. (. (/ (0 0 () (' (. (/ (0 )' (' (* (* (+ (, (. (/ )' (/ (. (/ (0

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() (* (- ( + *. 0 - 0 () mimi’s shopping along church0 avenue () hummus (. ) , (+ (, / (' the f latbush-tompkins When It’s Time to Eat mimi’s hummus at ( 0 + congregational. church at the farm on adderley at (+ 1209 Cortelyou Road(, near (. 424 E. 19th Street near Dorchester Road () 1108 Cortelyou Road(* between (- Westminster Road offers was(' built in 1900(* in the neo-Georgian Stratford and Westminster excellent hummus and Middle Eastern/ style. The churchyard includes a parish Roads was named after a street in Cape Israeli cuisine. house and a parsonage.(' (* Town, South Africa. (/ * ) - , / (' About Big Apple Greeter Founded in 1992, Big Apple Greet- 0 () This upscale er’s mission is to enhance New York City’s worldwide image Shopping restaurant features while enriching the city experience for its visitors. Connect- (/ fresh,(- seasonal (. (/ ing with business and leisure travelers from all over the US (( (+ and the world, Greeters take visitors on informal, unscripted the f latbush food cooperative ingredients(+ and (, walks(. through one or more neighborhoods in any of the five at 1415 Cortelyou Road near recently began (- (. boroughs, promote(/ tourism throughout the city, and help Marlborough Road is a(( community- (+ serving breakfast. visitors discover the ease of using public transportation. Over * - 300 volunteer Greeters speak collectively almost 25 languag- ()owned, full-service natural(* foods store There’s a nice garden es and enjoy giving their time and energy back to their home- (' (* specializing in organic products, (-in the back and children are welcome. town. Since its founding, Big Apple Greeter—a free public including cosmetics and toiletries. To To learn more, see their website at service—has welcomed over 90,000 visitors and been fea- (. (/ tured(0 in thousands of newspapers, magazines, and television learn more, see their website at http://www.thefarmonadderley.com. and radio(/ programs all over the world, reaching an audience 0 () http://www.flatbushfoodcoop.com. of over one billion potential visitors to New York City. Big at 1310 (. Apple Greeter is proud(/ to partner with(0 NYC & Company, the picket fence Metropolitan)' Transportation Authority and the Make-A-Wish (/ greeter’s() secret:(- (. (* Cortelyou Road(- between Foundation® of Metro New York. (( (+ The northbound platform of the Cortelyou Argyle and Rugby Roads (+ Road subway station is less(, than 600 feet (. About the Global Greeter)' Network Big Apple from the Beverley Road station platform. is a nice, casual choice that is open Greeter is proud to be part of the Global Greeter This is the shortest distance between seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Network, a voluntary association of welcoming stations in the entire subway system. To learn more, see their website programs around the world, all based on the Big 0 () It is possible for a full-length train Apple Greeter model: free and open to all visitors; offer greeter to successfully use both platforms for an at (' (* emergency exit withD the first car at http://www.picketfencebrooklyn. services as an individual or very small group experience (no one station and the last car at the other. com/51421_5619.asp. more than 6 visitors); and are characterized by enthusiastic, lo- (. (/ (0 cal residents who love their home city, love to meet people from (+ D(/ (, (. around the world, and volunteer to conduct these visits. The Global Greeter Network currently spans seven countries Culture on four continents and includes the following members: Cicero- (/ The Flatbush Development Corporation offers an annual)' nes de Buenos Aires in Argentina; Adelaide Greeters and Mel- (- (. bourne Greeter Service in Australia; Tap in TO! (Toronto) in (( (+ (' (* f latbush victorian house tour. To learn more, see their Canada; VisitBrighton Greeters and Kent Greeters in England; website at http://www.fdconline.org. It also sponsors the Flatbush Paris Greeter, Les Greeters de Nantes, Greeters62 (Pas-de-Cal- Frolic, an annual street fair that takes place along Cortelyou Road. ais), Lyon City Greeters and Marseille Provence Greeters in (/ France; Den Haag Greeters in the Netherlands; Big Apple Greet- To learn more, see the website at http://flatbushfrolic.org. er (New York City), Chicago Greeter, and Houston Greeters in D the United States. (- The(. free annual (/ lets you see f latbush artists studio tour You may learn more about Big Apple Greeter and (( (+ (. (/ artists(0 at work and buy artwork directly from the artist. To learn its many services on our website: more, see the website at http://www.flatbushartists.org. www.bigapplegreeter.org or by emailing us at [email protected] )' bigapplegreeter.org 4 victorian f latbush (. (/ (0

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