1027 Flatbush Ave
1920
Harrison G. Wiseman
The Albermarle Theater opened in 1920, hosting vaudeville shows and motion pictures. Above the auditorium there was a grand banquet hall, with an entrance on the side.
Although it wasn’t initially considered a success, the theater became a neighborhood staple and remained in operation until a fire partially damaged the structure in 1984. After being closed for several years, the building was purchased by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and presently serves as their Kingdom Hall.
The main façade has a central bay with terra cotta cladding and flanking bays in red brick. Carved ornamentations, also in terra cotta, frame window openings and divide the second and third floors, as well as the pediment marking the entrance. The building is capped by a Doric cornice, and at each corner there’s a double-height pilaster. Most of the ground openings have been sealed, with the exception of the entrances on Flatbush Avenue and Albemarle Road.
2273 Church Ave
1936
Lorimer Rich
This two-story brick structure evokes the form of an idealized residence from the colonial period, making it a more academic example of Colonial Revival than most 1930s post offices in New York state, which had a more stylized manner. It features modest ornamentation, with the main entrance marked by a large limestone panel with the name of the post office inscribed in Colonial style script. The interior is laid out in a utilitarian manner, with a rectangular lobby and no ceremonial spaces. It maintains the original terrazzo floors and a few of the marble panels on the lower part of the walls.
It was one of seven postal stations commissioned to Lorimer Rich as part of the “New Deal” program, created by the federal government to promote economic recovery after the Great Depression. Rich was best known for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. It was listed on the National Register in 1988.
2286 Church Ave
ca. 1750s-1850s
Until the 19th century, Flatbush was mostly a rural area devoted to agriculture, with Dutch settlers relying on enslaved Black laborers to work their land. Family cemeteries on these farms are known to have had separate burial sites for these workers, but their location was often excluded from records and obscured.
Information about the existence of a burial ground in the area was provided in 1810 by the publication of an obituary for a Black woman named Eve, as well as on a map from 1855. Local historians also mention the relocation of remains when Bedford Avenue was laid out in 1865.
In 1878, this site became the location for the Flatbush District School No.1, later P.S. 90. Reports noted the discovery of human remains during construction work in 1890 and in 1904. In 2001, archaeological excavations validated these findings, although no graves could be identified. The school building was demolished in 2015 due to its deterioration, and ever since the community has been actively working towards memorializing the history of the site, while also protecting it from being developed.
2530 Church Avenue
1872 church
ca. 1900-1915 rectory, school & convent
The Holy Cross parish was established in 1845 and was the first to serve the growing Catholic population of Flatbush.
As numbers increased, by the second half of the 19th century the congregation had outgrown the wood frame structure they had built at the corner of Veronica Place (then Prospect Street) and Erasmus Street, and plans began for a new building.
In 1871 they purchased an adjacent lot on Church Avenue and began the construction of this Gothic Revival structure. Under the leadership of Father James Doherty, the former church was converted into a parochial school for girls, and a rectory and convent were added.
In 1883, Father J. T. Woods took over as head of the congregation and began
an extensive renovation and expansion project. By the early 1900s, the church complex
included the Holy Cross RC School and a new rectory, with a new brick building for the
Convent. A new hall was also erected, replacing the former church. Around 1915, another
school building was added to the group.
Today, Holy Cross has adapted to the changing demographics by offering services in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and English. They maintain a strong community presence through their educational role, while also providing services such as food pantry and after-school programs.
336 3rd St.
ca. 1699, rebuilt in 1935
Located just outside the boundaries of the Center Slope, in Washington Park, the Old Stone House is a reconstruction of the 1699 Vechte-Cortelyou House, built on land taken from the Lenape Indians as early as 1639. The Vechte family came from the Netherlands in 1670 and purchased lands along what would become the Gowanus canal. Hendrick Claessen Vechte served as a Justice of the Peace for Brooklyn and commissioned the Old Stone House in 1699. He and his family lived at the farm until after the Revolutionary War, when they sold it to the Cortelyou family.
The grounds were also the culminating site of The Battle of Brooklyn, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War. It was the first military engagement following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, and its outcome was the seven-year occupation of Brooklyn and Manhattan by the British. Washington and his army, however, weren’t captured and withdrew across the East River to continue to fight, and eventually, win the war.
The Old Stone House was also the original clubhouse of the team that became the Brooklyn Dodgers when they played at Washington Park, now Washington Park/JJ Byrne Playground. The ball park was built on swampy ground located near the shore of a mill pond and the Gowanus Creek. By 1910, the Old Stone House had fallen into disrepair and was gradually buried under 15-ft of landfill. As part of Robert Moses’ ambitious playground construction program, the site of the “Old Gowanus House” was redesigned as the JJ Byrne Playground, wich opened in 1935.
Today, the Old Stone House and Washington Park are part of the Historic House Trust of New York City, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
799-809 Union St
1894
Robert Dixon
Built by noted Park Slope developer Louis Bonert, and sold by real estate broker John Pullman, these 6 four-story brick structures are great examples of Renaissance Revival style buildings.
They were designed by Robert Dixon, a native Brooklyn resident who established his own practice in 1879 and designed a significant number of public, commercial, and residential buildings throughout the city. In Park Slope, Dixon was responsible for much of the development on the west side of 6th Avenue in the 1870s, and of many of the houses on Lincoln Place between 6th and 7th Avenues. He would continue working in other areas of the neighborhood up to the mid-1890s, showcasing different architectural styles.
759 President St.
1883-84, additions from 1902 and 1930s
R. B. Eastman
Alexander J. C. Skene came from the UK to study medicine in the US, graduating from the Long Island School of Medicine in 1863. He served as a doctor for the Union Army during the Civil War and later focused on the relatively new field of gynecology and women’s medicine, where he was widely recognized for his work and extensive research.
In 1884, he and Dr. William Thalon opened a private sanitarium in Park Slope, with state-of-the-art equipment, catering to wealthy private patients. He would later also open a hospital for “self-supporting women.” Due to the success of his model, in 1891 Dr. Skene purchased several adjacent plots of land in order to build an addition and expand the grounds. After his passing in 1900, his plans were carried out by a Board, and a new wing was completed by 1902.
In 1924, the Sanitarium was sold to Samaritan Hospital, which built another wing in the Art Deco style and continued its operation until 1950 at least. However, records show the building being converted for residential use in 1980. It currently has 32 apartments, featuring balconies that highlight where the wings join, and a gated garden at the entrance.
703-719 Carroll St.
1898
Jeremiah Gilligan
This row of 8 four-story, 8-family apartment buildings is bounded by two historic churches, St. Francis Xavier to the northwest, and the Old First Dutch Reformed Church to the southeast, resulting in a streetscape that encapsulates the uniqueness of the Center Slope. It’s also representative of a time when multiple dwellings were gaining favor among developers due to increases in the population and property values in greater New York.
Built and designed by J.J. Gilligan, a prolific Brooklyn mason and carpenter, these Renaissance Revival style brick structures feature full stone enframements with subdued classical ornament concentrated around the door. The carved stone stoops highlight a recessed central core with the main entry, flanked by slightly projected concave bays, and an iron cornice with Renaissance-inspired ornament.
Other works by Gilligan can be found within the Park Slope Historic District and in the Prospect Heights Historic District.
225 6th Ave
1900-04
Thomas Houghton
Founded in 1886 by Rev. David J. Hickey, St. Francis Xavier began offering services at the parlor of a brownstone on the corner of Carroll Street and 6th Avenue. Their first church was built by the end of that year and was dubbed the “tin church” after its galvanized metal sheathing. The structure, however, soon became too small for the needs of the growing parish, and plans began for a new permanent building. The old church was moved to President Street, where it still stands, having served for well over 100 years now as the parish Lyceum, a center for youth activities, sports, and other activities.
The new church was dedicated in 1904, featuring a Gothic Revival style, and constructed of granite trimmed with Indiana limestone. The house at 243 6th Avenue still stands and is the home of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who serve in the parish and school. The Sisters were later joined by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn.
86-94 Garfield Place
1892
Philemon Tillion
This group of 5 two-story Romanesque Revival rowhouses were built by Theodore P. Cooper with designs by British architect P. Tillion, who established his practice in Brooklyn in 1880, before moving to Manhattan in 1905. Tillion’s early work includes rowhouses in the Greenpoint Historic District and this group in the Center Slope. Most of his known work, however, was done after his sons Philip and Clement joined the firm. Some examples are the additions to the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory and the Masonic Temple and the Home for the Blind in Greenpoint, and the Trinity Baptist Church on New York Avenue in Crown Heights.
All five houses are brownstone-faced, featuring a mixture of rough-cut, smooth and undulating stone. Carved ornaments include quoins around the upper windows, a stone bar bisecting the stained-glass transoms from the elements below, and decorated cornices. All of these elements make it a cohesive group, while at the same time giving each house their own individuality.
