THE MARTINIQUE

163-169 Eastern Parkway
1915-16
Clarence L. Sefert

This was the first building built on the north side of Eastern Parkway between the plaza and Washington Avenue, standing in isolation amid open lots across the parkway from the Brooklyn Museum. Its all-limestone façade signified a luxury building, setting the tone for the development that followed. The building’s name may be seen as prophetic: When it was built, there were few if any Caribbean immigrants in the neighborhood. In later years, many immigrants from Martinique would call the neighborhood home.

Ads at the time highlighted the location of this apartment building as unsurpassed, “at the highest point in Brooklyn,” “directly opposite the Museum of Arts,” close to Prospect Park. Transit facilities consisted of four car lines, with the new subway station at the corner. Architect Clarence L. Sefert designed the similar, though less elaborate and less expensive, 1040 Park Place (ca. 1915), located in the Crown Heights North Historic District. He also designed the lovely Colonial Revival carriage house (1903) at 5220 Sycamore Avenue in the Riverdale Historic District in The Bronx.

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