Amid the recent dispiriting news, April offers one bright note. It marks the anniversary of the Landmark Preservation Commission’s designation of two extensions to the Park Slope Historic District. Together, they have preserved 1,000 buildings, in addition to the 1,800 buildings in the original 1973 district.
In the first extension, on April 17, 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission protected nearly 600 buildings (read more here) that spanned the area largely between 7th and 15th Streets and between 7th and 8th Avenues. Among the significant buildings found in this extension are the Nitehawk Theater and former factory complex and homes built to serve the Ansonia Clockworks.
The second extension (read more here), designated on April 12, 2016, encompassed 292 buildings in the North Slope, including buildings from the Civil War period. In its report, the LPC wrote that:
“the Park Slope neighborhood, including all three Park Slope historic districts, remains one of Brooklyn’s most architecturally distinguished areas, retaining some of the borough’s most beautiful and well-preserved residential streets, featuring a broad array of outstanding residential, institutional and ecclesiastical architecture. The neighborhood retains its cohesiveness due to the tree-lined streets, consistent scale, predominantly residential character, and its architectural integrity.”
The three historic districts did not simply happen. They took years of organizing by volunteers of the Park Slope Civic Council. Today, these efforts continue. With the support of the Historic District Council’s Six to Celebrate program, the Civic Council has launched a campaign to extend landmarking to more than 1,500 buildings in the Center Slope.
For more information, please contact: historic.district@parkslopeciviccouncil.org
Peter Bray, Chair
Historic District Committee