LPC Approves Expansion of Park Slope Historic District

April 17, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Compiled by Linda Collins

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

MANHATTAN — The expansion of the Park Slope Historic District to include 600 additional buildings was approved by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Wednesday in Manhattan.

The vote, which was unanimous, according to Elisabeth de Bourbon, press secretary for the LPC, makes the newly extended district “the largest contiguous swath of protected buildings in the borough, with 2,575 buildings, and in the city.”

The extension opens out the Park Slope Historic District to the west and south, encompassing areas between Seventh and 15th streets and Eighth and Seventh avenues, and along 14th, 15th and part of 16th streets from Prospect Park West to 8th Avenue. It also includes three buildings on Prospect Park West between Ninth and 10th streets. 466 to 480 Ninth St.

The original historic district was created in 1973 and includes 1,975 buildings. It is Brooklyn’s largest historic district, and the city’s third largest, according to LPC Chairman Robert Tierney.

“The extension retains a remarkable degree of cohesion because of its architectural integrity and diversity of 19th- and early-20th-century architectural styles,” said Tierney. “These extraordinary characteristics set it apart from every other neighborhood in New York City, giving it a special sense of place.”

The following are excerpts from the approval document sent to the Eagle yesterday:

“The additional buildings were mostly completed by 1910 and designed in a variety of architectural styles. The earliest free-standing structures, two Italianate-style houses at 457 12th St. and 565 11th St. were built prior to 1869. The earliest row houses, also designed in the Italianate-style, at 453 to 459 Ninth St., were constructed between 1869 and 1875.

“The most popular architectural style in the extension is the simpler neo-Grec style. More than 200 row houses and apartment buildings are designed in this style.

“Other well-represented architectural styles in the district’s row houses include the Renaissance Revival style, including 516 to 524 Ninth Street, circa-1903 designed by the prolific Brooklyn architect Axel Hedman, and the Queen Anne style, including 466 to 480 Ninth St., circa-1882, by the architect L. Pearson.

“The buildings that were constructed in the early 20th century also were designed in styles that were popular at the time, such as the Colonial Revival, neo-Classical, Medieval Revival and Art Deco styles. Two examples include 145 Prospect Park West and 150 Prospect Park West.”

According to Tierney, a number of noteworthy institutional and commercial buildings are also included in the extension, such as Ladder Company 122, circa-1883, designed by Francis D. Norris in the Gothic Revival style; and its later neighbor, Fire Engine Company 220, circa-1906, designed by the prominent Brooklyn architect Walter E. Parfitt in the Beaux Arts style. Another is the former Congregation Tifereth Israel, circa-1925–27, designed in the Romanesque Revival style by architect Allen A. Blaustein.