This castle-like structure in the heart of Brooklyn served as an armory for the Twenty-Third Regiment of the New York State Militia and was built from 1891 to 1895. The brick and brownstone armory takes up much of the block between Atlantic and Pacific Avenues and became a New York City landmark in 1977 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The building has been used as a homeless shelter since the 1980s and has acquired the nickname "Castle Greyskull." The City of New York restored the structure in 2003. Alternate future uses were proposed in 2012, including use as an ice-skating rink, climbing facility, or concert hall.
The five-story brick building with the multistory brownstone arches at 1200 Pacific St. is The Bedfordshire, an apartment building constructed in 1891. Montrose W. Morris designed the Romanesque Revival style building which helped to house the rapidly increasing population of Brooklyn in the late nineteenth century. The Bedfordshire is part of a neighborhood of hundreds of buildings south of Atlantic Ave./ north of Eastern Parkway/ east of Bedford Ave. that was designated the Crown Heights North National Register Historic District in 2014. The building still holds ten residential units that are now condominiums.
The Imperial Apartments, once considered one of the most imposing apartments buildings in Brooklyn, was built in 1892. It was one of three impressive apartment buildings built by developer Louis Seitz and designed by Montrose Morris. The buildings were part of a wave of new construction in Brooklyn following the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Imperial sat empty for a number of years but was renovated in 2006. It is now a New York City Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Two buildings remain from what was once Nassau Brewing Company, just east of the elevated viaduct. One spans Bergen Street from the northwest corner with Franklin Avenue and was constructed from the corner (947-949 Bergen) to the west in four phases, from the mid-1860s to the 1880s. The second building (1024 Dean St.) was added in the 1880s, connected to the rear of the 1880s Bergen St. addition. Both buildings together formed an L shape by the 1880s. Beer brewing attracted many German immigrants to Brooklyn in the second half of the nineteenth century. Nassua Brewing Company closed in 1916. The first building (A on map) and the 1860s (B) and 1870s (C) additions along Bergen St. are vacant. The 1880s addition on Bergen St. and the Dean St. building (D and E) were rehabilitated in the 2000s to hold offices and residential condominiums.
The Brooklyn Children's Museum, founded in 1899, is one of the first museums of its kind and the only one in New York City. It's educational programs, which explore cultures, arts, science and the environment, are geared toward students from preschool to high school. It is one of the few children's museums to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is also one of the few children's museum to have its own permanent collection of man-made artifacts and natural history specimens.
The synagogue on 770 Eastern Parkway, Crown Heights, Brooklyn may seem unassuming when judged on its outward appearance alone. However, the apparently plain neo-Gothic style building is the headquarters of the Congregation Lubavitch of Agudas Chasidei Chabad. Lubavitch Chassidim has grown from its isolationist tendencies at the beginning of the 20th century to become one of the most globally recognized and influential Jewish movements. This growth is largely due to the efforts of their Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), a man that many in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement believe to have been, or will yet become, the Jewish Messiah.
The largest Jewish-themed children’s museum in the United States is the Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn. It showcases Jewish history and heritage in a hands-on, interactive environment. It is open to everyone. The museum opened in 2004 and has hosted numerous celebrity visitors. The museum is dedicated to the memory of Ari Halberstam, a teenager who was gunned down on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994 in the wake of Crown Heights race riots. His mother, Devorah, was instrumental in the creation of the museum to honor her son’s legacy and his love of his own heritage. The museum is dedicated to teaching tolerance to all children so that we can live in a peaceful society.
During the 1920s, hundreds of plaques were dedicated alongside trees that were planted along Eastern Parkway. These trees and plaques each honored one Brooklyn resident who had lost his life during the Great War, known today as World War I. The plaques contained the soldiers name and information about their service. As a century has passed, many of these plaques have been stolen or destroyed and some of the trees have been removed by the city.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour of Crown Heights history starts at a former armory and leads to apartment buildings, a 19th-early 20th c. brewery, two museums (Brooklyn Children's & Jewish Children's), and a synagogue. You'll end at street trees plus plaques along Eastern Ave. honoring the end of World War I.
