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A visit to Brownstone Brooklyn--a band of gentrified/fying neighborhoods featuring row houses and major institutions--introduces you to the history, architecture, landscape, and lore of this fascinating borough. (Note: this is not a tour of house interiors. See the FAQ for info on the rare opportunities to go inside houses.
We meet in the area of Brooklyn's magnificent Grand Army Plaza, the psychic center of Brooklyn. We visit Prospect Park, considered more magnificent than Olmsted & Vaux's Central Park. We then explore the mansions and row houses (right) of liberal, literary Park Slope, Brooklyn's old Gold Coast. We will pass but not go inside (except on rare occasions) buildings like the magnificant Montauk Club, (below).
We subway to the institutional heart of Brooklyn, home of Borough Hall and look around part of Downtown Brooklyn. From there, we stroll through Brooklyn Heights, the city's first historic district and visit the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, with glorious views of the Manhattan skyline.
After a look at Brooklyn's most famous church, we end at Fulton Ferry, where there are numerous options for refreshments, including the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Grimaldi's Pizzeria (coal-fired brick oven!), and Jacques Torres Chocolate. | | Tours last 2.5 hours. $15/person
Some Saturdays: usually 1:30 p.m. (Mar.-Nov.), but check Schedule page to be sure. Meet outside the main entrance of the Brooklyn Public Library Central Library, Grand Army Plaza. The library is situated on a wedge of land between two main roads: Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway.
To get there, take the 2/3 train to Grand Army Plaza, walk around plaza, or Q to 7th Avenue, walk up Flatbush and around plaza. On Saturdays, there's a terrific year-round Greenmarket at the plaza. |
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