Crown Heights was on the Border of the original Towns of Brooklyn and Flatbush. That’s why there is a line near Montgomery Street on many of the older Brooklyn maps. It is often labeled as the ‘City Line.’
Here are a few interesting maps that provide some insight into the development of Crown Heights’s road and sewer infrastructure.
Often times when you live in an area all your life you don’t notice certain things because you’re so used to them. For example, most people think that Eastern Parkway is the highest point in Crown Heights because it’s “The Parkway”, but the reality is that President Street is the highest point, and you actually walk down hill to Eastern Parkway.
The Eastern Parkway Branch Library, located at 1044 Eastern Parkway, was designed by Raymond Almirall and built with funds donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The branch opened on July 7, 1914 and has been renovated in 1951, 1969, 1975 & 2016.
There’s an interesting history to the property now used by Bais Rivkah at 310 Crown Street. From its time as a Co-ed Yeshiva to when a Crown Heights Rov arranged for Bais Rivkah’s purchase, the history is fascinating.
Built between 1870 and 1874, Eastern Parkway is the world’s first parkway to be built explicitly for personal and recreational traffic while restricting commercial traffic. This is its majestic history.
The house was built by Henry Roth between 1900-1910. Henry Roth was a prolific developer in Crown Heights and was from German Jewish decent. Not much has changed in the house except that they took down the front porch.
It’s something people wonder on certain blocks in Crown Heights. Why amidst the consistent rows of houses will you suddenly see a more uniquely built house?
What we know today as Crown Heights was once the edge of the city of Brooklyn. Known as the Bedford Area with Crow Hill as the name of these sloping hills. Here are some maps from the revolutionary war and the late 1800s and early 1900s.
1304 President Street is a well know address in Crown Heights being the home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Purchased in 1958 By Merkoz Linyonei Chinuch, a subsidiary of Vaad Agudas Chasidei Chabad. Here is its History.
According to the 1898 grid, what today is Clove Road was suppose to become Canarsie Avenue and extend down until Clarkson. It’s anyone’s guess why that road plan was abandoned.
This segment in the series on Crown Heights History has been released for the Anniversary of the establishment of Oholei Torah on the 19 Teves 1956. From The Brooklyn Jewish Center to Oholei Torah
Specifically during the turbulent transition years of the later 60s early 70s the Lubavitch community decided to stay in Crown Heights and diligently worked towards keeping the synagogues in Jewish hands. One such synagogue was a Vishnitz shul located on 680 Montgomery right off Kingston Ave.
In this 1940 picture you can imagine a beautiful mansion were Dr. Berman lived, with his family, and saw his patients downstairs. Along comes a Chabad organization Machneh Yisroel run by Rabbi Leibel Alevsky, and he wanted to to buy the building for “offices” and “programs”.
When the Chabad Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway purchased the two adjacent buildings in the 1960s, they expanded the main synagogue until Kingston Ave. This expansion took out the five street level stores.
This series on Crown Heights History has been compiled by @crownheightshistory, a born and raised Crown Heightser, and shows some of the ongoing research taking place.
This series on Crown Heights History has been compiled by @crownheightshistory, a born and raised Crown Heightser, and shows some of the ongoing research taking place.
