The Brooklyn Encyclopedia

Landmarks & Architecture

The architectural and cultural heritage of Brooklyn

A complete history of Brooklyn's landmarks and historic districts, from Dutch farmhouses to movie palaces. It explains how the Landmarks Preservation Commission works and how community activism saved places like Weeksville.

10 chapters
27 min read
3 tables
78 sources
Updated Friday, October 9

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Introduction and Legal FrameworkBrooklyn's built heritage is protected by the Landmarks Preservation Commission under a 1965 law whose first designations were in Brooklyn.3 min read
Dutch Farmhouses and Colonial SurvivorsBefore the city existed, Dutch farming towns left a handful of rare houses, led by the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House.3 min read
Civic Monuments of the Independent CityFrom Borough Hall to Carnegie libraries and firehouses, civic architecture expressed the ambitions of independent Brooklyn.3 min read
Residential Historic DistrictsBrooklyn's historic districts fall into three broad types: the Brownstone Belt, Victorian Flatbush and industrial or working-class enclaves.1 min read
Crown Heights North: Phased PreservationCrown Heights North was protected in three phases, a case study in how the LPC handles a very large and complex neighborhood.2 min read
Parkways and Public MonumentsOlmsted and Vaux's parkways and the monuments at their ends gave Brooklyn green order and civic art.4 min read
Industrial Waterfront and Adaptive ReuseBrooklyn's factories, terminals and power stations are now landmarks, many of them given new life.4 min read
Grassroots Preservation and African American HeritageCommunity activists saved Weeksville and a Bedford-Stuyvesant magnolia, two of the borough's most remarkable preservation victories.4 min read
Banks, Churches and TheatersBanking temples, churches and movie palaces, from the Dime Savings Bank to the Kings Theatre and the Cyclone, are among Brooklyn's landmarks.3 min read
ConclusionSaving a building or a tree in Brooklyn has almost always been the result of fierce advocacy.1 min read

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