A house on Rugby Road in the newly designated Beverley Square West development in October. Photo by Susan De Vries
Both districts, located in Flatbush, were unanimously designated in November by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, expanding protections for blocks south of Prospect Park that conservation advocates have long wanted to see designated. The new historic districts of Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West bring the total number of historic districts in the area to five.
Although local residents overwhelmingly supported the designations, many called for additional nearby blocks to be included, including Westminster and Stratford roads and parts of Beverley Road.
The only Brooklyn location that came closer to individual landmark status came late in the year, when a Boerum Hill School Building was scheduled by the committee in December. A hearing and vote on its designation will likely take place in the new year.
The year also brought changes within the commission, with LPC’s long-time chair Sarah Carroll and vice-chair Fred Bland stepping down and three new commissioners joining the group. Currently, LPC Vice Chair Angie Master chairs public meetings and the chair position remains unfilled.
The committee also considered some controversial redevelopment proposals later that year involving historic buildings in downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene.
Historic Districts of Beverly Square West and Ditmas Park West
The Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West historic districts were largely considered together, with hearings and votes taking place consecutively, given the areas’ proximity. Locals have long called for an expansion of the landmarks in the area south of Prospect Park, which already included three historic districts.
The designated one Historic District of Beverly Square West includes 118 houses built between 1894 and 1910 on three tree-lined blocks between Beverley Road and Cortelyou Road. Nearly all were designed by prominent Brooklyn architects such as John J. Petit, John B. Slee and Benjamin Driesler, Herman said.
The Ditmas Park West Historic District contains 127 homes built mostly between 1902 and 1910, just west of the Ditmas Park Historic District. Nearly half were designed by Arlington D. Isham. Both districts feature distinctive early 20th century homes built as Flatbush shifted from farmland to early suburbia — and homes in both districts are largely Queen Anne, Colonial Revival or Shingle Style, Herman said.
At the public hearing on the designation in October, 35 speakers supported the designation and most urged adding nearby blocks, including Westminster and Stratford roads and parts of Beverley Road. While all commissioners supported the proposal, two commissioners questioned why the districts could not be expanded as many local residents had requested.
LPC Research Director Margaret Herman told commissioners before the vote that LPC staff had repeatedly surveyed the area for nearly two decades. Those assessments found that the areas proposed by local residents lacked sufficient integrity to be designated, although she said smaller portions could be considered in the future.
“Research staff found that today’s proposed boundaries contain the highest quality architecture and most coherent streetscapes not yet designated in Victorian Flatbush,” Herman said. “Together, the two proposed neighborhoods stand out from the surrounding blocks and best represent the development history and significant architecture of the neighborhood.”
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