Transfer: Flatbush's Tarnished Diamonds

« Paris's Only Anti-Shimmy | Main | Feeders »

July 20, 2005

Flatbush's Tarnished Diamonds

Awhile back I opined about Flatbush Ave Brooklyn, in reference to a new building going up within the bounds of my specific chunk of interest: Atlantic Aves bisection and on up to the lovely - but utterly vehicle choked and virtually inaccesible - Grand Army Plaza.

I find it a slow incline (95 vertical ft according to the USGS) of joy - as varied topography always gets me. But more importantly, its how streets bisect the Ave diagnolly, creating a delighful variety of types, lots, styles, and vistas. Four small triangular parks, graced with gas lamps...

Two immensely graceful street clocks,

and a diversity of urban typologies are represented. Breifly freeing the mind of the real estate speculators infinitely divisible box. Relief from the oppressive New York grid. Meandering is a rare pleasure when you're on a circuit board, suffice to say that right angles tend to dull the mind in NYC. Avenues that greet varied grid schemes create a welcome respite. I also enjoy the way the Ave meets a certain social and racial cross section of BK, because as much as NYers loathe to admit, parts of residential NYC can be fairly segregated. There are lots of Ave's with astounding amounts of notable architectural variety - Washington Ave (btw Atlantic & Myrtle) in Clinton Hill is perhaps one of my all time favorites - but most don't serve as a commerical cooridors as well as the fact that many weren't originally built with middle incomes in mind. Which is not the case for Flatbush. Flatbush is also an artery of distinction, from the Manhattan Bridge, thru downtown, crossing Atlantic Ave and on up to Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park, Brooklyn Central Library, and the headwaters of Eastern Parkway. At the moment the commercial mix is compelling, as our unhealthy obsession with zoning still plagues huge swaths of American cities, something about this little incline bucks a bit of that. So, on with a selection of some of the notables that grace this cut of Flatbush Ave. Buildings like The Providence, Montauk, Lenox, and Prospect View.