Prospect Park South is a small neighborhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, located south of Prospect Park. It is included within the Prospect Park South Historic District, which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Prospect Park South, along with other neighborhoods within Flatbush, is policed by the 70th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.

History

In 1899, developer Dean Alvord purchased about of farmland in order to create Prospect Park South, a community of substantial homes, a "rural park within the limitations of the conventional city block and city street."

thumb|200px|Gatepost at Church Avenue & Buckingham Road. Gateposts such as this mark many of the entrances to streets in the historic district.

Once he had purchased the land, Alvord laid out all the necessary utilities and marked the entrance of most streets with brick piers with cast concrete plaques bearing the bas-relief inscription "PPS". He also hired John Aitkin, a Scottish landscape gardener, to supervise the plantings for the lawns and the Flatbush Malls, with meticulous attention given to details. Trees, for instance, were not planted only along the curb line, but also at the building line as well, to give the streets greater breadth of vision, to block out adjoining houses, and provide the illusion that each house was the only one on the block. Both Norway maples and Carolina poplars were used: the poplars for immediate shade, and the slower-growing maples for long-term shade. Alvord did all this before selling a single plot.

Alvord wanted to create an environment that attracted the Protestant, wealthy elite while excluding the immigrant population moving into Brooklyn at the time. In his original prospectus, Alvord wrote:

<blockquote>In fixing upon a location for a home, it is pleasant to live where children, in going to and fro, are not subject to the annoyance of contact with the undesirable elements of society. The Flatbush Avenue trolley line penetrates no slum sections and is patronized almost exclusively by people of intelligence and good breeding.</blockquote>

While not the first attempt at suburban development in the area, Alvord's vision excited the interest of the wealthy of Brooklyn Heights and Manhattan residents. Ultimately, Alvord's restrictions not only created an exciting new design but a standard to become a blueprint for the modern suburb. Enthusiasm for his design in following years would see South Midwood, Fiske Terrace, Ditmas Park, the Beverley Squares, and many more developments spring up in the surrounding area to accommodate the demand, together forming what is now known as Victorian Flatbush.

In 1972, New York's Albanian community established a mosque at 1325 Albemarle Road.

Prospect Park South was designated as a historic district by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979.

Notable houses

The Alvord Mansion at 1522 Albemarle Road was built by Alvord for his family. Later, it was purchased by Israel Matz, founder of the Ex-lax Company. The Alvord Mansion burned down c.1955 under mysterious conditions after its sale by the Matz family to apartment developers fell through in the face of community opposition.

Among the other notable houses in the neighborhood are:

  • Herman Goetze House, 15 Stratford Road, 1905, Colonial Revival, George Hitchings
  • Herbert Krantz House, 183 Argyle Road, 1904, Tudor Revival, John J. Petit
  • Russell Benedict House, 104 Buckingham Road, 1902, Classical Revival, Carroll H. Pratt

<div align=center><gallery widths="225" heights="200">

File:1440 Albemarle Road Prospect Park South.jpg|1440 Albemarle Road<br>(Bill Bryson & Carroll Pratt, 1905)

File:1314 Albemarle Road Prospect Park South.jpg|1314 Albemarle Road<br>(Carroll Pratt, 1903)

File:131 Buckingham Rd jeh crop.jpg|131 Buckingham Road<br>(Petit & Green, 1902–03)

File:1510 Albemarle Road Prospect Park South.jpg|1510 Abermarle Road<br>(John J. Petit, 1900)

File:100RugbyBrooklyn.jpg|100 Rugby Road (John J. Petit, 1905)

File:136ArgyleBrooklyn.jpg|136 Argyle Road (Carroll Pratt, 1903)

</gallery></div>

See also

  • List of Brooklyn neighborhoods
  • List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Gunnison, Herbert Foster "Flatbush To-day", S.N. 1908, held by Harvard Library
  • Ditmas Park article in New York magazine
  • . Retrieved 2008-04-24.