Clinton Hill Historic District
Why it's listed
Clinton Hill is a residential neighborhood in north-central Brooklyn, and its historic district takes in thirty-two blocks and 1120 buildings, of which 1063 are contributing. Development began in the 1840s with suburban villas and continued through about 1930. The result is a catalogue of American domestic architecture: Greek Revival pairs on Waverly Avenue, Italianate and Second Empire row houses and mansions, neo-Grec rows by Amzi Hill, Romanesque Revival houses by Montrose Morris and William Tubby, Queen Anne mansions, and Beaux-Arts and Colonial Revival designs. Apartment buildings appeared from the late 1880s. The district also contains five churches, including Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Adelphi Academy building on Clifton Place, and one of the city's largest concentrations of private carriage houses and stables. Construction nearly ceased after the 1930s Depression, so the streetscapes remain largely intact. That variety of building types and styles, together with its good preservation, is the basis for the listing.
Significance in brief: The district holds a large, well-preserved collection of mansions, row houses, apartment buildings, churches, schools and carriage houses. Together they illustrate successive architectural styles from Greek Revival and Italianate through Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, Beaux-Arts and Colonial Revival. Construction largely stopped during the Depression, so the historic character survives to a large degree.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85001335, listed June 19, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Willoughby and Grand Aves., Fulton St. and Vanderbilt Ave., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Brooklyn |
| Listed | June 19, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001335 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Various, including Ebenezer L. Roberts, Amzi Hill, Montrose Morris, William Tubby, Mercein Thomas, Slee & Bryson, Francis H. Kimball, Charles Haight and George P. Chappell |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, neo-Grec, Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, Beaux-Arts, Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mostly occupied residential area; 76 intrusions are noted among the 1120 buildings, and the district is described as retaining its historical architectural character to a large degree. |
| Acreage | 100 |
| Coordinates | 40.68716, -73.96249 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85001335.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5134149
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.