Fort Greene Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Fort Greene Historic District; Williamsburgh Savings
Why it's listed
This 1984 expansion of the Fort Greene Historic District in Brooklyn adds 379 buildings in three sections to the north, west and south of the original district. Most are row houses, and a larger share are brick-fronted than in the original district because they date to the earliest building period. The oldest houses, from the 1850s and 1860s, show the shift from Greek Revival to Italianate design, and later rows include Anglo-Italianate, French Second Empire and Neo-Grec examples. Later apartment houses, an artist's studio building for Charles Pratt, and early twentieth-century construction show the neighborhood continued to grow. Fulton Street contributes mixed-use buildings, including rare cast-iron fronts of 1882. Churches, clubs and schools reflect the area's prosperity, and three large landmarks stand within it: the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, Brooklyn Technical High School and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The area was added because research showed the historic neighborhood extended beyond the first boundary.
Significance in brief: The expansion area was found to be historically part of the Fort Greene neighborhood and to contain the same kinds of buildings as the original district. It holds some of the earliest development in the neighborhood, from the 1850s and 1860s, along with later construction showing continued growth into the early twentieth century. It also includes rare cast-iron commercial fronts and major institutions such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
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 84002451, listed September 7, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Ashland Pl., DeKalb Ave., Hanson Pl., and Oxford St., Adelphi, Vanderbilt and Myrtle Aves., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Brooklyn |
| Listed | September 7, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002451 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Various, including William Tubby, Lamb & Rich, Lawton & Field, Herts & Tallant, Charles A. Snedecker, Laurence B. Valk, Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker, and builders such as Peter Donlon, Daniel Bonnett, Effingham Nichols and Henry Alexander |
| Architectural style | Italianate row houses predominate, with Greek Revival transitional, Anglo-Italianate, French Second Empire, Neo-Grec, Romanesque Revival, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Gothic buildings |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Of 379 buildings in the expansion, 33 are non-contributing; some are altered, and a few vacant lots exist. Condition is marked as ranging from excellent to deteriorated. |
| Acreage | 137 |
| Coordinates | 40.69332, -73.97405 (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 84002451.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5471252
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.