Fort Greene Historic District

NEW YORK LANDMARKS PRESERVATION FOUNDATION

FORT GREENE HISTORIC DISTRICT

 

FORT GREENE IS A NEIGHBORHOOD WITH UNUSUALLY CONSISTENT 19TH CENTURY DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPED PRINCIPALLY IN THE SHORT SPAN BETWEEN 1855 AND 1875. FORT GREENE PARK WAS CREATED IN 1848 AT THE INSTIGATION OF POET WALT WHITMAN, WHO WAS THEN EDITOR OF THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE NEWSPAPER. IT WAS REDESIGNED IN 1867 BY FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED AND CALVERT VAUX, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS OF CENTRAL PARK AND PROSPECT PARK. THE PARK CONTAINS THE PRISON SHIP "MARTYRS' MONUMENT AND THE SYMBOLIC TOMB OF 11,500 MEN WHO DIED IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ON BRITISH PRISON SHIPS ANCHORED NEARBY.