Boerum Hill, July 12, 2008

Buddy 50 Windowbox, 381 Pacific Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Buddy 50 Windowbox, 381 Pacific Street, Brooklyn

The Green With Envy Tour One of community gardens last Saturday was a walking tour. Lots, and lots, of walking, Five hours of walking interspersed by standing around, and occasionally sitting, in the beautiful gardens.

It was also a street-side introduction to Boerum Hill, a neighborhood with which I’m not familiar. Here’s some things which caught my eye, including some gardens which were not officially on the tour.

“Flags” (T-shirts, actually), 485 Pacific Street
Fire escape flags, 485 Pacific Street, Brooklyn

Gardens, North Pacific Playground, Boerum Hill
Gardens, North Pacific Playground
Echinacea, North Pacific Playground

At first glance this building seems out of place, but take a closer look. The brick and wood relate to the dominant materials on the block. The detailed brick lintel across the width of the ground floor echoes details of its neighbors. The windows reflect the street trees and sky.

377 Pacific Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Fellow Flickrites luluinnyc and mayotic and I were all intrigued by this unusual building at 385 Pacific Street.

Cuyler Church, 358 Pacific Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
Cuyler Church, 358 Pacific Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

The frieze above the door – I thought it was a wood carving, but on closer inspection it could be terra-cotta – reads “Cuyler Church.”
Detail, Cuyler Church, 358 Pacific Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

It really was built as a church building. It has a fascinating history. It served an “immigrant” community of Mohawk ironworkers and their families that settled in this neighborhood starting in the 1930s. In Spring 2001 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The former Cuyler Presbyterian Church is located in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of northwestern Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Designed by Staten Island architect Edward A. Sargent, the building is an example of High Victorian Eclectic design with elements of both Gothic and Romanesque styles of architecture. The Cuyler Presbyterian Church began as an extension of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church to support its growing programs. The chapel was built one-half mile away from the Lafayette Church in the North Gowanus neighborhood (now called Boerum Hill).
Cuyler Presbyterian Church

Here’s GRDN, a gardening store in Boerum Hill which I’ve been wanting to visit. It’s on the same block as the Hoyt Street Community Garden, but time did not allow me anything but the briefest entry into the front of the shop. I drooled over the hand-thrown Guy Wolfe pots. I want to go back.
GRDN, 103 Hoyt Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
GRDN, 103 Hoyt Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Another beautiful building, this is the Brooklyn Inn, a local watering hole since the mid-1800s, at 148 Hoyt Street.
The Brooklyn Inn, 148 Hoyt Street, Boerum Hill

Rubbernecking at the Gowanus Community Garden, only time to admire it as we walked by.
Gowanus Community Garden

Another lovely windowbox, this one at 218 Bergen Street.
Windowbox, 218 Bergen Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Finally, here’s a different view of the Buddy 50 scooter and windowbox that opened the post. They were each so perfect and beautiful.
Buddy 50 Windowbox, 381 Pacific Street, Brooklyn

Related Posts

Hoyt Street Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.2
Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.3
David Foulke Memorial Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.4

Links

Boerum Hill Association

David Foulke Memorial Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.4

David Foulke Memorial Garden

Another lovely, ornamental garden in Boerum Hill. It may sound strange, but the first thing that really wowed me about this garden was the sinuous brick path winding from the front entrance to the back seating area.

David Foulke Memorial Garden

David Foulke Memorial Garden

Solid, perfectly bowed from the center to the margins for drainage. A herringbone pattern, with each marginal brick perfectly cut to fit the curve of the path. A professional job, which makes sense, considering that this garden is owned by the Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust, which has access to the resources for a job like this.

There was also plenty of vegetal eye candy, as well.

Wall Planter

Solenostemon (Coleus)

Daucus carota

Strobilanthes

Related Posts

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.3
Hoyt Street Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.2
Brooklyn Bear’s Garden, Park Slope, Green With Envy Tour, I.1
Green With Envy Tour of Brooklyn Community Gardens, July 12 and 26

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.3

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden

I didn’t get many shots of this one, another ornamental green space. There’s only one narrow path which loops like a shepherd’s crook from the entrance into the heart of the garden. It was hard to assemble everyone on the tour into the garden at once.

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden

Many trees and large shrubs shade the rest of the property, much of it not accessible to the casual visible. (Gardeners, of course, make their own paths.) I imagine it must be a paradise for birds.

Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden

Viburnum, detail

Hosta and Coreopsis

Related Posts

Hoyt Street Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.2
Green With Envy Tour, Tour One, Stop 1
Green With Envy Tour of Brooklyn Community Gardens, July 12 and 26

Hoyt Street Garden, Boerum Hill, Green With Envy Tour, I.2

Hoyt Street Garden

On busy Atlantic Avenue, at the corner of Hoyt Street, lies the green oasis of the Hoyt Street Garden. This was our second official stop on the first leg of the Green With Envy Tour yesterday morning.

Hoyt Street Garden, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Metasequoia, Hoyt Street Garden

Dominated by a large Metasequoia and an oak, this is a shade garden, so no vegetables. The center circle is used for story-telling on the weekends. Funds from an annual plant sale funds micro-grants for projects that benefit the Boerum Hill community.

Salvage Path

Variegated Solomon's Seal, Hoyt Street Garden

Our Lady of Milk Crates

Related Posts

Green With Envy Tour, Tour One, Stop 1
Green With Envy Tour of Brooklyn Community Gardens, July 12 and 26

Green With Envy Tour of Brooklyn Community Gardens, July 12 and 26

Map, Green With Envy Tour, July 2008

On Saturday, July 12 and 26, visit Community Gardens in Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Prospect Heights. On both guided tours, you can join us for a 10am breakfast at the Pacific Street Bear’s Garden on Flatbush Ave, then walk, bike, or drive the routes below. More info: 718-636-4273.

Special thanks to the Brooklyn Community Gardeners’ Coalition, GreenThumb, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s GreenBridge.

Tour One, Saturday, July 12

  1. Pacific Street Bear’s Garden at Flatbush Avenue, Park Slope
  2. Hoyt Street Community Garden at Atlantic Avenue, Boerum Hill
  3. Wyckoff-Bond Community Garden, Boerum Hill
  4. David R. Foulke Memorial Garden, Bergen Street between Nevins & Bond Streets, Boerum Hill
  5. Warren St. Marks Community Garden between 4th & 5th Avenues, Park Slope
  6. Baltic Street Community Garden at 4th Avenue, Park Slope
  7. Lincoln-Berkeley Community Garden, Lincoln between 5th & 6th Avenues, Park Slope
  8. Gardens of Union, Union between 4th & 5th Avenues, Park Slope
  9. Gil Hodges Garden, Carroll between 3rd & 4th Avenues, Gowanus
  10. GreenSpace at President Street, corner of 5th Avenue, Park Slope

Tour Two, Saturday, July 26

  1. Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Garden at Flatbush Avenue
  2. St. Marks Avenue Blk. Assn. Community Garden btwn Carlton & Vanderbilt
  3. Prospect Heights Community Farm, St. Marks btwn Vanderbilt & Underhill
  4. Fulton Revival Garden, Vanderbilt at Gates
  5. Hollenback Community Garden, Washington btwn Gates & Greene
  6. Classon Ful-gate Community Garden, Classon btwn Fulton & Gates
  7. Clifton Place Community Garden, Grand btwn Clifton & Greene
  8. Pratt/Clinton Hill Community Garden, Hall St at DeKalb
  9. The Greene Garden, DeKalb at Portland
  10. Carlton Avenue Brooklyn Bear’s Garden between Fulton & Greene

Look for more “GWE” Tours coming up this fall in Bed Stuy and East NY, once again sponsored by the new (and still forming) Brooklyn Community Gardeners’ Coalition. There’ll also be a bike tour in August sponsored by the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust! Lots of opportunities to see Brooklyn’s beautiful gardens!

Related Posts

Brooklyn Bears Community Garden, February 13, 2008

Blogade, Sunday, February 10th

Creative Times‘ Eleanor Traubman and Mike Sorgatz are hosting the next Blogade, the (tries to be) monthly meetup of Brooklyn bloggers, blog readers, and community members, on February 10. RSVP by “quittin’ time” February 1 (next Friday).

WHERE:
Faan Restaurant
209 Smith Street (at Baltic Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11201

I’m not familiar with the area, but it seems to be located near Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Gowanus.


View Larger Map

DIRECTIONS:
Subway: F or G to Bergen Street or Carroll Street. Check the MTA’s weekend service advisories for the latest updates on service.
Bus: B75, B65 or B71.

Cost: $15 at door – covers entree, non-alcoholic beverage, tax & gratuity

RSVP: By Friday, Feb.1st by quittin’ time: ETraubman@aol.com

Event, Brooklyn, June 27: Owner’s Night, HPD Advice for Residential Owners

Homeowners, co-op owners, building owners and landlords from the Brooklyn neighborhoods Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Stuyvesant Heights and Ocean Hill are invited to attend a Wednesday June 27th Owners’ Night at P.S 20 organized by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). …

The event will provide information on the availability of HPD services such as low-interest loans, correction of housing violations correction and assistance with mortgages and refinancing as well as HPD courses including building management and maintenance, expense reduction strategies and owner-tenant relations. A panel introduction will be followed by a Q&A session.

HPD’s Owner Services Program travels from borough to borough, educating residential property owners about the availability of low-interest loans, free educational classes on subjects such as lead paint, energy conservation and fair housing as well as free owner counseling. Launched in February 2001, Owners’ Nights in neighborhoods have drawn more than 10,000 property owners to events across New York City.

WHAT: Owners’ Night, a program by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

WHEN: Wednesday June 27th 6:00pm to 7:30pm

WHERE: Auditorium of P.S 20, 225 Adelphi St., Brooklyn, NY 11205 (entrance between Willoughby and Dekalb Ave)

DIRECTIONS: C train to Lafayette Ave. Station.

SEATING IS LIMITED: PLEASE RSVP BY CALLING 212-863-7054 OR 311 BY JUNE 25th