Free entertainment! This self-guided tour covers 12 historic sites in Brooklyn Heights, breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan, and window shopping.
Of all of Brooklyn's landmarked areas, Brooklyn Heights was New York's first neighborhood to be protected by the city's 1965 Landmark Preservation Law. It retains European 19th-century charm, and today its main shopping drag, Montague Street, is punctuated by clothing stores and restaurants.
Travel to Borough Hall station (#'s 2, 3, 5, 6 lines). Ask for Montague Street; it's helpful but not essential to have a map.
Given Brooklyn Heights' patrician heritage – and that this is a free walking tour – why not start at a bank?
A Hub of Brooklyn Landmarks- From Banks and Churches to Historic Clubs
- JP Morgan Chase Bank (Montague St. and Clinton Ave). In the early 1900's, wealthy Protestant bankers, industrialists and shipping magnates seeking quiet refuge from Manhattan's hoi polloi built elaborate homes, churches and clubs in Brooklyn Heights. Formerly the Brooklyn Trust Company, this 1915 building exudes stately style, of Italian High Renaissance vintage. The ceiling alone is worth the trip!
- St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity Church (Montague and Clinton). This sturdy-looking Gothic Revival church houses something remarkably delicate: sixty of the nation's earliest made-in-the-US stained glass windows. The building, designed by Minard Lafever, boasts 8,000 square feet of patterned glass, all 160 years old. There's an on-site glass restoration studio.
- Brooklyn Historical Society and Museum (128 Pierrepont Place). Those wondering about how Brooklyn came to be the quirky, idiosyncratic place it is today might wish to explore the exhibits in this 1878 landmark, which houses the country's largest collection of Brooklyn history and memorabilia, not to mention a rare wood-paneled library.
- St. Ann's School (129 Pierrepont). A 1906 beauty, by architect Frank Freeman, this was originally a gentleman's-only enclave; women, Jews, and people of color weren't welcome. Today, a private school occupies this and nearby historic buildings.
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Corner Pierrepont at Monroe). New Englanders who moved to the then-independent city of Brooklyn built this Gothic-style church, designed by Lafever, in the 1840s. Its 100-year-old restored pipe organ is still in use.
Historic Townhouses on Pierrepont Place
- 2 Pierrepont Place Residence. Take your time oohing-and-aahing at the many gorgeous old homes on this street. One belonged to Alfred Tredway White, a visionary philanthropist and progressive housing reformer. He designed and built working-class housing for poor New Yorkers, one of which stands less than a mile away in Carroll Gardens. He lived in splendor here.
- 3 Pierrepont Place Residence. Abiel Abbot Low, whose “House of Low” clipper ships sailed to China plying a lucrative import export trade, lived here. His son Seth Low became Columbia University's president (Low Library was named after him) and mayor of Brooklyn and later of New York City.
Tourist Must-Do: Manhattan and NY Harbor Views from Brooklyn Heights Promenade
- Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Ah, the air, the views! The 1950s-era Promenade, with its sweeping view of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor, lower Manhattan, and the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges counts as one of the indisputably good things that an otherwise controversial Robert Moses did for NYC.
See 19th-Century Architecture
- Heights Casino & Apartments (75 Montague). The more things change, the more they stay the same. This 1905 building has kept both its name and function. Built as one of several exclusive social clubs for Brooklyn's moneyed “polite society,” it's in use again as a private club with squash courts and private dining. Nearby at 200 Hicks is the elegant Casino Mansion apartment building, originally with only two units per floor.
- Hotel Bassert (Montague corner of Hicks). It's now apartments. This 1909 building was built as an upscale hotel with a rooftop restaurant.
- Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Rite Roman Catholic Church (113 Remsen). Architect Richard Upjohn, of Manhattan's Trinity Church fame, also designed Brooklyn's first Congregational church (originally Church of the Pilgrims). If it looks vaguely familiar, that's because it was, indeed, a first. The authoritative AIA Guide to New York City Landmarks called it ".. a radical design,” adding, that it "became a model for many buildings erected by evangelical Protestant congregations in succeeding decades."
- Packer Collegiate Institute (170 Joralemon). This castle-like Gothic building, today a private school, was designed by Lafever in 1854 as a girls school. Note its pinnacles, Gothic arches, a tower, and original Tiffany windows.
Brunch or Dine, Shop on Montague Street
End the tour with a snack at any of a dozen reasonably-priced local eateries. And though nothing's for free, you can browse in the stores on Montague Street, including chains such as Ann Taylor and Nine West, the local women's store Tango, or Housing Works thrift store.
This self-guided walking tour of Brooklyn Heights is just one of many fun free outings in Brooklyn for college students to long time residents. For related Brooklyn entertainment, try a literary walking tour, or exploring Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and the Brooklyn Bridge.
The copyright of the article For Cheap Fun in Brooklyn, Take A Walking Tour in New York Travel is owned by Ellen Freudenheim. Permission to republish For Cheap Fun in Brooklyn, Take A Walking Tour in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
