LPC designates two new historic districts in Flatbush

FLATBUSH — THE NEW YORK CITY LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION on Tuesday voted to designate two new historic districts in Brooklyn: Beverley Square West Historic District and Ditmas Park West Historic District. Both new historic districts feature distinctive homes built around the turn of the 20th century as Flatbush transitioned from a farming village to an early suburban development.

The Beverley Square West Historic District includes 118 houses built between 1894 and 1910 along three tree-lined streets between Beverley Road and Cortelyou Road, just south of Prospect Park. Nearly all of the homes were designed by well-known Brooklyn architects, including John J. Petit, John B. Slee and Benjamin Driesler.

The Ditmas Park West Historic District contains 127 houses, nearly all built between 1902 and 1910, located immediately west of Ditmas Park Historic District, between Dorchester Road and Ditmas Avenue. Nearly half of the houses in Ditmas Park West Historic District were designed by one architect, Arlington D. Isham.

Flatbush’s transition from a rural area to Brooklyn suburb began in the 1880s, driven by the establishment of a street grid and the introduction of an array of city services, including the formation of the Flatbush Gas Co., the Flatbush Water Works, as well as expanded public transportation via the Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Railroad.

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