Model Overview
North Slope,
Sixteenth Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues[RK1]
The block of 16th Street between Seventh and
Eighth Avenues in Park Slope is very typical of the neighborhood’s character. [RK2] Park
Slope is a neighborhood of row-houses.[RK3] Many of these, particularly in North Slope,
are made of brownstone, with large stone stoops, detailed iron gates, and
elaborate ornamentation on their facades.
Those brownstones were originally built to house the well-to-do,
professionals such as lawyers, architects, professors, and businessmen who were
drawn to the area’s proximity to Prospect Park and the easy commute by subway
to Manhattan in the early 1900s, making the neighborhood a bedroom community. [RK4] I
chose to photograph the block on 16th Street because its character
depicts a more humble, but equally interesting history. [RK5] The
earliest buildings on the block were built in 1899 and 1901, are three stories,
and originally housed workers who labored in the factories located in the
nearby Gowanus neighborhood. Like their
neighbors to the north, these small houses are built in a row, and share
attached walls with the buildings next to them.
On the north side of the street exist four-story structures, some built
in the 1920s, while others were constructed as recently as 2007 and 2008. The modern buildings were required to use the
same width lot as the older homes, which accounts for why the attached
apartments at 359, 361, and 363 have different addresses. This row of buildings attempts to emulate the
style of the block’s older structures.
The gray building at 349, however, is a renegade, breaking from tradition
both in materials and design. [RK6] The
line of structures on this block visually indicate that the history of Park
Slope is varied, unexpected and continually changing.
RECAP:
- Introduce
the location of your block.
- Make a
claim as to the character of your neighborhood.
- Explain
why you chose the particular block you photographed.
- Describe
how the block that you chose demonstrates the neighborhood’s character by
giving background history as to why the structures were built when they
were, and by providing details about how the buildings look.
- Describe
several particular buildings, connecting how they look to your claim about
the neighborhood’s character.
- Wrap-up
with a conclusive statement.
TIP: If you don’t feel like you know the history
of your neighborhood well enough to explain why the structures in your
neighborhood are there, do RESEARCH using the resources you have:
- Neighborhood reading
- Timeline
- PPT notes
- BK Bridge notes
- Other research
