A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 79

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 79

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Among the most notable vessels construct- ed at the yard were the "Terror," launched in 1883, the "Puritan," launched in 1882, the 'Cincinnati," launched in 1892, and the "Maine," launched in 1890. The subsequent destruction of this last-named vessel in Ha- vana Harbor was the first incident in the war with Spain of 1898, in which the United States acquired so much glory and territory.

About 1880 began the real transformation of the city in respect to its architectural at- tractions. Heretofore, as a rule, the architects were limited to churches mainly, with here and there an opportunity in an armory or mansion to show their skill and taste. But by 1880 the public sentiment, the public taste and the public wealth began to call for a higher order of things, and the response was most gratifying. With the City Hall and the Municipal Building,-of which latter one of the Brooklyn civic boasts used to be that it cost $20 less than the appropriation,-as a center, new structures of much beauty and commanding appearance began steadily to oust the old plain brick or marble front edifices so commonplace yet so comfortable. By 1890 a still further change was inaugurated. By that time the principle of skeleton construction had been introduced and the elevator system had been perfected, so that the height to which a building might be run up was a mat- ter of money and calculation rather than of

the thickness of the walls. So Brooklyn began to get sky-scrapers, and its office buildings vie with those across the river for their size and the perfection of their details. The Jefferson building rises to a height of 98 feet, the Me- chanics' Bank to 140 feet, the Franklin Trust to 156 feet, and the Telephone building to 128 feet. It is not customary to mention the Havemeyer & Elders vast sugar mills, erected in 1883, as architectural beauties, but if beauty in architecture be, as some contend, the adap- tation of building ideas to a means and an end, they must be accepted. Such structures as the Alhambra and the Fougera are equal in point of architectural perfection and elaboration of detail to any apartment houses in the world, and such structures as the City Railroad build- ing, the new structures which have trans- formed parts of Montague, Court, Remsen, Fulton and many other streets within a radius of the center of Brooklyn's political life, afford much gratification to the visitor of taste as well as a theme for pardonable pride on the part of the citizens. The Hall of Records building, completed in 1886, is a handsome structure in the Renaissance style, three stories high, and cost $270,000. The Fire Department building, on Jay street near Willoughby, is a bold yet exceedingly graceful development of the Romanesque order. Its massive tower, ris- ing some forty feet above the rest of the struc- ture, gives it an individuality that at once attracts the eye. The Federal building, com- pleted in 1892, at a cost of $1,886,115, is a wonderful change from the little store at the corner of Fulton and Front .streets, where up to 1819 Brooklyn's first Postmaster, Joel Bunce, was wont to transact business. In what is known as the shopping district,-Ful- ton street from the bridge to Flatbush avenue, -the dry goods merchants have erected huge structures, eclipsing in their size and adapta- bility most of those in New York, and it is also said. far surpassing those across the river in the aggregate annual amount of business.

Mention of the dry goods stores recalls the

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importance of these establishments in the daily history of Brooklyn, and might prompt a few lines further concerning them; but there are so many of them and of such varying degrees of importance that a selection might be invidious and would certainly be disap- pointing. But we may say a few words about the career of one of the greatest of these mer- chants, whose death early in 1900 is still mourned in many circles. This was Azel D. Matthews, who from a small beginning built up one of the largest trades in the city. His life story was, in fact, part and parcel of the modern history of Brooklyn. He settled in the place when it was a mere town of about 25,000 inhabitants. He began business in a small way, and as Brooklyn grew the Mat- thews establishment grew with it, until from a small shop in Main street the present large department store of A. D. Matthews & Sons in Fulton street evolved.

Mr. Matthews came of an old Cape Cod family. His father moved to Hinsdale, Mas- sachusetts, where, on April 29, 1809, Azel D. Matthews was born. He began his mercantile career in Brooklyn in a small store at 93 Main street, which was then the business center of the town. He later established himself on Myrtle avenue, near Bridge street. Mr. Mat- thews was the pioneer among the dry goods merchants in the upper Fulton street move- ment. Recognizing the fact that Brooklyn was bound to grow, and that the march of trade would be up town, he rented a store at the corner of Fulton street and Gallatin place. That was thirty-five years ago. The Matthews store is now in the very center of the shopping district. From time to time additions have been made to the store, until it now covers the greater part of the block on Fulton street be- tween Gallatin place and Smith street, extend- ing back to Livingston street.

Mr. Matthews took a keen interest in the Church and Sunday-school life of Brooklyn. He early became identified with the Brook- lyn Sunday-school Union, and continued his

association with that organization almost up to the time of his death.

During this period the city itself was con- stantly effecting improvements. One of the most important of these, apart from roadways and the like, was the acquisition of the marsh lands of the Wallabout and their transforma- tion into a public market. The ground in ques- tion had long been an eyesore, and besides was a constant source of danger to the public health. It was long thought that a public market or a public park might be erected there, as it was not deemed possible that the ground could ever be adapted for building purposes or that it would ever be needed for the Navy Yard, of whose territory it was a part. On September 12, 1883, the Grocers' Retail Protective Association urged the au- thorities, at a conference, to secure the land in question and turn it into a market, offering all the aid in their power. Acting on this, the city government entered into negotiations with the Navy Department and as a result obtained a lease of the property, with a view of practically testing the success or otherwise of the project. Part of it was at once drained and graded, divided up into streets and lots, a lot of two-story frame structures were quickly run up by market men,-cheap struc- tures of the most flimsy description, for the whole affair was an experiment and the United States could cancel the lease at any moment by giving thirty days' notice, when the whole concern might be wiped out. The strength of the market lay in the open lots to which farmers' and other wagons brought produce direct from farm or garden, and there re- mained for half a day or a day until their load was disposed of. The scheme worked so well, in spite of the many adverse condi- tions, that the city in 1891 purchased about eighteen acres of the marsh land for $700,000 and the market became a fixed feature. In 1894 an additional twenty-seven acres was se- cured, for which Uncle Sam was paid $1,208,- 666. This tract, between Clinton and Wash-

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ington avenues and from Flushing avenue to the East River, has been developed, says the "Eagle" Almanac, "largely into a shipping basin and pier system for vessels in the food supply traffic, and embracing facilities for loaded railroad cars to be transferred to the market without breaking freight bulk. The bulkhead wall along the south and west sides of the basin is 1,680 feet in length, and that along the easterly side of the basin, some 1,080 feet. These walls, together with four of the five piers constructed, add a mooring frontage of over a mile in length to the city's wharfage room. The fifth pier, No. 2, has been leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at the annual rental of $12,000. The preparation of this pier for service involved the outlay of $100,000 by the railroad com- pany. The market is deriving great benefit from the operation of this terminal, and that of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, on the north side of Wallabout Ca- nal, completed during last year. Cold storage, of which there was great need from the time the market was founded, has been provided in the opening to business last year of the establishment of the Kings County Refriger- ating Company, with the preserving capacity of 700,000 square feet.

"In May, 1894, the city authorities and market people, acting conjointly, effected from the New York State Legislature the enact- ment of a law, chapter 569, which authorized the city authorities to issue upon lots rented five-year leases, withi privilege of two renew- als of similar duration at rates adjustable at the commencement of each term. The leases issued under this law required the erection of substantial buildings of brick, stone and iron, uniform in external design, at the outlay of the lessees ; the buildings at the termination of the leases to revert to the city upon pay- ment of their appraised values. During the years 1895-6 the buildings were constructed."

By the close of 1897 it was estimated that the annual business of the market amounted to

$25,000,000, and often in the summer of that year something like 550 wagons of produce would be disposed of every Saturday, while the financial return to the city for the year was $42,046 in the shape of rents, and $3,531 from the fees paid by farmers for wagon room.

This was a practical work. But the city was not forgetful of the adornments which came from the sculptor's studio, and which, besides adding to the beauty and interest of a street or park, serve to show that republics are neither oblivious to aesthetic requirements nor ungrateful to their great men. Several of these have already been mentioned. The statue of General Grant, unveiled in 1896, was a gift to the city from the Union League Club, and in the same year the statue of General Warren on the Park Plaza was unveiled. A statue of General Fowler, who commanded Brook- lyn's "red-legged devils" in the Civil War, will shortly be placed beside it, and an eques- trian statue of General Slocum, another war hero, is promised soon. A simple monument, but a most significant one, was placed on Battle Hill, Prospect Park, August 27, 1895, in memory of the four hundred Maryland soldiers who fell near the spot thus again consecrated in the fateful battle of Brooklyn, August 27, 1776. It is a plain but extremely elegant shaft of white marble, and its cost was borne by the Maryland Society of Sons of the American Revolution. It is at once a memorial to brave men who gave up their lives in the cause of patriotism, and it marks the center of a widespread battle-field on which it almost seemed as if that liberty for which they had died had been forever crushed out.

A peculiarity in the way of statues,-one erected by citizens to mark their sense of the labors of a citizen then still living,-was that which was unveiled at the main entrance to Prospect Park, on June 6, 1891. The man so honored was J. S. T. Stranahan. The idea of erecting a statue of this esteemed citizen in

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the people's playground which he had done so much to create was originated at a private gathering, and it was at once heartily en- dorsed, and in a short time the following committee was constituted to put the idea into shape : John Gibb, Chairman ; John B. Wood- ward, Treasurer; Elijah R. Kennedy, Secre- tary ; Richard S. Storrs, S. V. White, Darwin R. James, William B. Kendall, Charles Pratt, Henry B. Maxwell, George V. Brower, Sam- uel B. Duryea, C. N. Hoagland, E. F. Linton, William Carey Sanger, William Berri, An- drew D. Baird, Frederick A. Schroeder, Jo- seph F. Knapp, Bernard Peters, Thomas E. Stillman, Franklin Woodruff, David A. Boody, William A. Read, Abbott L. Dow, E. H. R. Lyman, A. C. Barnes, Charles E. Schieren, Alexander E. Orr, Benjamin D. Silliman and Gustave A. Jahn. In answer to a request for funds, money soon began to flow in, and the commission to execute the statue was placed with Frederick MacMonnies. His work was most satisfactorily completed, and the statue was unveiled amid much ceremony, at which Mr. Stranahan was privileged to be present and to listen to many kindly words about himself, notably those in the masterly address of Dr. Storrs.

Besides its progress in material wealth, in architectural beauty and commercial impor- tance, the feature of Brooklyn's story during its last twenty years was annexation. The consolidation of Williamsburgh, Greenpoint and Bushwick in 1855 and the success of that experiment in the harmonious blending of the various elements had inspired a desire for "more." Besides, it was felt that Brooklyn was daily overflowing its old boundaries, and that the outlying districts were getting many of the benefits of the city government and privileges without being of any assistance in the matter of paying taxes, that what was spoken about as the "outside towns" were in reality prospering at the expense of Brooklyn. A beginning was made in 1886, when on May 13 a bill which had passed the Legislature 33

annexing New Lots became a law without the Governor's signature, thus taking from the town of Flatbush a vast proportion of its territory and adding a new ward, the Twenty- sixth, to Brooklyn.

The early story of New Lots has already been told, but the following interesting sketch by Mr. N. F. Palmer is interesting, as show- ing its modern development :

New Lots was originally settled by the well-to-do farmers of old Flatbush, and be- came an active farming district for market gardening, and all these New Lots farmers became prosperous and their influence was felt in the politics of Kings county. This in- fluence prevented any innovation in the way of real estate development, and not until 1835. was there in the New Lots section a single parcel of land cut up into building lots. In that year Abraham H. Van Wyck and Peter Neefus purchased a parcel of land from the Johannus Eldert family, who owned a large farm extending from the Jamaica plank road to the old New Lots road next to the boun- dary line of the town of Jamaica. This locality had become famous by the horse race tracks at Union Course and Centerville, and a de- mand took place for building lots. Van Wyck mapped the lands into the first building lots, 25x100, in 1836, and lot No. I was near the corner of what is now Jamaica avenue and Eldert lane, in what is now known as the Cy -. press Hills section of the ward.

A few years after this, July, 1837, the farms of Major Daniel Rapelje and others. were purchased by John R. Pitkin and a map. made known as "Map No. I, East New York lands, or the First Manufacturing District, lying on the Great Eastern Railroad, five and' one-half miles from the city of New York." This was the first use of the words East New York, and represented a neighborhood near the old Howard House. The Postoffice Depart- ment adopted the name, and it has stuck to it ever since. There never was any village cor- poration nor other form of government, ex- cept the town of Flatbush, until 1852, when the town of New Lots was set off and created out of the eastern part of the town of Flat- bush. Between Van Wyck and Pitken maps of 1836 and 1843 little was accomplished to. create a boom in building on this tract. On

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the contrary, Pitkin was obliged to work hard to hold his own through the hard times of '36, and released from contract a vast area contemplated in this manufacturing district. On the Ist and 7th of July, 1841, and the 2d and 15th of July, 1842, the titles (streets and avenues) were "made perfect through two great chancery sales," and a map was printed which gave notice: "East New York (center property), Union, monthly auction sale map. Notice : Several of the present proprietors of this valuable property have concluded to unite in establishing a system of monthly auction sales to persons wishing to make lo- cations, or improvements. Persons can go out to see said property by the railroad cars from the South Ferry, Brooklyn side, at 91/2 A. M., 4 and 61/2 o'clock P. M. Tickets 1/2 each. Returning from East New York the cars leave at about 81/4, 11/4 and 57/2 o'clock. This is a good opportunity to secure very valuable property at low prices. It will soon be on the line of the great thoroughfare to Boston, the quick ten hour route per Long Island Railroad now nearly complete, and only about 22 minutes' time per railroad from the city, Brooklyn side. How can Newark and Lynn be so much better than E. N. Y .? They are not so well situated."

So wrote John R. Pitkin in 1843, more than half a century ago, and, strange to contem- plate, he then could ride from the South Ferry to East New York in twenty-two min- utes. He used the argument about time to get there with great foresight, for he real- ized that as an inducement to boom his venture nothing else could better be engraved on his map.

This map shows that there were only thir- ty-eight buildings in East New York at this time. The railroad was in the center of At- lantic avenue, and had a branch track down what was then, and is now, Pennsylvania avenue, into a building in "Block 14," south of South Carolina avenue, which we now call Liberty avenue, into the building of the New Jersey Mills, now owned by the Davis family, and still in operation. The Howards' Half- way House, on the Brooklyn and Jamaica turnpike at the end of Flatbush rond at the head of Alabama avenue, is where the stage coaches made a stop. Opposite was the house of J. L. Williams, standing about opposite to the middle of the block, on the north side of Flatbush road. There were no streets

represented on this map west of Alabama avenue, except the Flatbush road, nor any cast of Wyckoff's lane, nor south of old Broadway. The following names appear as owners of lots: E. M. Strong, Isaac Bemis, Jacob H. Sackman, W. J. Furman, J. L. Will- iams, Vanderhof, W. van Voorlees, Fred- erick Lang and John Taphan along the south side of the turnpike. Along Virginia avenue (Fulton street) are the names: Johnson, Charles Gough, Wolcott March, Ransome Smith, and Turner. Along Alabama avenue, on the east side, were: Henry Grobe, Abrm. Van Siclen, Leonard Bond, Francis Keitz, Jacob H. Sackman, Isaac Bemis, John .W. Warth, Charles Heitkamp. On Georgia ave- nue: Ransome Smith, Potter J. Thomas, Charles Vinton, Charles Georig, William K. Teasdale, William Simonson, Rul Smith, Wentworth, Isaac M. Steevnorf ( Stoothoofs). On Sheffield avenue were Wolcot Marsh, Jacob H. Sackman, J. L. Williams, Thomas I. Gerrald, Lewis Kendig, S. Frisbey, John Van Siclen. Pennsylvania avenue on the west side was all a courtyard, with no names on it. On the east side were names: Vanderhoef, Ransome Smith, Samuel Judson, Sherman Institute Branch Depository Work and School, with Manson House corner of Atlantic ave- nue. H. F. Thrall on south side of Atlantic avenue, and south side of. North Carolina avenue (Liberty avenue) the factory building, now Davis' New Jersey Mills ; on New Jersey avenue were Dutch Reformed Church, Tur- ner, S. Shepherd, George Butcher, C. Goebel. Corner of South Carolina avenue (now Glen- more), M. F. Misenere, J. F. Bridges; on Vermont avenue were, corner Virginia ave- nue, Ransome Smith, Jacob H. Sackman ; cor- ner Atlantic avenue, Ransome Smith, John Lohmans, Morganthaler, Assalle Seldinger, Charles Beumaer, R. S. Winslow ; on Wyckoff lane were, on west side, John Sopham, John Lohman, J. H. Sackman, C. Heitkamp, Charles Beumer, F. Lang, John W. Worth, and at Broadway, Philip Obergirck. Not all of these occupied buildings, but they were the first in- vestors in real estate in this locality.

In 1838 John R. Pitkin came out with a second map of the Second Manufacturing District in the easterly part of the town, lay- ing out a large territory from the turnpike to the New Lots road. This was premature and the same territory was subsequently mapped by Rapalye, Walter Nichols, Lewis Curtis

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and others ; only a few blocks of this old man remain. In 1849 Williams, Pellington & Fur- man laid out the land at the north side of the B. and J. plank road between old How- ard place and old Pellington place. This was followed in 1851 by the Jacob H. Sackman map and in 1853 by Sackman, Barby & Del- monico. Horace A. Miller came out in 1853 with the map of eighteen blocks of land on the east side of Pitkin's East New York lands, between the plank road and old Broad- way. Up to 1859 these were the principal lands of East New York. About this period C. W. Heitkamp was energetic and took a lead- ing part in the affairs of the town. He pub- lished a map made "from different surveys and maps made and drawn by M. G. Johman, Esq." At this period the Broadway horse rail- road had continued to circumnavigate around two blocks near the Howard House, but the Fulton street horse cars had got only to the Mattowak House, where the plank road com- pany of the late Aaron A. De Graw stood on guard. At this period John R. Pitkin was general agent and signed a "map of East New York, Kings County, Long Island, N. Y., drawn by C. W. Heitkamp, lithographed and published by Gustav Kraetzer, May 1, 1859." The map said: "Great sale at auction of East New York (center) building lots, by James Cole & Son, at the Merchants' Exchange, New York, of 100 very valuable (reserved) center lots, belonging to George D. Pitkin, Israel W. Vanderveer and others. * * * This is all most desirable property within 41/8 miles of New York City. By Broadway cars ( fare 5 cents). About five miles by Ful- ton avenue cars from Fulton Ferry (fare 5 cents) and 51/2 miles from South Ferry." No mention is made of the Long Island R. R. or how one could get from South Ferry.

The principal buildings at East New York in 1859 were: Howard House, by P. H. Reid; Mattowak House, by W. Simonson ; Railroad Hotel, by M. Bennett, on Atlantic avenue ; Military Hall, by John Lohman, Liberty ave- nue ; residence of C. R. Miller, of Bernhard Mc Williams, Broadway and Hull street; Nic- olson brick cottage, J.C. Middendorf, residence and grocery, corner of Sheffield avenue and Fulton street, with the old pump in front of it ; William Alexander, residence on Flatbush road (East New York avenue) ; James L. Williams, residence, since moved, and is now standing on the north side of East New York

avenue, opposite Williams avenue; C. Heit- kamp, store and residence, on old plank road, where many a man has fallen up the three steps to get before the justice of the peace ; C. A. Beckert, M. D., at Sheffield avenue, and G. Kraetzer, residence, Sheffield avenue.

East New York at this period had also the target companies shooting galleries of L. Al- tenbrand, of M. Bennett and of H. Luhrs, be- hind which now stands Breitkopt's Hotel, on the corner of Bushwick and Jamaica avenue, at the head of Pennsylvania avenue. At about this period, or in 1861, the city of Brooklyn had opened up the streets to the old patent line, along the ridge of hills, and the James L. Williams map had opened the intervening land from the Howard House to the old city line. The old parade ground west of Ala- bama avenue and south of Atlantic avenue did not come out as lots until the Whitehead Howard map was filed in 1869, although the survey and map was made in 1857. The indi- viduals whose names are mentioned, so far, were the pioneers of East New York, and the period to which they belonged was one pecu- liar to itself, and long to be remembered as East New York.

The return of the steam locomotive on At- lantic avenue and the opening of the elevated railroads just before annexation to Brooklyn in 1886 marks a middle period and one which was historical in its results, because at one bound this locality attracted capital, and a flood of it came, until hardly a farm was left to be purchased for the making of building lots, and East New York vanished and Brook- lyn came to our doors and welcomed us as the Twenty-sixth Ward. Previous to that, and not since 1869, when Williamsburgh and old Bushwick were annexed to Brooklyn, had one square foot of territory been added to old Brooklyn. The sudden development of the Twenty-sixth Ward, after the opening of the elevated railroads, as the actual end of the Brooklyn Bridge, led up to conditions which eventually terminated in the annexation of all the county towns of Kings county and ended in consolidation with the city of New York. Surely East New York pioneers started a great project of suburban development. They came up to East New York out of the crowded tene- ments of the old city for fresh air and pros- perity, and they got both ; peace to their ashes and respect for their courage.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 79

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188