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Near 7712 Colonial Road

Posts & Stories(9)

Bay Ridge Branch, Brooklyn Public Library image

Bay Ridge Branch, Brooklyn Public Library
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Brooklyn Public Library, ca. 1908. The original building of the library seen in this circa 1908 postcard was built in 1896 for the Bay Ridge Free Library. That institution was established in 1880 by the Bay Ridge Reading Club. In 1901 the library became a part of the Brooklyn Public Library system. The building presently seen on the site was constructed in 1960. (Isn't it obvious?)
Union Church of Bay Ridge image

Union Church of Bay Ridge
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Union Church of Bay Ridge, June 23, 1963. The Union Church of Bay Ridge was established in 1918, following the merger of two Ridge Boulevard Churches, the Bay Ridge Reformed Church (which occupied the Union Church’s current site) and Bay Ridge United Presbyterian. The current church was completed in 1931.
131 76th Street image

131 76th Street
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Built in 1865, no. 131 is a neo-Georgian mansion that features a grand semi-circular porch with columns. The home is known as the Warbasse–Thomas house and sources suggest that this home may have been moved from near present-day 77th Street and Colonial Road.
8220 Narrows Avenue image

8220 Narrows Avenue
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The Gingerbread House, ca. 1939 The house that would become widely became known as "The Gingerbread House" was built in the early 1900s and designed by architect J. Sarsfield Kennedy. The home's distinctive Arts and Crafts style set it apart from many of the surrounding estates. Kennedy had designed the nearby boathouse of the prestigious Crescent Club. Perhaps it was the architect's design of that building that convinced Howard E. Jones, the wealthy president of the shipping firm James Ewell and Co, to commission him for a private home. Work on the Gingerbread House began in 1917. The house that sprung forth on the ample grounds purchased by Jones was made of natural material, its uncut stone and thatched roof evoking a fairy tale home in a European forest rather than a Bay Ridge estate. However, this rambling style wasn't the silly whim of the architect; the organic design is nuanced, adding order and subtle charm throughout the building. The Gingerbread House remains the most architecturally distinctive building in Bay Ridge.
Bay Ridge Branch, Brooklyn Public Library image

Bay Ridge Branch, Brooklyn Public Library
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Facade of Bay Ridge of Brooklyn Public Library, ca. 1905.
7301 RIDGE BOULEVARD image

7301 RIDGE BOULEVARD
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Christ Church Bay Ridge - Ralph Adams Cram & Bertram Goodhue, 1908–10 The congregation of Christ Church was estab- lished in 1851 at 67th Street and 3rd Avenue, but later moved to its current location at 75th Street and 4th Avenue. The Gothic Revival building was donated by Eliphalet W. Bliss, who also donated his estate for the future Owl’s Head Park. The old building, whose wood frame was stuccoed in the 1960s, was purchased by the congregation of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, which still operates there.
7539 Shore Road image

7539 Shore Road
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7535 and 7539 Shore Road are a pair of connected homes set back from the street, behind a short stone wall and a cluster of large old trees. The homes have a beautiful unobstructed view of the bay. The Brooklyn Eagle and the New York Times reported in some early/mid-20th-century articles that the houses date to either the turn of the 19th century or earlier (the NYT note a build date of 1764). Construction dates are notoriously unreliable, in newspaper articles and government records. In any case, the homes certainly date to before the 20th century, much earlier than when the rest of Bay Ridge was primarily developed. The land they stand on once belonged to Teunis G. Bergen. The Bergens were one of Brooklyn's founding families and Teunis was a surveyor, politician, and local historian. The homes have been on and off the market over the last few years (initial asking price in 2017 was $2.75 million) but have not been sold.
77th Street and Ridge Boulevard image

77th Street and Ridge Boulevard
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View of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from 77th Street and Ridge Boulevard, Bay Ridge, June 23, 1963.
Flagg Court Apartments image

Flagg Court Apartments
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7200 Ridge Boulevard ca. 1941 Designed by Ernest Flagg, this 422-unit, six-building complex contained architectural features that were avant-garde for its time, including reversible fans below the windows and exterior window shades, both now removed, as well as innovative uses of concrete as finished ceilings and for a vaulted auditorium. Its most pronounced exterior feature is the pendant Carpenter Gothic cornice at the eighth floor. The complex was socially innovative, as well, as it included a tea room, auditorium, swimming pool, bowling alley, tennis and handball courts, and a nursery school to allow the building’s mothers three hours of daily free time.

Photos(1,594)

7712 Colonial Road image

7712 Colonial Road

7712 Colonial Road
7708 Colonial Road image

7708 Colonial Road

7708 Colonial Road
7716 Colonial Road image

7716 Colonial Road

7716 Colonial Road
7706 Colonial Road image

7706 Colonial Road

7706 Colonial Road
7718 Colonial Road image

7718 Colonial Road

7718 Colonial Road
90 77 Street image

90 77 Street

90 77 Street
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7702 Colonial Road

7702 Colonial Road
89 78 Street image

89 78 Street

89 78 Street
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88 77 Street

88 77 Street
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87 78 Street

87 78 Street
7724 Colonial Road image

7724 Colonial Road

7724 Colonial Road
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86 77 Street

86 77 Street
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85 78 Street

85 78 Street
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83 78 Street

83 78 Street
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82 77 Street

82 77 Street
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81 78 Street

81 78 Street
7626 Colonial Road image

7626 Colonial Road

7626 Colonial Road
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80 77 Street

80 77 Street
7709 Colonial Road image

7709 Colonial Road

7709 Colonial Road
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7711 Colonial Road

7711 Colonial Road
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7713 Colonial Road

7713 Colonial Road
79 78 Street image

79 78 Street

79 78 Street
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7705 Colonial Road

7705 Colonial Road
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7624 Colonial Road

7624 Colonial Road
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7717 Colonial Road

7717 Colonial Road
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78 77 Street

78 77 Street
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7719 Colonial Road

7719 Colonial Road
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77 78 Street

77 78 Street
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7701 Colonial Road

7701 Colonial Road
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7721 Colonial Road

7721 Colonial Road
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7802 Colonial Road

7802 Colonial Road
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7620 Colonial Road

7620 Colonial Road
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74 77 Street

74 77 Street
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7725 Colonial Road

7725 Colonial Road
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89 77 Street

89 77 Street
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7618 Colonial Road

7618 Colonial Road
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75 78 Street

75 78 Street
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85 77 Street

85 77 Street
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7806 Colonial Road

7806 Colonial Road
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72 77 Street

72 77 Street
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94 78 Street

94 78 Street
7616 Colonial Road image

7616 Colonial Road

7616 Colonial Road
81 77 Street image

81 77 Street

81 77 Street
116 77 Street image

116 77 Street

116 77 Street
7623 Colonial Road image

7623 Colonial Road

\[N.e. cor. 77th Street.] N.e. cor. 77th Street (right) + Colonial Road.
7623 Colonial Road image

7623 Colonial Road

7623 Colonial Road
73 78 Street image

73 78 Street

73 78 Street
90 78 Street image

90 78 Street

90 78 Street
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115 78 Street

115 78 Street
79 77 Street image

79 77 Street

79 77 Street
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