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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
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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.
Foot of 72nd Street
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View from the foot of 72nd Street, Bay Ridge, overlooking the Shore Parkway at the Staten Island Ferry landing at the 69th Street Pier; May 30, 1958. While the words "Staten Island Ferry" are today synonymous with iconic orange ferryboats trundling across Upper New York Bay, the present-day service's 19th century antecedents include a variety of independent operators and defunct routes. Pre-Civil War, independent ferry operators offered service from launches across Staten Island's eastern shore. In 1853, three such operators were consolidated, as Cornelius Vanderbilt allowed his Richmond Turnpike Company to be bought out. After the Civil War — during which time some ferryboats were requisitioned and retrofitted as gunships — Staten Island ferry service was largely controlled by regional railroad companies, including the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. When the newly-consolidated City of New York began the process of taking over Staten Island ferry service in the opening years of the 1900s, the Sinking Fund Commission authorized the introduction of new ferry routes, including service to certain Hudson River piers and Sunset Park, Brooklyn at 39th Street. On July 4, 1912, a new route was introduced by the private Brooklyn & Richmond Ferry Company, providing service between St. George and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, at the foot of Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street). After 52 years of variable ridership and service quality, the 69th Street ferry route was discontinued on 1964, following the opening of the Verrazano—Narrows Bridge. Since May 2017, the 69th pier has served as the southern terminus of the NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn Line.
7119 Shore Road
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7119 Shore Road, May 30, 1958. In the early 20th century Shore Road was lined with old 19th century mansions, dilapidated smaller homes, and vacant lots. In 1928 the street was rezoned between 77th and 101st Streets to allow for the construction of new apartment houses for the burgeoning neighborhood. No. 7119 (at the corner of 72nd Street) was one of the first buildings to be erected in the fall of 1931. The six-story, Art Deco apartment house was designed by M. Rothstein, who also created a lovely Deco apartment house in Forest Hills and single family, vernacular homes in other parts of Brooklyn. When opened the building offered a roof garden, a recreation room in the basement, concealed radiators, and fireplaces in the living rooms, along with its sweeping views of the Narrows. The owners of the building also arranged for a private bus to ferry tenants to and from the 59th Street Station of the BMT Fourth Avenue line (today's N and R).
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.
Photos
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7706 Narrows Avenue
7706 Narrows Avenue
7710 Narrows Avenue
7710 Narrows Avenue
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22 77 Street
7716 Narrows Avenue
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18 77 Street
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7724 Narrows Avenue
16 77 Street
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23 77 Street
7726 Narrows Avenue
7726 Narrows Avenue
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9 78 Street
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7715 Narrows Avenue
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7728 Narrows Avenue
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40 77 Street
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7623 Narrows Avenue
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7717 Narrows Avenue
7 78 Street
7 78 Street
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7732 Narrows Avenue
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42 77 Street
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7617 Narrows Avenue
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7802 Narrows Avenue
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44 77 Street
7701 Shore Road
7701 Shore Road
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10 78 Street
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7610 Narrows Avenue
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8 78 Street
7705 Shore Road
7705 Shore Road
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46 77 Street
7551 Shore Road
7551 Shore Road
7611 Narrows Avenue
7611 Narrows Avenue
5 78 Street
5 78 Street
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43 78 Street
7709 Shore Road
7709 Shore Road
7606 Narrows Avenue
7606 Narrows Avenue
7713 Shore Road
7713 Shore Road
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