Carroll Gardens Branch, May 16, 1923. Originally called the Carroll Park Branch (it was renamed in 1973), the Carroll Gardens Library was completed in March of 1905. Deigned by William Tubby, a well-known Brooklyn architect better known for his Romanesque and Dutch Revival-style private residences, the library structure is a more modest Classical Revival building. The facility served the considerable Italian-American community of the neighborhood, providing lectures in Italian on Sunday in the decade after it opened. In the 1930s the library offered citizenship classes and worked with National League of American Citizenship assisting more than 10,000 people in the naturalization process.

Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church, 1951. According to the history of the church, "At 3:00 p.m. on the crisp Wednesday afternoon of January 10, 1951, the clock in the tower of what was now known as Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen’s Church rang only twice instead of the usual three times." A five-alarm fire, which started in the choir loft, burned through the church, collapsing the roof and destabilizing the tall steeple. The fire destroyed many of the stained glass windows, the new $20,000 organ, and all of the vestments. Thankfully no one was killed, but the damage was estimated at $2 million. The church rebuilt with donations from parishioners and the generosity of local Jewish and Protestant congregations. St. Stephen's was founded in 1866 in a former Episcopal Church at Carroll and Hicks Streets. The church building seen here was erected in 1875 and designed by famed Catholic church architect Patrick Keeley. Its high steeple cross, illuminated at night, served as a beacon for sailors entering New York Harbor. The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was established in 1882, the first Italian parish on Long Island. It first used space in a church at Warren and Hicks Streets. The parishes merged in 1941 when Robert Moses' BQE plans forced the razing of the Sacred Heart Church (as well as two other early Italian parishes nearby). The combined parish remains a vibrant part of the Carroll Gardens community. Its annual Good Friday procession is one of the oldest and most well known in the diocese.

303 President Street (first five-story building from left), February 8, 1960. Nos. 303-317 were built by William J. Bedell in 1876. 303 and 305A appear to have been altered, 305A quite recently. Some houses in this row still have their original cast iron railings and gates.

Carroll Gardens Historic District was designated a landmark in 1973. Check out the distinctive front gardens and bustling commercial streets of the neighborhood.

Set of three rowhouses with connected iron porch, 1933. These houses date to the mid-19th century, appearing on property maps as early as 1855.

South Congregational Church, 1922. The South Congregational Church complex at Court and President Streets includes a chapel (1851), the main church (1857), the ladies parlor (1889), and the rectory (1893). According to its 1982 Landmarks Preservation Commission report, the church “fits into a general pattern of towered Early Romanesque Revival style churches, but is unusual for the extraordinary manner in which the brick is modeled on the facade.” The church steeple, pictured here in 1922, was a perennial concern. A 1879 Brooklyn Daily Eagle report observed that “the steeple has always been more or less regarded as insecure” after January winds made “the entire tower rock from side to side.” In 1902, the Buildings Department declared the spire “unsafe” and mandated repairs. The steeple survived until at least 1936, when the Eagle reported that the church had decided to keep the “source of pride and worry.” However, it was dismantled prior to the church’s 1982 Landmark designation and its subsequent conversion into residential apartments.

The name Cobble Hill came into use in the 1950s, likely an update from the name "Cobles Hill" which can be found on a 1766 map. Organized community groups fought against large housing projects, and advocated to make the area an historic district.

St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church, 1922. The High Victorian Gothic church was designed by architect Richard Upjohn, who lived just a few blocks north at the corner of Clinton and Baltic Streets. The church was completed in 1884, 17 years after construction commenced.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Female Orphan Asylum. July 4, 1930. Note the American flag hanging from the rectory window, to the left of the church building.

In 1878, the cornerstone was laid for the Pilgrim Chapel on the corner of Henry and Degraw Streets. The architect, J. Cleveland Cady, designed an Italianate-style building with a tall tower that had an exterior of Philadelphia pressed brick trimmed with Belleville stone and terra cotta. The auditorium had a high ceiling with open timbers, and was lighted by a continuous clear-story in which were windows filled with rolled cathedral glass of beautiful designs. There were 15 rooms grouped around the auditorium, all having direct light, ventilation and heat. When the Sunday-school rooms were opened into the auditorium, there was a capacity of 1,200 people.

Bakery at the corner of Henry and President Streets, June 26, 1961. This late 19th century corner building draws architectural elements from the Romanesque Revival (rough-hewn stone, round-arched upper windows) and Queen Anne (asymmetry, tiled roof) styles. The corner tower and pressed metal cornice along the entire roofline include intricate detail.

Twin rowhouses on Strong Place, 1958. Built in 1897 for developer James Dunne, both houses were designed as residences for multiple families, one per floor. The Romanesque Revival pair are notable for their full-height curved bay windows and ground level stonework.

"Northwest corner of Court and Kane Streets, “Dr. P.I. Adesso, dental surgeon, has offices on 2nd floor,” 1958." This brick and terra cotta Queen Anne building dates to 1886, when Kane was known as Harrison Street. In addition to the dental surgeon upstairs, the ground floor pharmacy features a prominent advertisement for Ex-Lax, the laxative product then manufactured on Atlantic Avenue.

343 Smith Street, furthest right on the corner of Smith and Carroll Streets, February 12, 1960. This block of buildings was built 1871-1872. Similar to the other Smith Street blocks in the Carroll Gardens Historic District, this block contains ground floor retail space with apartments above.

Court Street, west side, north of DeGraw Street, December 31, 1958. The Paras Court Theatre is seen at right at 292 Court Street. The theatre opened in 1924. The building included a 599-seat theatre on the main floor and a dance hall on the second floor. The local Italian community used the hall for social gatherings including the 1925 "Primo Annuale Ballo." The theatre closed in 1959 and, at some point, after that a mid-century facade was added to the main entrance way, creating a storefront with metal screens and window frames. The building functioned as a day care from 1979 and today is a Montessori school. The mid-facade has also been replaced.

By 1916, the Pilgrim Chapel had been decommissioned and was known as the Oriole Theater. Today's it's a MET supermarket.

"Henry Street, north from Kane Street (formerly Harrison Street). In the right foreground is Public School No. 29; in the left center, at Warren Street, St. Peter's Hospital."

Nos. 255-267 Carroll Street, from left, February 8, 1960. These seven houses were all built by William J. Bedell in 1872. The designation report for the Carroll Gardens Historic District notes that "the homogeneity of design in each facade is created by the use of segmental arches over all the windows." Each house is fronted by large gardens, a distinctive characteristic of the district.

No. 323 Smith Street, on the corner of Smith and President Streets, February 8, 1960. An entrance to Carroll Street Station is visible. 315-323 Smith St. were built in 1870, making them some of the oldest buildings in the Carroll Gardens Historic District. The designation report noted the large ground floor display windows set in wood frames, which served to distinguish the residential and commercial parts of these buildings. The wood frames are still visible today at Nos. 317 and 319.

36 Strong Place, 1958. In 1834, Cobble Hill's current street grid was laid out between Atlantic Avenue and Butler Street (later Harrison Street, now Kane Street). Strong Place was the first new street paved below that boundary, in 1856. Sitting at the back of its lot, no. 36 was likely a stable belonging to the broker Charles Kelsey, who owned several lots on or near Strong Place and developed properties in the surrounding area.

Jenny Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother, was born in 1854 just a few blocks away at 197 Amity St. However it's the house on the corner at 426 Henry St., where Jenny later lived with her uncle that (inaccurately) bears a plaque to mark the event. In 1953 (seven years before this photo was taken) Churchill at the age of 74 made a visit to New York, and came to the house, to the delight of the neighborhood and city. He stood in front of the house and proclaimed “I am most grateful to those who have put up this tablet in commemoration of my mother, who was born here in Brooklyn.” The plaque has been there ever since.

"Clinton Street, st the S.W. corner of Kane Street, showing the Christ Protestant Episcopal Church." Designed by famed church architect Richard Upjohn for the fourth Epsicopal congregation established in Brooklyn, the cornerstone of this church was laid in 1842. Louis C. Tiffany designed an altar, altar railing,pulpit, lectern and chairs in 1917 and these interior features were entirely restored following the fire that devastated the church in 1939. In 2012, lighting hit the tower and falling debris killed a man who was walking underneath.