1005 Bedford Avenue, ca. 1960. This monolithic structure built in the Byzantine Romanesque style was originally the first temple for the Congregation of Temple Israel. The massive synagogue was constructed by the Parfitt Brothers, known for lavish townhouses, mansions, churches, and commercial buildings across the borough, including St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope and 6 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. The synagogue was dedicated in 1891 and completed in 1893. After years of catering towards the surrounding area's German Jewish population, membership dwindled in the 1920s, with many members moving to Manhattan or out of Brooklyn. The congregation joined K.K. Beth Eloheim, Brooklyn's oldest Jewish congregation, in 1929, thus vacating their synagogue at 1005 Bedford Avenue. Seeking to alleviate the crowded conditions of the Clermont Avenue Traffic Court, the city purchased the building and converted the temple into the Brooklyn Traffic Court, as seen in this image. Much of the interior was likely gutted to make way for courtrooms, detainment cells, and office cubicles. The Brooklyn Traffic Court later moved to the Downtown Department of Motor Vehicles Office. The building then became a Bergen Tile store. The building was demolished in 1969.

Jacob Dangler House, ca. 1975. This French Gothic Revival mansion was built for Jacob Dangler, a German-born producer of provisions, bank trustee, and real estate investor. Dangler’s mansion was completed in 1902, a few blocks from the factory where his cold cuts were produced (his bologna was especially popular) and his Myrtle Avenue storefront. In 1941, two years after Dangler’s death, the house was sold. The Order of the Eastern Star, a Masonic organization, purchased the building in 1967 and operated an event space into the 21st century. In August of 2022, the building was demolished after the Landmarks Preservation Commission failed to act to designate it.

Jacob Dangler House, ca. 1975. The French Gothic mansion may appear out of place on a block of brownstone townhouses, but its architecture reflects the heritage of it first owner. Jacob Dangler, a successful producer of provisions, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, the oft-disputed territory at the French-German border.

Puritan Congregational Church, not dated. The history of this church dated 1863 when a group of teachers from the Wallabout Presbyterian Church established a Sabbath school. Within a year the school had grown while located at a storefront space on Myrtle Avenue. Originally named the East Brooklyn Congregational Church, the community broke ground for a place of worship in 1864 at DeKalb Avenue and Walworth Street. The congregation supposedly moved here to the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Marcy Avenue in 1869. Much of the later history of the parish is unknown. A 20th-century newspaper article noted that this building was constructed in 1890. The congregation may have disbanded or merged with another. In 1924, the building was sold to St. Augustine Protestant Episcopal Church. The church and neighboring school were sadly lost to a fire in 1969.

Townhouse at the northwest corner of Tompkins Park, October 25, 1957. This corner townhouse was built 1888 and 1904, and features intricate cornice detail, decorative terra cotta spandrels, a rock-faced brownstone belt course at the parlor floor, and a rusticated brownstone base. It’s possible that the house was built for John M. Wolf, the owner of a stove repair business, whose address was listed as 660 Lafayette Avenue at the time of his death in 1909.