Hendrick I. Lott House, 1923. In 1720, on land purchased from the Voorhies family (a founding Brooklyn Dutch family), Johannes Lott build a simple farmhouse. His grandson Hendrick I. Lott, in 1800, would go on to create a much larger home, which incorporated the original structure. The exterior of the home is a traditional Dutch-American vernacular farmhouse, while the interior is considerably more grand. The decorative mantles and moldings belie the profession of Lott who was a carpenter for Manhattan homes. Since 2001, the home has been owned by the city and is run through the NYC Parks Department Historic House Trust. At the time of its ownership transfer, it was the longest continual ownership of a property by a single family within the City.

Before it was a borough of skyscrapers, brownstones, and warehouses, Brooklyn was home to Dutch immigrants and farmers escaping the chaos and bustle of New Amsterdam. The original area was made up of six independent towns called Breuckelen (Brooklyn Heights), Boswijck (Bushwick), Vlacke Bos or Midwout (Flat Bush), New Amersfoort (Flatlands), Gravesend, and New Utrecht. The homes that populated 17th-century Brooklyn are famous for pioneering the American-Dutch Colonial style that inspired architecture into the next century. The style's influence can still be seen in suburban homes today. Thanks to 19th-century photographer Robert L. Bracklow and others, an extensive photographic record of these homes exists, offering a clear visual contrast to the Brooklyn of today (though some of the original homes survive)!

Hendrick I. Lott House, 1923. In the tidy Marine Park neighborhood stands the Hendrick I. Lott House. With its one-story wings, it maintains the appearance of a relatively humble Dutch farmhouse but has a large central hall and elegant Neoclassical ornamentation. Like the Lefferts, the Lotts were one of the county's wealthiest families, and this substantial Dutch-American farmhouse was at the center of a 200-acre farm. The Lott House has the distinction of being the longest continuously inhabited Dutch-American farmhouse in Brooklyn- Ella Suydam, daughter of Jennie Lott, died here in 1989. The city of New York acquired the property in 2002 and completed an extensive exterior restoration of the house in 2008. The house and grounds are preserved by New York City's Historic House Trust.

In celebration of the Municipal Art Society's 125th Anniversary, we've compiled a list of landmarks older than MAS.

Still standing in its original orientation on its original site, the Hendrick I. Lott House is a rare surviving Dutch-American house in New York City.

Frank Cousins was a renowned photographer of colonial architecture who hailed from Massachusetts. He was hired by the New York City Art Commission to photograph sites worthy of protection in 1913. Here are a series of farmhouses and homesteads he photographed in Brooklyn.

The first European settlers arrived in modern-day New York in 1614. Twelve years later, the Dutch West India Company brought over eleven enslaved people from Africa. From the settlement of New Netherland, African Americans have played a critical role in the development of New York. In the early portion of New Netherland's history, the Dutch divided Black people into two groups: those who were enslaved, and those who were not. This division persisted until the Civil War in 1861. To southerners, a portion of this period from the 18th century to the start of the Civil War was called the "Antebellum" which means the pre-Civil War era. In the south, these years were marked by economic growth due to the reliance on slavery in the region. This period also marked the beginning of a divide between two schools of thought, those who were against slavery, the abolitionists, and those in support of slavery. This story teaches us about what that period was like for Black people in the North and specifically, in New York City. NYS Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards: 4.7, 7.7, & 11.3. For Teachers: African American in Antebellum New York Lesson Plan

The Historic House Trust’s main effort is the preservation and maintenance of 23 historic house sites located throughout the five boroughs of New York City. To highlight the Trust's work, we're showcasing each house!

From mansions to tenements, when it comes to housing, New York has it all. This New York Public Library collection examines housing in New York since the mid-19th century, with a particular focus on vernacular and wood-frame structures across the five boroughs.

Between 1954 and 1957, the Municipal Art Society surveyed historic buildings in all five boroughs to create a database of potential landmarks to preserve. Local residents and MAS staff compiled individual sheets devoted to about 200 buildings. Each sheet outlined the building’s date, location, and style and provided a description and a small photograph. This is the list of Brooklyn buildings.