Brooklyn Heights in Kings County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Brooklyn Heights Historic District

New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 8, 2024

1. Brooklyn Heights Historic District Marker

Inscription. Brooklyn Heights, with its elegant promenade and dramatic view of Manhattan, is one of the most uniformly preserved 19th century residential districts in New York City. It was developed soon after 1814, when Robert Fulton's first steam-powered ferry, financially backed by Hezekiah Beers Pierpont, a transplanted New Englander, connected the village of Brooklyn to Manhattan. Distinguished today by frame houses built soon after 1820, Greek Revival and Italianate row houses built in the mid-century, and many 19th century churches, Brooklyn Heights retains its serene upper middle-class atmosphere. Notable early residents included Seth Low, president of Columbia University and an early mayor of consolidated New York; and Henry Ward Beecher, an Abolitionist minister and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, and the consolidation of Brooklyn and New York in 1898, ended Brooklyn Heights' growth. It was the first historic district, designated in 1965.

Erected by New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker

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is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Landmarks • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1814.

Location. 40° 42.067′ N, 73° 59.629′ W. Marker is in Brooklyn, New York, in Kings County. It is in Brooklyn Heights. It is on Willow Street west of Poplar Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7 Willow St, Brooklyn NY 11201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in New York City

and on Long Island.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: GreenThumb (within shouting distance of this marker); Hillside Dog Park (about 300

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 8, 2024

2. Brooklyn Heights Historic District Marker

feet away, measured in a direct line); Virginia Travell Weeks (about 300 feet away); History in the Park (about 400 feet away); The Willows (about 400 feet away); John W. Rhonden (1918-2001) and Richarda Rhonden, nee Phillips (1917-2016) (about 400 feet away); Eagle Warehouse (about 400 feet away); Walt Whitman (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Brooklyn.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 8, 2024

3. Brooklyn Heights Historic District Marker

Photographed by Jack DePalma, September 15, 2025

4. Brooklyn Heights Historic District Marker

Found at Brooklyn Historical Building.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 225 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 11, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4. submitted on September 16, 2025, by Jack DePalma of Brooklyn,NY, New York.