Officers' Quarters, September 2004 | Main | Only in Park Slope
October 15, 2004
Everything Must Change...
After being told to budget six hours for the research of the dilapidated houses on Flushing Avenue, I promptly forgot about them. Actually, I did not forget. The summer went too fast. Work got in the way. And I got lazy. And tired.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a man named Mick who lived in the officers� houses during the early/mid 1970�s with his family. A day later, two more emails arrived, written by his sisters. They began to tell me the story of their life in the Navy Yard, complete with descriptions of the inside and outside of the houses, the contrast between the yard and the surrounding neighborhood, and a general shock and sadness as the awful state of their former home.
What has resulted is a quite amazing correspondence. Mick has sent me some wonderful written reflections, as well as some incredible family photographs of the houses�from the inside of the Navy Yard, looking out. He and his family have (re)inspired me to pick up my research where I left off, this time with a little help from A and a tip �o the hat to Kevin.
I am amassing quite a collection of words, images, and research that I am still sorting through. Of course, as repeatedly noted, I cannot wait, so I have decided to post as I go. I like to ask questions and share facts. I am less interested in a "finished product" (of which I see as a body of knowledge, but I guess it could be more) and more intrigued by the social history that will unravel with time.
In the meantime, callalillie geek central has been hard at work searching for old maps, matching them to the new, and attempting to identify as much historical information about the officers� houses as possible, as well as identifying possible legal entries into the yard for research purposes. I have also gotten my arm stuck between the bars of the Flushing Avenue fence twice and accidentally dropped my camera inside the gated yard once. Thank goodness for long sticks.
I will be pushing what I have learned out in installments as I synthesize it. I would like to get some comparison shots of the houses from the inside, to hold up against those circa 1973. There are many potential field trips in store for everyone involved, and a wonderful learning adventure ahead.
In the meantime, radom facts & musings:
- As noted by Mike and confirmed by Mick, Officer�s Row was cordoned off from the rest of the Navy Yard by walls, fences, and barbed wire. Mick explained that an armed guard was on duty twenty-four hours a day at the quarters gate. The only other entrance was a gate on Flushing Avenue.
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- I am completely confused as to where my apostrophe should go when talking about Officers Quarters. Does one officer possess the quarters or many? It seems to vary with what I read.
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- In today's day and age, people with cameras taking pictures on quiet streets get eyed closely and carefully by security guards.
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- During the years of the Navy Yard (early 19th century), every permanent structure had to be painted with yellow ochre.
I like yellow ochre. That should still be a rule.
Note: Special thanks to Mick for the upper image (which I've cropped) of Officer's Row. I'm not 100% sure that the two houses pictures are in fact the same. The first is from 2004, looking into the Navy Yard from Flushing Avenue. The second is from 1973, looking out of the Navy Yard onto Flushing.
Posted by callalillie at October 15, 2004 3:41 AM | Brooklyn Navy Yard
The yellow ochre is historically accurate. Many of the buildings on Governor's Island are the same color. The park ranger explanation was that the military bought everything in bulk and their color of choice was yellow.
Posted by: joe at October 15, 2004 11:50 AM
yes, i remember learning that in the gov island tour, as well, now that you mention it. i found this really interesting article from an 1870's Harpers that does a good job charting the architectural history of the navy yard...and the introduction of brick as a widely used building material :)
Posted by: corie at October 15, 2004 11:52 AM
The old picture reminds me vaguely of the El Presidio (or whatever it's called) park in San Franscisco. How can so much prime real estate in New York city of all places go so long untouched? What is the deal with the Navy Yard? Why hasn't it been preserved, developed, or simply utilized? (I'm sure you have the answer Corie...and I am oh so lazy, and oh so interested.)
Posted by: Cynthia at October 15, 2004 2:00 PM
Well, people have pushed for all three over the years. The trickiness with the Navy Yard involves ownership-- it was decommissioned in 1966 and is owned by the City, run by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. They have been developing other areas of the yard (Steiner Studios has a base there and they are filming the movie version of The Producers) and recently began plans for a redevelopment/revitalization of Flushing Avenue (storefronts, etc).
Apparently, some Federal law from 1987 makes it impossible to sell the houses at market rate-- which doesn't really matter anymore because they are pretty much beyond repair. A veterans' group worked to preserve them in the late 90's, but failed.
It looks like they will be demolished in 2006. I'll keep ya posted.
Posted by: corie at October 15, 2004 2:44 PM
Leave it be, I say. Let the weeds demolish it. Besides, where will our future haunted house writers get their inspiration?
Posted by: matt at October 16, 2004 12:00 AM
My bad-- the fed gov't owns the section of the yard called Officer's/Admiral's Row, not the city. It's about seven acres, including a small park.
There's also a nice little article about the Navy Yard in this morning's NYTimes.
Posted by: corie at October 16, 2004 2:28 PM
To be even more specific, I learned today that the Army Corp. of Engineers controls that area.
Posted by: Alexis at October 17, 2004 12:57 AM
how far must the landmark comissioner's head be up nyc corporate butt before she loses sight of her mandated duty? LANDMARK OFFICER'S ROW!!!!!
i believe that the officers quarters were not landmarked because the navy tranferred ownership to the core of engineers who applied for demolition, and all the interested parties signed off on these remarkably landmarkable buildings. including federal landmark state landmark and city land mark agencies
Posted by: scott at October 19, 2004 9:58 PM
When the possessor is a regular plural, the apostrophe follows the "s":
Officers' quarters.
e.g. The boys' hats.
Posted by: tedward at October 24, 2004 4:44 PM
I have been enjoying your photos of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I have been doing some genealogical research and discovered that my gggg-grandfather was the Master of the Yard from 1822-1830. He and family lived on Sands St. - 5 different addresses. Was wondering if you could tell me if the houses are still there? The house numbers are: 152,122,114,112 and 83. I live in Minnesota and it's hard to get info from here. Thanks in advance.
Posted by: Barb at October 26, 2004 4:59 PM
