Bedford Stuyvesant /Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District (Formerly the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District)

The Stuyvesant Heights historic district is a primarily residential neighborhood located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. On April 16, 2013, the historic district was expanded and renamed the Bedford Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. This newly designated district encompasses and extends the existing district, more than doubling its size.

Originally part of a small village called Bedford, much of the farmland in this region of what is now Bedford Stuyvesant was held by the descendants of three of the original Dutch landowners for two centuries, until its acquisition by developers and other investors during the first half of the 19th century. The gridiron street plan that exists today was laid out in 1835, and the blocks divided into lots; however, most of the streets were not opened until the 1860s.

Until the late 19th century, much of the land that comprised this historic district remained predominantly undeveloped, except for a few free-standing houses on MacDonough Street. Two of these early country residences still stand: number 97, built in 1861 for Charles W. Belts, and number 87, erected two years later.

With the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge underway, large scale development began to pick up in the 1870s and continued on until the 1920s. Rows of dignified masonry houses and brownstones, in a variety of styles, began to appear north of Decatur Street in the 1870s and 1880s, creating a neighborhood whose appearance has changed little since that time. A number of well-designed four-story apartment houses were built between 1888 and 1903, marking the transition to an urban community and coinciding with the incorporation of the City of New York in 1898.

The predominantly residential character of the district also includes significant religious institutions that helped shape the community. The first African-American congregation to move into the area was Bethany Baptist Church (founded 1883) which, since 1924, has occupied its present building, the former Sumner Avenue Baptist Church (built c.1900) at Sumner Avenue and Decatur Street. This and other venerable and historically important congregations moved to the area; all continue to serve as social and cultural beacons, as well as places of worship. ©2014