Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District

Originally known as Midwout, the area along what is now Flatbush Avenue was the commercial, legal, and governmental center of the Dutch farming colonies on Long Island. The Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District occupies a portion of the estate of the Lefferts family, prominent in Brooklyn since the seventeenth century. It was developed by James Lefferts between 1895 and 1925; the greatest activity occurred in 1905-11, after the financial panic of 1903, which slowed construction in the city. Lefferts planned a high-quality residential community, and restrictive covenants, including building heights and the setback from the streets, still govern details intended to preserve neighborhood character.

Two- and three-story row houses are interspersed among free-standing structures. The first were built in the Romanesque Revival style, although they represent a later, somewhat eclectic version. In addition to the customary rough-hewn stonework and round-arched windows and doorways, the houses often have details, such as Palladian windows, that reflect the classical revival at the turn of the century. There are also fine examples of the various Colonial Revival styles, such as the Federal and Georgian, as well as the Tudor Revival. Among the individual landmarks are the Lefferts homestead and Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. ©2014