Clinton Hill

Pratt Home, Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill is a small neighborhood in north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Atlantic Avenue.

By the 1840s, Clinton Hill had become a fashionable neighborhood for the wealthy of Brooklyn, who  could commute to Manhattan by way of stagecoach to the Fulton Ferry in nearby Brooklyn Heights. By the 1880s and '90s, Clinton Avenue was lined with mansions of millionaires, many of which have survived to the present day. The most prominent of these are linked to Charles Pratt, who built a mansion for himself and one each for three of his four sons (pictured, right). These four mansions can be seen on Clinton Avenue between DeKalb and Willoughby. The Pratt Institute of Art, founded by Charles Pratt in 1887, is located a few blocks from his former home.

Also located in Clinton Hill is St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn campus.

Fort Greene

Sunset over the Monument in Fort Greene Park.

Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York City-designated Historic District. It is located in north west Brooklyn, above Prospect Park. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2.

The neighborhood is named after an American Revolutionary War era fort that was built in 1776 under the supervision of General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island (McCullough 2005). General Greene aided General George Washington during the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. Fort Greene Park, originally called Washington Park and Brooklyn's first, is also derived from General Greene's name and the neighborhood. In 1864, Fort Greene park was redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The park notably includes the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument and crypt, which honors some 11,500 patriots who died aboard British prison ships during the American War of Independence.

Fort Greene contains many superb examples of mid-19th Century Italianate and Eastlake architecture, most of which is well preserved. Fort Greene is known for its many graceful, tree-lined streets and elegant low-rise housing. Fort Greene is also home to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, the tallest building in Brooklyn. The neighborhood is geographically desirable and close to the Atlantic Avenue train station, with access to most major subway lines. It is also home to several important cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Music School, The Paul Robeson Theater, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), UrbanGlass (www.urbanglass.org), 651 Arts performing center for African-American presenters, and Lafayette Church. Brooklyn Technical High School is one of New York City's most competitive public schools. The world renowned Pratt Institute, in neighboring Clinton Hill, is one of the leading art schools in the United States.