place

Abolitionist Place

19th century in BrooklynAbolitionism in the United StatesAfrican-American history in New York CityDowntown BrooklynHouses on the Underground Railroad
New York City Designated Landmarks in BrooklynSquares in BrooklynStreets in BrooklynUnderground Railroad in New York (state)Use mdy dates from February 2021
Abolitionist Place (21607)
Abolitionist Place (21607)

Abolitionist Place is an alternative name for a section of Duffield Street in Brooklyn, New York City, which was a significant site of abolitionist activity in the 19th century. Abolitionists Harriet and Thomas Truesdell lived at 227 Duffield Street, which is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. William Harned, an Underground Railroad conductor, lived at the intersection with Willoughby Street, and stories have been passed down orally of involvement of several houses on the block. Duffield Street is said to be named for John Duffield, a Brooklyn resident and surgeon during the American Revolutionary War.In the mid-2000s the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced plans to use eminent domain to seize and demolish the sites to construct a new public square and underground parking, leading the community to organize in opposition. Amid the pushback, the city renamed the street Abolitionist Place while proceeding with development plans. By 2019, all but one of the sites with claimed abolitionist activity on the street were demolished. The last, 227 Duffield, was designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2021. A public space at the intersection with Willoughby Street, also named Abolitionist Place, is in development as of June 2021.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Abolitionist Place (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Abolitionist Place
Duffield Street, New York Brooklyn

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Abolitionist PlaceContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.691388888889 ° E -73.984166666667 °
placeShow on map

Address

Duffield Street 227
11201 New York, Brooklyn
New York, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Abolitionist Place (21607)
Abolitionist Place (21607)
Share experience

Nearby Places

Offerman Building
Offerman Building

The Offerman Building is a historic commercial building at 503–513 Fulton Street in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City. Designed by architect Peter J. Lauritzen in the Romanesque Revival style, the eight-story building was built between 1890 and 1892 to house the S. Wechsler & Brother department store. Although the lower stories remain in commercial use, the upper stories were converted into a 121-unit residential complex in the 2010s. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is divided into three section: the original wings on Fulton Street to the south and Duffield Street to the east, as well as a three-story glass annex on Bridge Street to the west that dates from the 2010s. On the Fulton and Duffield Street wings, the first and second stories of the facade are clad in stone, while brick and terracotta are used on the upper stories. The Fulton Street wing is mostly seven stories high (except for the central eight-story section), while the Duffield Street wing is six stories high. Inside, the building was originally used in its entirety as a department store, with various selling departments on each floor, as well as a small mechanical plant in the basement. The building's interior has been rearranged multiple times throughout the years; by the 2010s, only the basement and first two stories remained in retail use. The building was developed by Brooklyn Sugar Refining Company president Henry Offerman, who agreed in late 1889 to lease the entire structure to S. Wechsler & Bro. (later Wechsler Bros. & Co.). The Offerman Building opened on May 1, 1891, and was expanded along Duffield Street in 1892 after the store's business grew significantly. Wechsler Bros. & Co. occupied the building until 1895, when Offerman took over the store. Joseph H. Bauland operated the store from 1897 to 1903, and Chapman & Co. then operated the store until 1907. The structure was then used as offices from 1909 to 1922, when Martin's department store moved into the building. Martin's occupied the Offerman Building for nearly six decades, moving out during 1979, after which the Laboz family's company United American Land bought the building. In the first two decades of the 21st century, the Laboz family leased out the lowest floors as retail space and converted the upper stories to apartments.

BellTel Lofts
BellTel Lofts

The BellTel Lofts (formerly the New York Telephone Company Building, 101 Willoughby Street, and 7 MetroTech Center) is a mostly residential building at 101 Willoughby Street and 365 Bridge Street in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City. Constructed from 1929 to 1931 as the headquarters for the New York Telephone Company, it is located at the northeast corner of Willoughby and Bridge Streets. It was one of several Art Deco-style telecommunications buildings designed by Ralph Thomas Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker in the early 20th century. The building was renovated into a residential complex in the mid-2000s. The BellTel Lofts measures 348 ft (106 m) tall, with 27 above-ground stories and three basements. Its design is influenced by German Expressionism, with Art Deco detailing, and derives much of its decoration from the arrangement of the bricks. The building's shape features a largely symmetrical massing and numerous setbacks with decorative parapets. At ground level, the main entrance is recessed at the center of the western facade on Bridge Street, while most of the remaining ground-story openings are metal-and-glass storefronts. On the upper stories, the facade is divided vertically into multiple bays and taper to a tower on the top nine stories. When 101 Willoughby Street was constructed, the ground story contained a lobby and auditorium, while the upper stories were used as offices. Since the 2000s, the building has contained 250 residential units, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle. The New York Telephone Company decided to construct 101 Willoughby Street in 1929, consolidating operations from several other buildings, including the company's old headquarters at 81 Willoughby Street. Plans for the new structure were filed in November 1929, and the building formally opened on October 28, 1931, as New York Telephone's second-largest building. The New York Telephone Company continued to occupy the building through the late 20th century, with thousands of employees there. Part of the building was renovated into a training center in the late 1980s, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a city landmark in 2004. The building was sold in February 2005 to David Bistricer for $68 million, and his company Clipper Equities converted the structure to a residential condominium complex. Although sales of the condo units began in October 2006, many of the apartments remained unsold for several years.