Prospect Park South
Prospect Park South is an area of notable homes which was developed in 1899 by Dean Alvord. His motto for this development was rus in urbe or country in the city. Along the property lines of the houses trees were planted to give the illusion that each house was alone and totally separate from the others. Alvord had a house built here for his family the Alvord Mansion was located at 1522 Albemarle Road but after it was sold to Israel Matz who was the founder of Ex-Lax Company, the house burnt down in 1955. In 1979 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Prospect Park South as a historic district. There are many notable residences in this area that are worth seeing; most of them are found on Albemarle, Buckingham and Marlborough Roads.
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood that was settled by a Dutch family in 1660. In 1893 James Lefferts divided the Lefferts estate into 600 building lots which are now known as Lefferts Manor and they were sold to developers. Lefferts made sure that the homes in this area would be notable and made restrictions which required that each home be a single family residence of brick or stone and be at least two stories high. These houses were constructed in the late 19th century. In 1979 the houses in Lefferts Manor were granted landmark status by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission and in 1992 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Lefferts Manor Historic District.
Prospect Park
Prospect Park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This public park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux both of whom also designed New York’s Central Park. Within the park one can find the Long Meadow which consists of 90 acres, the Picnic Houses where you can rent a hall for parties and see the pre-existing house of Edwin Clark Litchfield who was a developer of the area and formerly owned the southern part of the park. It is called Litchfield Villa. Here is also the Prospect Park Zoo which is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society. At the Boathouse by Brooklyn’s only lake (60 acres) is the visitors center and the Audubon Center. In the summer, people come to the park for free outdoor concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell. If one is into sports the park offers seven baseball fields located in the Long Meadow, the Prospect Park Tennis Center, basketball courts, soccer fields and the New York Petanque Club in the Parade Ground. As if that weren’t enough, there is also a private Society of Friends cemetery on Quaker Hill which is near the ball fields. Actor Montgomery Clift is buried here.
