The Quadrangle

Issue date: 3/2/05 Section: Features

A house in Brooklyn Heights, in northwestern Brooklyn.

In a borough that would be listed as America's fourth largest city all by itself, Brooklyn's first elite neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights, remains as one of the city's most beautiful neighborhoods. Rich in history, Brooklyn Heights is famous for its architecture, authors, and culture.

Considered one of the "hipper" areas of New York City, Brooklyn Heights is home to families, artists, and the city's wealthy. The nation's first suburb, the neighborhood is marked by its brownstones, 19th century mansions, and European-inspired architecture. John A. Roebling, the engineer and designer behind the Brooklyn Bridge, made his home in the neighborhood during construction of the elegant project. Once the bridge was completed, the ease of transport over the East River made Brooklyn Heights into a refuge for the city's wealthy; its proximity to Wall Street provided many with both a quick trip to work and a secluded place to live.

A more populated area of the then independent city of Brooklyn, the neighborhood was, and still is in many ways, a flagship for the Greater New York City. The neighborhood retained its original architecture through the century following its fruition, complete with tree-lined streets and the impeccable view of the increasingly commercialized Manhattan island across the water. The neighborhood saw its fair share of writers during the 1950's and 60's, including Truman Capote, who penned "A House of the Heights" and his famous work, "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Arthur Miller, and acclaimed novelist Norman Mailer.

During their time, Brooklyn Heights was as residential as it was commercial, with a United States Naval base to the north of the neighborhood and piers on its coastline. As time went on, the area lost its historic shipping ties, and the piers once vital to New York City's mercantile exchange sat abandoned. Eventually, the areas once commercial became residential, and the area saw another boom in population. The low rates for commercial space attracted Jehovah's Witnesses to Brooklyn Heights, who eventually made the neighborhood the center of their operations. Visible from the Brooklyn Bridge are the two Watchtower buildings, home to the publication released by the group, alongside various buildings set aside as living quarters for followers of the faith. Like many other sections of New York City, this neighborhood is a hodgepodge of cultures living and working together. Eventually, artists became attracted to Brooklyn Heights and the nearby area of DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) because of grand studio space and low rent. Areas around Montague street are gaining recognition for the art they produce, as the neighborhood also becomes known as an artist's haven.

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