One of New York City’s oldest neighborhoods, the downtown area of Brooklyn now known as Brooklyn Heights gained its first Dutch settlers in 1636. Since then, Brooklyn Heights has witnessed dynamic events in American history: British troops occupied forts there during the Revolutionary War, Washington Roebling built the world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge, and American literary lions lived in the enclave’s beautiful brownstone row houses. Walking tours of Brooklyn Heights’ architecture, historic landmarks and famous food continue to be popular with 21st century visitors.
Location
- The neighborhood lies on the western edge of Brooklyn, directly across the East River from lower Manhattan. The City of New York's Landmarks Preservation Committee has designated most of Brooklyn Heights as a Historic District, so its 19th-century homes, churches and civic buildings remain intact. The district is bordered on the south by Atlantic Avenue, to the west by the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, to the north by Cadman Plaza West, and on the east side by Henry and Clinton Streets in a roughly diagonal line.
Tour Providers
- Nonprofit groups such as the Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy often lead free tours of the neighborhood’s cultural landmarks. Tour companies, such as Big Onion, Brooklyn Unplugged and Urban Oyster, offer affordable treks through the enclave's leafy streets, occasionally based around topics like local pizza, food trucks or street graffiti. Free Tours By Foot is a company that serves up exactly that around Brooklyn Heights’ classic sites.
Landmarks
- Brooklyn Heights historically attracted the creme de la creme of the borough’s residents, who built homes and other buildings with sumptuous elan. For example, the borough’s oldest public building, Brooklyn Borough Hall, displays the opulent Greek Revival style in white stone and marble. The neighborhood has its culinary landmarks as well, including Grimaldi’s Pizza at the Brooklyn Bridge's anchorage and Sahadi's Middle Eastern food emporium. Two can’t-miss sights are the Brooklyn Promenade, a wide walkway that looks across New York Harbor and lower Manhattan, and the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
Tour Themes
- Brooklyn was home to some of the most daring literary figures of the past two centuries: Truman Capote, Normal Mailer, W.H. Auden, Henry Miller and Walt Whitman all lived for a time in the area’s genteel brownstones. Today, the annual Brooklyn Book Festival takes place at Borough Hall plaza, across the street from the Brooklyn Heights Historic District’s east boundary. Naturally, literary Brooklyn proves popular as a theme for walking tours. The area’s well-kept 19th-century townhouses and large churches, and the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum, provide fodder for architectural and historical walks. Finally, food tours often stop at Grimaldi's for authentic Brooklyn-style pizza.
