Flatbush District No. 1 School

Designated November 20, 2007

Dating from 1878, the Flatbush District No. 1 School is an important link to the years in which Flatbush was transformed from an agricultural village into a major suburb. John Y. Culyer was a locally prominent civil engineer and landscape architect who was the chief engineer and superintendent of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

Culyer designed the original H-shaped portion of the District No. 1 School in the Rundbogenstil or round-arched style, which was then the prevailing style among the new Brooklyn schoolhouses. Flatbush continued to grow following the building’s completion, and the schoolhouse soon became crowded, necessitating the construction of a harmonious southern addition, probably between 1890 and 1894.

*Excerpt from the Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

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The Neighborhood

Flatbush

Flatbush is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was founded by Dutch colonists in 1651. Flatbush was originally chartered as the Dutch Nieuw Nederland colony town of Midwout (or Midwoud or Medwoud) — from the Dutch words, med, "middle" and woud, "wood"— in 1651. Both names...

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“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

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“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx