Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn

Carroll Gardens is part of the vast Brooklyn brownstone belt, and within that belt is part of a section of three neighborhoods (with Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill) that run together in most people’s minds, with indistinct borders. In fact, Carroll Gardens–not called by that name until the 1960s–has a history that is very distinct from any of the other Brooklyn brownstone neighborhoods. This tour will explore how the unique “courtyards” came into being (the Landmarks Preservation Commission signs in the Carroll Gardens Historic District, based on early and faulty research, have it all wrong), the unique geographical setting sandwiched between the Gowanus Canal and the Red Hook marshes, the immigrant history, the history and impact of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and much more.