Grand Army Plaza

[Traffic at Grand Army Plaza], circa 1892; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191, V1974.7.60 ; Brooklyn Historical Society.

New York City Department of Health estimates that over a half million New Yorkers ride bikes. Just this past week, I dusted off my old bike to join the other two-wheeled commuters. Brooklyn Historical Society employees participate in the Transportation Authority’s annual Bike to Work Month which is more motivation to take in some fresh air on my commute to work. Check out other bicycle photographs highlighted in our collection from previous blog posts here.

The photo of the week features a few bicyclists (and men on horses) around 1892, cycling past Grand Army Plaza, part of my morning route. Grand Army Plaza was initially designed by park designer Calvert Vaux as a grand entry point to the park. The plaza marks the beginning of Eastern Parkway, the world’s first parkway, and was intended to be free of commercial traffic. That changed by the 1950s when over 40 traffic signals were added and the roads repaved.

The original construction of the plaza was built between 1869 and 1873, however only the elliptical shape and hillocks remain from Vaux’s design. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch was designed by architect John Hemenway Duncan and was installed in 1892. On top of the arch is a quadriga (a sculpture depicting four horses carrying a chariot) that was created by Frederick MacMonnies, a young, gifted sculptor from Bedford-Stuyvesant. It was installed in 1898. The arch commemorated the Union Army and Navy of the Civil War. It was designated an official city landmark in 1973, and is considered among the great achievements in American sculpture. To learn more about the history of Grand Army Plaza, be sure to check out the Park Slope Neighborhood & Architectural History Guide available in our book store.

This photograph comes from the Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection. The collection contains lantern slides and photographs taken by Martense documenting Brooklyn during the last quarter of the 19th century, in particular Flatbush, Brooklyn and the Blizzard of 1888, as well as other images of Brooklyn. Martense was an amateur photographer who was a descendent of early Dutch settlers in Brooklyn. The Martense family were longtime residents of Flatbush, which became the primary subject of his photography. I think the Martense collection is particularly fascinating because of the unique view it provides of the late 19^th century in Brooklyn. To see more of Martense’s photographs, check out this gallery.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. photos@brooklynhistory.org