Learning Places Spring 2016

SITE REPORT Field Visit #3: Vinegar Hill

Jessica Samide

04.13.2016

INTRODUCTION

The focus of the third site visit to Vinegar Hill was to closely observe the buildings and its architectural                                     

details. The class walked around the neighborhood as a group during which we made three stops.                               

During the three stops, the class focused on three specific buildings and sketched them while also                               

marking down the architectural details that we came across. 

PRE-VISIT REFLECTION

With each site visit to Vinegar Hill, the objective of the visit seems to continuously get more specific to                                     

ascertaining a certain goal. For this reason, I expect that the goal of the third site visit to Vinegar HIll                                       

be more specific than the first two. I anticipate that we will focus our observations on buildings,                                 

streets, and other architectural structures that are specific to the research needed for our final                             

projects. This visit will help us apply the research we gathered from our trips to the libraries and                                   

archives to what we observe firsthand during this visit. Being that this is our last trip to Vinegar HIll as                                       

a class, I hope that I will be able to gain new firsthand information that I can apply to my final project.  

SITE DOCUMENTATION (photos/sketches)

This is a sketch of the building on Hudson Avenue. Since I                        

am not a good sketcher, I drew a rough sketch but added                       

a lot of written detail to illustrate what I observed. One of                       

the architectural details that separated this building from               

most of the other buildings in Vinegar Hill is the cornice.                     

Unlike the simple cornices that can be found throughout                 

the neighborhood, this one is much more ornate. This                 

cornice is wide with brackets. It also appears to have                   

more of a curvular shapes than a Greek Revival cornice                   

would. This building also has a storefront on the first                   

story. The door that would act as an entrance to the store                       

is in between two large windows. On the left end of the                       

first story is a smaller door. This door was used for the                       

residences on the two upper levels. This would prevent                 

the store customers from entering through the same door                 

as the residents. Thus, protecting the privacy of the                 

building’s inhabitants. 

The photograph on the left is the same building                 

that is depicted in the above sketch. I wanted                 

to show the photograph in conjunction with the               

sketch to show the proper scale. In addition,               

the photograph shows an interesting detail           

about the building’s facade that my sketch does               

not. The owner or past owner of the building                 

had painted over the entire front of the               

structure. The cornice at the top is a wooden                 

detail but has since been painted a pink color.                 

The stone lintels, wooden doors, and metal             

work of the window frames is the same shade                 

of pink. The brickwork has been painted over a                 

light shade of tan. Underneath the paint, the               

bricks are a running bond pattern. The running               

bond brickwork and Italianate Cornice suggest           

that this building has had renovations done.             

Inside the windows are thin, metal columns,             

which are probably original details of the             

1

building. Lastly, the corners of the storefront’s windows are curved.

This sketch is of the now residential building on the corner of Water Street and Gold Street. It was at                                       

one time a mixed use building with             

residences on the upper levels and a             

storefront on the first story. The           

structure is from the 19th Century, but it               

has modern features like new windows           

and security cameras. 

The sketch to the left is of the house on                   

Front Street. This house is the most             

modern looking building at off all three             

buildings visited. The windows and doors           

are very new and pristine looking. The             

brickwork has been redone to showcase           

a running bond pattern. This building has             

always been used for solely residential           

purposes. If this house does date back to               

the mid­19th Century, the person living           

in this building was probably wealthy. It             

differs from all the other buildings in             

Vinegar Hill because this one was           

probably always used as a one family             

2

house instead of apartment units. 

 

 

 

 

The 

three photographs have been cropped in order to show how the cornices differ for each of the                                 

buildings that were visited during the site visit. The first cornice is in the Italianate style. Whereas the                                   

other two cornices are in the Greek Revival style. The Greek Revival cornice is a narrower and simpler                                   

design. It also is composed of straight lines unlike the Italianate cornice, which has curves and                               

brackets. The Greek Revival cornices also have smaller dentil cornices. 

 

 

  

 

   

The focus of the three above photographs is to bring attention to the lintels and the windows. The                                   

lintels of the first photograph are simple and thin. The design of the lintels is not Greek Revival. The                                     

lintels above the windows in the other two photographs are                   

Greek Revival. They are made out of stone. The lintels have a                       

slight protrusion at the top and additional lines. The windows in                     

all three photographs are double­hung windows. 

Pictured in the photograph to the right is the bottom story of a                         

three story building. The building’s material changes from brick                 

to stucco the closer it gets to the bottom of the structure. The                         

stucco provides a more secure, sturdier foundation. It is meant                   

to provide support for the bricks. The stucco has been cut into                       

3

slabs to give it the appearance of stone. 

QUALITATIVE SITE OBSERVATIONS

1. Neighborhood / Street Character 

a. The neighborhood is quiet in most areas but progressively gets busier and louder                         

closer to DUMBO and the Farragut Houses. 

b. While many of the buildings are the original 19th Century structures, some of these                           

buildings have had renovations to make them look more modern and up­to­date.  

2. Vitality of Neighborhood 

a. General Description 

i. Vinegar Hill seemed to be more lively than it did the first two visits, which may                               

have to do with the weather being somewhat warmer. While I was sketching,                         

a man and woman stopped to inquire what our class was doing. Shortly after,                           

an employee of Damascus Bakery came out of the building and gave bread to                           

the class.  

b. Pedestrian Activity 

i. There was an average amount of pedestrian activity during the third site visit.                         

Most of the pedestrians that passed by were on Front Street as well as Gold                             

Street. Hudson Avenue had significantly less people walking past.  

c. Vehicular Traffic 

i. The most vehicular traffic was on Front Street and Gold Street. Hudson                       

Avenue had a small amount of vehicular traffic. There was significantly more                       

vehicular traffic than there was pedestrians walking down the street.  

3. Age of Buildings (provide evidence for prediction)  

a. The first building that we sketched on Hudson Avenue was probably one of the                           

original mid­19th Century buildings. It is fully attached on either side to two buildings.                           

This building is a three story structure with the first story being a storefront. Above                             

the windows are simple, stone lintels, which are consistent with the mid­19th Century.  

b. The second building that we sketched that was on the corner of Water Street and                             

Gold Street is most likely one of the original mid­19th Century buildings. The building                           

is one of the commonly found mixed use buildings of the time. It has the typical 19th                                 

Century corner building storefront with the entrance on a diagonal and residences on                         

the upper stories. The lintels and cornice of the building are of the Greek Revival style,                               

which was common in the mid 19th Century. In addition, from using the 1855 map                             

from the second site visit, I have deduced that the current existing buildings match up                             

to the ones depicted in the map. 

4

c. The age of the third building, which was on Front Street is a bit more difficult to tell. It                                     

looks as if it could date back to the mid­19th Century. It possesses Greek Revival                             

details in the cornice and lintels, however, much of the building’s features such as                           

brickwork, windows, and doors have been replaced. Even though the lintels are in the                           

Greek Revival style, they appeared to have been redone.   

4. Relationship Between Buildings 

a. None of the buildings we looked at during the site visit were free­standing buildings.                           

The first building was attached to other buildings on both sides; the second building                           

was attached to a building on one side because it was a corner building; and the third                                 

building was attached to another building on one side as well.  

b. When a building is fully or semi­attached to its surrounding buildings, this indicates                         

that all of the other buildings attached are probably of the same or similar age.  

5. Building Details 

a. The brickwork on all three buildings had been redone at some point probably in the                             

20th Century. A typical mid­19th Century brick building would have a Flemish bond                         

pattern, but the buildings had a running bond, which is consistent with the 20th                           

Century. The bricks of the building on Hudson Avenue had been painted over.  

b. The cornices at the top of the building are used to drip water away from the building                                 

in addition to being a decorative detail. The building on Hudson Avenue had a cornice                             

in the Italianate style, which is unusual for the neighborhood. Most of the buildings in                             

the neighborhood had cornice in the Greek Revival style. 

c. The buildings with storefronts on the first story had one small step, usually made out                             

of stone, leading to the doorway. This allowed for easy loading and unloading of the                             

wares. The third building, which was strictly residential, had a stoop of nine steps                           

leading up to the front door. The first story is more elevated than the first story of a                                   

building with a storefront. 

6. Relationship to the Waterfront 

a. Vinegar HIll as a whole is adjacent to the East River Waterfront. However, the                           

residential and commercial buildings are not very close to the waterfront.  

b. The use of the waterfront is detached from most of the inhabitants and workers of                             

Vinegar Hill. It does not play a pivotal role in the day to day activities or function of the                                     

neighborhood. The only people who may have access to the waterfront are the                         

employees of the  Con Edison Plant and Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

7. Other Observations 

a. There are common similarities in the architectural designs of many of the buildings in                           

Vinegar Hill. This leads me to believe that some of the properties were owned and                             

developed by the same person. 

5

b. Most of buildings have had restorations to make them look more modern. This                         

includes new windows, doors, light fixtures, and the house on the corner of Water                           

Street and Gold Street has security cameras. 

c. The pattern of the brickwork is not always an accurate way of determining a building’s                             

age. Many of the mid­19th century buildings have had their brickwork redone in the                           

more modern running bond pattern. 

QUANTITATIVE DATA for Area of Study

Subject Data

Street Names  Hudson Avenue, Water Street, Gold Street, Front Street.

Street Width 

Hudson Avenue is a two-way street with parking on one side of the street. Water Street appears to be a one-way street with parking on one side of the street. Gold Street is a two-way street with parking on both sides of the street. Front Street is a one-way street with parking on both sides of the street.

Street Pavement Hudson Avenue, Water Street, and Front Street were a combination of Belgian block and asphalt pavement. Gold Street had only asphalt pavement.

Building Heights  3-4 stories tall.

Building Widths (Window Bays) 

2-3 window bays wide.

Building Types/Uses 

Strictly residential purposes now. At one time in history the building on Hudson Avenue and the building on the corner of Water Street and Gold Street were used for a combination of residential and commercial purpose.

Empty Lots / Gardens  None of the buildings had gardens or empty lots.

Shops / Restaurants  N/A to this visit.

6

Industrial Shops  Damascus Bakery.

QUESTIONS to Research Further

QUESTIONS: 

1. Were the buildings that are attached to each other or on the same block often owned and                                 

developed by the same landowner? 

2. Why were there buildings with storefronts on Hudson Avenue and Gold Street, but none on                             

Front Street. 

3. Were these buildings designed by actual architects or did the buildings’ developers decide the                           

styles by using a book of architectural designs that could be mass produced? 

RESEARCH METHOD/SOURCE FOR EACH QUESTION ABOVE: 

1. Question 1  

a. Read the “Vinegar Hill Designation Report” to determine the individual landowners                     

and developers of each individual property in the 19th century. 

b. Observe the 1855 map and then another map at a later date to compare the changes                               

to the lots, if any occurred.  

c. Contact the Brooklyn Historical Society for any auction records pertaining to land in                         

Vinegar Hill.  

2. Question 2 

a. Use maps from 1855 to compare the streets’ location in regards to the waterfront and                             

how this location would be beneficial to transporting goods from the waterfront to                         

the store. 

b. Utilize Brooklyn Historical Society for commercial records from the mid 19th century. 

c. Read the “Vinegar Hill Designation Report” to find out the original use of each                           

building. 

3. Question 3 

a. Read the “Vinegar Hill Designation Report” to see if there are any names of architects                             

listed under each individual property.  

b. Research the internet about architecture in buildings owned by developers in the 19th                         

Century.  

c. Look for any books or records on architecture while conducting research at the                         

Brooklyn Historical Society.   

7

SUMMARY / POST VISIT REFLECTION

I found this trip to be particularly interesting. It was nice to walk around Vinegar Hill as a group and                                       

learn about the correct architectural terminology while we sketched. Because this visit was so                           

narrowly focused on three buildings, it allowed me to spend a lot of time observing the buildings in                                   

order to notice the small, minute details on them. Two of the three buildings were ones that I                                   

photographed during my first two site visits. Other than noticing that the buildings were used for both                                 

residential and commercial purposes at one time, most of the other details on the buildings went                               

unnoticed by me. The first building we sketched on Hudson Avenue was the one that stood out most                                   

to me. The design of the cornice was just so unusual compared to the typical cornice style of Vinegar                                     

Hill. If we did not stop by this building during the site visit, I would continue to incorrectly think that                                       

the building was in the Greek Revival style when in fact, it does not have any Greek Revival design                                     

elements.  

8