82f Dyker Heights 1899 to 1926: Houses with spacious gardens, streets lined with oak trees

Introduction

My Father told me that long before he was born, Dyker Heights was a place of hills, meadows, farms, brooks, streams and old fashioned houses with porches, gardens and lots of open space. 

In posting 82e1we focused on Max Jonas, the developer who transformed Dyker Heights into a residential neighborhood that included shopping and office space along some of the avenues that run through the community. 

Mid-way through his career, Jonas bought a large parcel of land in the vicinity of modern day 14^th Avenue.  Five acres of this land was used for the Graham Baseball Field.  That so much land was available went some way to substantiate what Dad had told me.  Uncle Sammy and I were curious as to just how countrified Dyker Heights was in the decades before we were born. After retrieving our first article about the baseball field, we went further back and found articles that gave further weight and substance to what Dad had told me.

We decided to present summaries of the articles along with our thoughts about them.  In this way, it will be easy to read the news, learn our responses and enter into a world of long ago that is long gone.  This trip back in time gave us a glimpse of the charming and the not so charming aspects of life in Dyker heights in the years before Max Jonas built over the rolling green land but thankfully left the maple trees on each block in place.

Topics Covered

1899:  A descriptive journey into the interior of a three story home in the new suburb of Dyker Heights.

1907:  Residents are still forced to use cesspools as completion of a sewage system stalls for the third year in a row.

1909:  Before 13th Avenue was a commercial venue it was the site of spacious homes and gardens.

1912:  Bowling Clubs and Bowling Alleys

1913:  The coming of the first apartment houses.

1917:  Access to transit adds to the appeal of the area.

1926:  A baseball game at the Graham Baseball Field.

1899:  Description of a new home in Dyker Heights

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Sunday, December 31, 1899

In 1899 Brooklyn was called the “suburban borough” of New York City.  Many of the wealthy, the prominent, the important from the upper echelons of Manhattan were leaving the city and heading for Dyker Heights.  City officials were aware that this meant a loss of tax revenues.  It also caused a decrease in the quality of the neighborhoods left behind in Manhattan. For 1900 construction on 100 new homes was scheduled in Dyker Heights.  The value of recently built homes were already increasing in value. 

The article lists the names of these VIPs of 1899 and the locations of their new residences.  We have not listed the names because many of the people and their companies are not commonly known.  If our readers would like to do further look-ups they can use the link for this article given in the Resources section.

The street and avenue formations were now clear.  The tarring (“Macadamizing” of 12th Avenue from 82nd to 86th Streets was completed when this article was written.  The next step was the planting of trees:  Rock Maples were to be planted 7 on each avenue and 20 on the side streets. 

The typical home had 14 rooms with a grand foyer, butler’s pantry, fire place, and library.  There was also a cellar and a laundry room.  First floor rooms were finished with Birdseye Maple and Oak.  The second floor rooms were finished with Oak and Sycamore wood.  The third floor rooms were plain Cypress wood.  It was on this last floor that servant’s quarters, a billiards room and a card room were situated.  Homes with ample garden space were also situated on 13th Avenue.  This Avenue became a commercial thoroughfare after Max Jonas took on the transformation of Dyker Heights. 

Also in the plans for development in 1900 was a stable to be used by residents in the area.  There would be a telephone connection between the stables and all the houses in the area.  Accommodations0 were also being made for beach and sunbathing at Dyker Beach Park.  A country club and several smaller clubs devoted to pastimes like card games or sports related activities were also doing well.  The parish of the Episcopal church of St. Phillip’s also was formed and fund raising efforts for the construction were underway.