The Dongan Oak was "a large white oak mentioned in 1685 in the patent of Governor Thomas Dongan [that] was cut down by Colonial soldiers and thrown across the road to impede the advance of the British army" during the Battle of Long Island. This monument, one of several Revolutionary War memorials found in Prospect Park, "commemorates the contribution of this important tree". It was dedicated in 1922, but the eagle on top has been stolen and replaced twice since then.
This unassuming little structure standing by the Prospect Park carousel looks like a ticket booth, but it's actually a surviving 19th-century tollbooth from the old Flatbush Turnpike.
This house was built sometime around 1783 after the original Lefferts family homestead was burned down by American troops in 1776 to keep the British forces from using it during the Battle of Long Island. It was relocated from several blocks away to this spot in Prospect Park in 1918.
Corbin Place in Manhattan Beach is no longer named for Austin Corbin. The 19th-century developer fell out of favor back in 2007 after a crusading Daily News columnist shouted loudly (and falsely) about Corbin's (fictional) role in the (fictional) American Society for the Suppression of the Jews, and the local community board voted to rename the street for Margaret Corbin instead. But what about Corbin Court? Could this unsigned, block-long alleyway a few miles north of Manhattan Beach still be carrying the name of the despised Mr. Corbin?
We've already passed the newer Staten Island outpost of Doody Home Centers, but Sheepshead Bay is the original home of Doody. Two facts I can't resist mentioning:
1) The company's slogan apparently used to be "Depend on Doody".
2) There is a "Doodys Savings Club".
This vacant strip of land, seen here from the edge of the Doody Home Centers parking lot, is a remnant of Emmers Lane. Other traces of the long-gone roadway can be spotted in an aerial view, running diagonally between East 13th Street and Ocean Avenue.
Towering in the background is the long-defunct Parachute Jump, an amusement ride relocated to Coney Island from the 1939-40 World's Fair. The Parachute Jump's lighting scheme was recently given a $2 million upgrade — check it out!
