in the Longwood Historic District
Using mobile murals, the Royal Kingbee continues to invade new lands.
"This beautifully maintained temple-fronted building" is the "grandest of the Colonial Revival houses in Prospect Park South", according to the neighborhood's 1979 historic district designation report. You can see some better photos of the house here.
According to neighborhood lore, the renowned journalist and adventurer Nellie Bly once lived in this house. I searched a few newspaper archives and was unable to find any contemporary verification of her residence, but I did come across an account of a bizarre 1919 court case in which Ms. Bly "accused her brother Albert of appropriating machinery used in the manufacture of dental tools." Albert denied the charge and claimed "that his sister had mutilated a portrait of himself that hung in [his] house." Meanwhile, another brother, Harry, alleged that Albert "took a quantity of silk".
The plaque to the left of the steps says that this house — 1402 Beverley Road, in Beverley Square West — was built around 1899.
The turret serves as a reminder of what color the entire house used to be.
Located where Parkville Avenue crosses Ocean Parkway, this plaque is one of several installed in the parkway malls that feature an alliterative pairing of a sea creature and an intersecting roadway. It's a good bet that the idea for these plaques came from the mind of former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, an ardent admirer and acclaimed aficionado of animal art and alliteration.
Here's a full list of the Ocean Parkway marine life, from north to south:
- Avenue C Clam
- Cortelyou Cod
- Ditmas Dolphin
- 18th Avenue Anchovies
- Webster Whale
- Newkirk Needlefish
- Lawrence Leatherback
- Parkville Puffer
- Foster Flounder
I'm walking every street in New York City.
This is the counterpoint to my walk across the US. Instead of seeing a million places for just a minute each, I'm going to spend a million minutes exploring just one place. By the time I finish walking every block of every street in all five boroughs, I'll have traveled more than 8,000 miles on foot — all within a single city. Details!
Email me at matt@imjustwalkin.com
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Maps: Progress | Photos
~9,954 miles walked
Your donations allow me to keep walking full-time. If you think what I'm doing is valuable and you'd like to offer some support, I would be very grateful. On the other hand, if you think I'm a worthless bum, feel free to email me and tell me to get a job, bozo. Both are excellent options!
