Downtown Brooklyn

About Downtown Brooklyn

Brooklyn had its own city government before consolidation with New York City in 1898. The Greek Revival building now called Borough Hall opened as Brooklyn City Hall in 1848, before the building was complete; its later cupola followed a fire in 1895.

The area also holds traces of nineteenth-century abolitionism and later transportation. Harriet and Thomas Truesdell lived on Duffield Street from 1851 to 1863 and supported the abolitionist movement. The Transit Museum uses the former Court Street subway station.

Places to explore

• Brooklyn Borough Hall

  209 Joralemon Street

  The former city hall has a columned portico, broad steps and a later cupola. Read its exterior as a record of Brooklyn’s civic history. Check separately for current public interior access.

  LandmarkBrooklyn Borough Hall

• New York Transit Museum

  99 Schermerhorn Street, just outside the mapped boundary

  The museum occupies the decommissioned Court Street subway station and recommends advance tickets. Its main entrance descends two flights of stairs; a wheelchair-accessible entrance is at Court and Schermerhorn streets.

• Harriet and Thomas Truesdell House

  227 Duffield Street

  The Truesdells were documented abolitionists. LPC testimony says research did not confirm claims that this house was an Underground Railroad stop. View the landmark from the street; public interior access has not been confirmed.

  LandmarkHarriet and Thomas Truesdell House

• Brooklyn Commons

  MetroTech Center, between Jay and Duffield streets

  The pedestrian plaza within the MetroTech complex offers an open-space stop among the surrounding buildings. The area is also known as Brooklyn Commons.

Planning a visit

Jay St–MetroTech on the F is one possible arrival point. Check MTA service notices and the museum’s visitor information before traveling; the museum recommends advance tickets.

For the museum’s accessible entrance, use the corner of Court and Schermerhorn streets and consult its instructions. The museum says most of its space, including the train platform, has no climate control.

Photos