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Brooklyn · Neighborhood guide

Vinegar Hill

Vinegar Hill’s small groups of nineteenth-century houses sit near former industrial buildings and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Hudson Avenue and Front Street show a waterfront neighborhood built over several periods, with residential and industrial uses side by side.

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Trees shade a cobbled residential street lined with brick buildings and parked cars.
Vinegar Hill Historic District · 2025
Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized.
Vinegar Hill Historic District

About Vinegar Hill

Shipbuilder John Jackson established a yard near today’s Hudson Avenue and built nearby housing for workers. In the early nineteenth century he sold land to the federal government for the Brooklyn Navy Yard and built more housing for its personnel.

By the late nineteenth century, the area was a dense residential and industrial neighborhood. Its many Irish residents contributed to the name Irishtown, while residents of other backgrounds also lived there. Later bridge construction and industrial expansion replaced many smaller dwellings.

Places to explore

  • Hudson Avenue historic streets

    Hudson Avenue near Plymouth and Water streets

    The historic district includes early houses associated with Jackson and his heirs as well as later houses with Greek Revival and Italianate features. Compare the fronts from the sidewalk; these are residential buildings.

  • Former Constitution Engine Company firehouse

    225–227 Front Street, between Bridge and Gold streets

    The Italianate firehouse was built around 1855–56, enlarged in 1903 and converted to residential use in 1976. Its former engine entrance and bracketed cornice are features to notice from outside.

  • Former Benjamin Moore factory

    231–233 Front Street

    The six-story factory was developed by the paint company in 1908. It interrupts the lower row-house scale of the same historic block. Treat it as an exterior architectural stop.

  • Front Street row houses

    North side of Front Street between Bridge and Gold streets

    The historic district includes Greek Revival houses beside the former firehouse and factory. Look at the different building scales along the block and keep residential entrances clear.

Planning a visit

York St on the F is an arrival point west of the historic streets. Check current MTA service before traveling and use the public sidewalks for the architectural stops.

The historic district consists of separate groups of buildings rather than one continuous visitor site. Its houses and the former firehouse are residential; do not assume access to their interiors.

Photos

A cobbled street runs between brick buildings and parked cars in Vinegar Hill.
Vinegar Hill cobblestone street · 2016
Mariamkamagate · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized.
A narrow Belgian-block sidewalk runs beside a brick wall and parked cars.
Belgian-block sidewalk in Vinegar Hill · 2017
Cmcm1205 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized.
Electrical equipment lines Hudson Avenue opposite brick industrial buildings.
Hudson Avenue and the Con Edison substation · 2017
Jeferson820 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized.

Sources and visitor information