Tuesday, January 6, 2009 
 
   
 
History of Park Slope
 
During the 1850s, the neighborhood of Park Slope was situated on land that was virtually completely owned by lawyer and railroad developer Edwin C. Litchfield. Litchfield Villa and some of the adjoining land was eventually bought by New York City in the 1860s toform Prospect Park.
Park Slope eventually got its name from this huge 526-acre park which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the early 1880s.These are the same architects who designed Central Park in Manhattan. Located several miles from Brooklyn's 19th century ferry terminals, Park Slope owes its deveolpment as a prestigious neighborhood to the opening of theBrooklyn Bridge in 1883. The convenience of commuting over the bridge permitted people to live in locations that were farther from Manhattan than previously developed areas.
During the 1880s and 1890s many of the large Victorian mansions that lie on Prospect Park West were built to take advantage of the beautiful park views.In fact many of the brick and brownstone structures in the neighborhood were built during this era.Today many of these structures are within thePark Slope Historic District, one of New York's largest landmarked neighborhoods.
 
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