History of the Land
Pre-Colonial --- Lenape Territory
The land on which Park Place stands was originally occupied by the Lenape people, who lived in communities of bark- or grass-covered wigwams. Their larger settlements were typically located on high ground adjacent to fresh water.
Colonial Period --- Dutch Settlement & Farming
European habitation in the area began in the early 17th century with Dutch settlement. By the 18th century, the land fell within the extensive farm holdings of the Lefferts family, one of Brooklyn's most prominent Dutch landholding families---and, notably, slaveholders. Leffert "Squire" Lefferts and his son Leffert Lefferts Jr. controlled substantial acreage in what would become Crown Heights.
1854 --- The Lefferts Land Auction
In 1854, the heirs of Leffert Lefferts Jr. auctioned off the family's farmland as "1,600 desirable lots situated in the level, beautiful, and most desirable part of the Ninth Ward, Brooklyn." This sale transformed the rural area into a grid of development parcels and set the stage for Crown Heights' residential future.
1870s--1890s --- Transportation & the Building Boom
Three successive waves of transportation infrastructure drove Crown Heights' development:
Year Infrastructure Impact
1870s Horsecar lines extended to Bedford area First residential development; suburban villas on spacious lots
1883 Brooklyn Bridge opens Manhattan businessmen move to Brooklyn; speculative rowhouse construction begins
1888 Kings County Elevated Railway (Fulton St.) Construction explodes; hundreds of rowhouses built through early 1900s
c. 1905--10 IRT Eastern Parkway Line (subway) Elevator buildings and apartment houses; area known as fashionable "St. Mark's District"
1892 --- Bedford Park (Now Brower Park)
In 1892, the City of Brooklyn purchased four acres directly adjacent to Park Place's block for a new public park, originally called Bedford Park. The park was renamed Brower Park in 1921--23 in honor of George V. Brower, the Parks Commissioner who had lived at the corner of Park Place and Kingston Avenue. The proximity to this park made the south side of Park Place an especially attractive location for residential development---and likely influenced Leininger's decision to build his personal home on this block.