Prospect Park Boathouse

101 East Drive | also 95 Prospect Park West | Prospect Park | built 1904

Open on the map6 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1905

    Helmle & Huberty design a terra-cotta boathouse modeled on a Venetian library

    In 1905 Frank Helmle and Ulrich Huberty designed a classical terra-cotta boathouse to replace the park's first one. They based it on the first floor of Jacopo Sansovino's Library of St. Mark in Venice, and the building faces west to catch sunsets over the water. Helmle, who had worked for McKim, Mead & White, was Brooklyn's Superintendent of Public Buildings at the time, and the firm used Guastavino tile vaults in the structure.

    Source: brownstoner.com

  2. 1964

    Marianne Moore and other preservationists save the boathouse 48 hours before demolition

    In 1964 Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris judged the rundown boathouse beyond saving and wanted it torn down. Brooklyn poet Marianne Moore and other preservationists and residents rallied against the plan and succeeded literally 48 hours before the scheduled demolition. The boathouse made it onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

    Source: brownstoner.com

  3. 1965

    September 21

    More than 15 witnesses speak for landmark status for the Boat House at a public hearing

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on September 21, 1965, on designating the Prospect Park Boat House. More than 15 witnesses spoke in favor, including the Deputy Borough President, and no one opposed. A speaker for the architects' institute called it the only boat house of such handsome proportions in New York City.

    “More than 15 witnesses appeared and spoke in favor of designation of the building ... There were no speakers in opposition to designation.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1999

    A $5 million restoration reopens the closed boathouse as the Audubon Nature Center

    Extensive water damage forced the boathouse to close in 1997. In 1999 a $5 million restoration of the whole building was carried out by the Prospect Park Alliance's design and construction team, with architect Ralph Carmosino. The work created the Audubon Nature Center, which Brownstoner called the first urban nature center of its kind.

    Source: brownstoner.com

  5. 2019

    September

    The Brooklyn Public Library begins a yearly Open Air University at the boathouse

    Each September since 2019, the Brooklyn Public Library has run an Open Air University on the boathouse grounds. The free, non-accredited courses are taught by immigrant professors, academics and teachers whose training took place outside the United States.

    “Each September since 2019, the Brooklyn Public Library sponsors an Open Air University with free non-accredited courses on the Boathouse grounds…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 2024

    July

    A cafe operated by Oberon Group opens at the boathouse

    Oberon Group agreed in May 2024 to run a cafe at the boathouse, and the cafe opened that July. The building also houses the Audubon Center, which Wikipedia describes as the Audubon Society's sole urban interpretive center in the country.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 17 buildings with stories in Prospect Park