Frederick Douglass Houses
840 Columbus Avenue | also 865 Amsterdam Avenue | Manhattan Valley | built 1958
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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.
- 1952
The city approves the Frederick Douglass Houses as a low-rent project
The New York City Planning Commission approves the Frederick Douglass Houses on February 7, 1952, as a low-rent public housing project on a 22.5-acre superblock site on the Upper West Side.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1958
The Frederick Douglass Playground opens beside the new housing
The Frederick Douglass Playground opened on September 10, 1958, on Amsterdam Avenue between 100th and 102nd Streets, covering nearly two acres. The city had acquired the land in 1954. In August 1962 the Board of Estimate moved the property from the Housing Authority to the Parks Department, which still manages it.
“Land for the playground was acquired by the city in 1954, and the playground was opened on September 10, 1958.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1958
The Frederick Douglass Houses are completed
Approved by the City Planning Commission on February 7, 1952, the public housing development between 100th and 104th Streets, east of Amsterdam Avenue, was completed on May 31, 1958. Its 17 buildings, 5 to 20 stories tall, hold 2,056 apartments for about 4,588 residents, and a 16-story addition on Amsterdam Avenue followed in 1965. Residents have included singer Kelis and actor Mekhi Phifer.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1965
A 16-story addition for 306 residents is completed on Amsterdam Avenue
The Frederick Douglass Addition was completed on June 30, 1965. It stands 16 stories tall on a 0.55-acre lot and houses 306 residents, along Amsterdam Avenue between West 102nd and West 103rd Streets. It joined the original 17 buildings finished in 1958.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2012
NYCHA and Project EATS launch a farm on former tennis courts
The New York City Housing Authority partners with the nonprofit Project EATS to launch an urban farm at the Frederick Douglass Houses in 2012, turning the site of the former tennis courts into farmland.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Frederick Douglass HousesWikipedia
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