This past Saturday, the Yankees Friday night loss a distant memory, we took the # 4 Subway from Union Square on 14th Street in Manhattan, changed to the A line at Fulton Street (we thought it was the #2, but we're from Maine), traveled one more stop, under the East River, and emerged in Brooklyn at High Street. I wanted to see if I could identify the neighborhood my father's parents lived in back in the 1950s. I'm not sure if I ever visited them there but I remember one time we saw Dad's Aunt Freida, who lived down the street.
The neighborhood is called Brooklyn Heights and the street, Columbia Heights. I recognized the promenade first and the view of Manhattan immediately; Battery Park at the South end of the Island is to the right and Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty can be seen in the distance. To the north, the Brooklyn Bridge dominates the East River and the Empire State Building and Chrysler Buildings are in view. The city-scape provides a unique visual that almost overcomes the senses.
I did recognize a couple landmarks on Clark Street on the way from the subway, the Hotel St. George, still signed as such, and the Towers Hotel, no longer signed, both of which were home to the Brooklyn Dodgers when they were in town; that is, until they broke my Dad's heart and departed for LA.
The apartments on Columbia Heights were not familiar, so I pulled out the trusty cell-phone and called Mother for some direction. After a bit she recalled that Grandpa and Grandma lived at 81 Columbia Heights and I found the building at the corner of Cranberry Street. She remembered it for the proximity to (19th century abolitionist and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) Henry Ward Beecher's church and a bakery down the street. She recalled that my grandparents lived on the 3rd floor and that 'Pop' chose the neighborhood because it was only one subway stop (via the #2 or #3) to Wall Street, where he had his office. Somehow I think the view and the upscale setting, not to mention the reputation as 'America's first suburb,' might also have been factors. Business must have been good in importing in the 50s.
The apartments on Columbia Heights were not familiar, so I pulled out the trusty cell-phone and called Mother for some direction. After a bit she recalled that Grandpa and Grandma lived at 81 Columbia Heights and I found the building at the corner of Cranberry Street. She remembered it for the proximity to (19th century abolitionist and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) Henry Ward Beecher's church and a bakery down the street. She recalled that my grandparents lived on the 3rd floor and that 'Pop' chose the neighborhood because it was only one subway stop (via the #2 or #3) to Wall Street, where he had his office. Somehow I think the view and the upscale setting, not to mention the reputation as 'America's first suburb,' might also have been factors. Business must have been good in importing in the 50s. 
Aunt Freida lived for a while at 47 Willow Street, a block from Columbia Heights Street, and later moved to 123 Columbia Heights, where she lived when we visited in my youth. I didn't recognize the latter when we went by; it's either been renovated beyond recognition or replaced entirely. Aunt Elsa, the eldest of Pop's five siblings, also lived nearby and attended Beecher's Plymouth Congregational Church on Hicks Street.
We circled the neighborhood one more time, walked the length of the promenade, went past a small park labeled the Harry Chapin Playground and continued to the Cadman Park where we encountered the first directional sign for the Brooklyn Bridge Walkway. Having already walked a couple miles around Brooklyn Heights, the additional mile across the Bridge on a sunny, hot day presented a formidable challenge but the flow of the many walkers, runners and cyclists carried us along and the views of Manhattan ahead and Brooklyn to our rear were magnificent.
My mother's grandfather, the Rev. George Frederick Behringer, was one of many who was invited to celebrate the 13-year completion of the bridge in 1883, walking across as we did 125 years later. While the Brooklyn Bridge was the first to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn, his church in Brooklyn, ironically enough, was removed to make way for the Williamsburg Bridge, the second Manhattan/Brooklyn connector.
We arrived at City Hall Park in Manhattan with enough time to hop on the #4 to 59th Street and a headed west for Beth's first-ever visit to Central Park. By the time we got to The Tavern on the Green, our legs had had enough. Nonetheless, we continued to Columbus Square, passing one of the many musical street performances scheduled in the city that day, this near the Lincoln Center, and took the C train downtown to 14th street and the L train back to Union Square.
Before heading back upstate we met my friend Stefan, a Berliner who is working at the UN as part of his legal traineeship in Germany. While I have ancestors from both sides of the family who lived in New York City, Stefan's intelligence and inquisitive nature have led him into virtually every neighborhood in the city. He never ceases to amaze me with his erudite commentary on the places he's been.
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