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surviving in the modern subway system, the
only station adapted from a structure built for another
function, and the only surviving station from Brooklyn’s
once-extensive network of surface train lines, which had
originally attracted Ackerson and numerous other developers to
the area. […]
“The Avenue H Station House is a
one-story wood-frame building clad in wood shingles with a
hipped pyramidal roof supported by a wide portico of historic
chamfered wood posts that form a wraparound porch,
which originally had supports of
peeled-log columns. Originally freestanding, the station house
now abuts a brick apartment building on its south side. This
façade remains partly exposed, and visitors allowed
through the MTA’s locked gates there will find two
peeled-log columns still supporting the porch (one painted
white, the other a rustic brown). The roof is covered in
nonhistoric asphalt shingles and has a central corbelled yellow
brick chimney. The undersides of the extended eaves are clad in
tongue-and-groove boards each
about two inches wide; a nonhistoric
gutter has been added to the eaves. At the intersections of the
walls and porch eaves, a band of simple ogee molding encircles
the building.”
Soon after the designation, some of the
nonhistoric signage was removed and the station is soon to be
renovated. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Transit Authority
renamed the station “Fiske Terrace-Avenue H” as a
final touch for this rescued gem of Brooklyn history?
paul -(at)- rapidtransit -(dot)- com
Anachronistic incongruity reigns in this late 2004 photo of the interior
facing the tracks. Flourescent lights, modern entry gates and a
Metrocard vending machine clash with ancient wood flooring and
an old-fsahioned radiator. The landmark designation covers only
the exterior of the building but renovation may restore
historic touches to the interior as well. Photo courtesy Joseph D. Korman
©2007 The Composing Stack Inc.