Ethos

Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn: Borough Hall and the Fulton Mall

Downtown Brooklyn, New York

Pictures from Downtown Brooklyn

See all 2 photos →
Pedestrians on the Fulton Mall Court Street from Borough Hall

The Lenape knew this ground as Rinnegokonk. Dutch settlers named the wider settlement Breuckelen, and the waterfront was sold to Joris Jansen Rapelje, who farmed it. Robert Fulton's steam ferry began crossing to Manhattan in 1814, making Brooklyn Heights Manhattan's first suburb and pushing the ground behind it into service as a commercial and civic center. Its defining building went up in 1848: a city hall in Tuckahoe marble by Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King, which became Brooklyn Borough Hall when Brooklyn consolidated into New York City in 1898. A 1983 Regional Plan Association report argued the district could become the city's third-largest business center, and a 2004 rezoning drew roughly $9 billion in private investment and $300 million in public improvements. By 2008 residents were moving into new towers, turning an office-and-courthouse quarter into a mixed-use one.

  1. Parkland created in 1939 on condemned ground, holding the Brooklyn War Memorial and the Gaynor Memorial.

  2. A small park at the southern end of Cadman Plaza with statues of Columbus and Henry Ward Beecher.

  3. Roughly 230 stores along a bus-and-pedestrian corridor, redesigned in 1984 and being renovated again from 2024.

  4. A 16-acre pedestrian superblock of 1992, now Brooklyn Commons, with NYU Tandon and FDNY headquarters on it.

  5. Transit history at 99 Schermerhorn Street; the back mezzanine galleries are currently without air conditioning.

  6. The 1848 city hall in Tuckahoe marble, a city landmark since 1966.

  7. The 1924 municipal building across Joralemon Street, renamed in March 2021.

  8. 227 Duffield Street, landmarked in February 2021 and bought by the city the following month.

  9. The original Junior's, opened by Harry Rosen in 1950 on Flatbush Avenue Extension.

  10. Founded in 1879, closed in 2004, and back in its Fulton Street dining room since April 2021.

  11. A 32-story hotel tower on Adams Street, completed in 1997 as Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza.

City hall, department stores, and one surviving rowhouse

Borough Hall lost its original cupola and its statue of Justice to a fire in 1895; a cast-iron cupola replaced them by 1898, and a restoration of the building was completed in 1989. It was designated a New York City landmark on April 19, 1966 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 1980. Across Joralemon Street, the Brooklyn Municipal Building of 1924, by McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin, still houses the Department of Buildings, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Finance, Probation and the Marriage Bureau; it was renamed in March 2021 for the Brooklyn-born Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Fulton Street was the borough's department-store address, anchored by Abraham & Straus, Frederick Loeser & Co. and A.I. Namm & Son. A merchant-led revitalization in the 1970s narrowed the roadway and widened the sidewalks into a bus-and-pedestrian corridor, and a $24 million redesign by the architect Lee Harris Pomeroy was completed in 1984. A further $8 million streetscape renovation began in 2024.

MetroTech Center was proposed in the 1970s by the Polytechnic Institute professor George Bugliarello as an academic-industrial research park. Building the 16-acre pedestrian superblock in 1992 required demolishing more than 100 homes and 50 businesses. Brookfield Properties acquired it in 2018 and rebranded it Brooklyn Commons in 2022, with a $50 million renovation announced.

Duffield Street and the Truesdells

Duffield Street, named for the Revolutionary War surgeon John Duffield, was a documented hub of nineteenth-century abolitionist activity. Harriet and Thomas Truesdell lived at 227 Duffield Street from 1851 to 1863, and the house is tied to Underground Railroad activity.

The city proposed demolishing it in 2004. After roughly a decade of community advocacy the building was designated a landmark as the Truesdell House in February 2021, and the city bought it for $3.2 million the following month. By 2019 it was the only historic rowhouse still standing on that stretch of the block. Whether it is open to visitors could not be confirmed.

Getting there

Jay Street–MetroTech, in Downtown Brooklyn near Jay and Willoughby Streets, is served by the A, C, F, N, R and W.

DeKalb Avenue, at DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues, is in Downtown Brooklyn on the Fort Greene border: the Q and R serve it at all times, the B on weekdays, the D and N late nights, and the W at rush hours.

Court Street–Borough Hall straddles Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, beside Borough Hall itself: the 2, 3, 4, 5 and R serve it, with N trains late nights and limited rush-hour W service. Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets sits on the border of Downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill, with the A and G at all times and the C except late nights. Nevins Street sits on the border of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene, with the 2 and 4 at all times, the 3 except late nights, and the 5 on weekdays.

At Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, the 2, 4, D, N, Q and R run at all times, the 3 at all times except late nights, the 5 and B on weekdays during the day, and the W at rush hours only. Sources disagree about which neighborhood the station itself sits in, so this guide names it without placing it.

The Long Island Rail Road reaches Downtown Brooklyn at Atlantic Terminal, at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. It is the westernmost terminal of the Atlantic Branch, and peak-hour service also runs to and from the Hempstead, Far Rockaway, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma and Babylon branches.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Downtown Brooklyn?
By subway, Jay Street–MetroTech is served by the A, C, F, N, R and W, and DeKalb Avenue by the Q and R at all times, the B on weekdays, the D and N late nights and the W at rush hours. Court Street–Borough Hall, straddling Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, carries the 2, 3, 4, 5 and R. Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets, on the Boerum Hill border, has the A, C and G; Nevins Street, on the Fort Greene border, has the 2, 3, 4 and 5. The Long Island Rail Road runs to Atlantic Terminal at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.
Is there a Long Island Rail Road station in Downtown Brooklyn?
Yes. Atlantic Terminal, at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, is the westernmost terminal of the LIRR's Atlantic Branch. Peak-hour service also runs to and from the Hempstead, Far Rockaway, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma and Babylon branches.
Can I visit the Truesdell House on Duffield Street?
That is not established. 227 Duffield Street was designated a landmark as the Harriet and Thomas Truesdell House in February 2021 and bought by the city in March 2021 for $3.2 million, but whether it is currently open to visitors could not be confirmed. The rowhouse is visible from the street; by 2019 it was the last historic house standing on that stretch.
Where can I stay in Downtown Brooklyn?
The New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, also known as Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza, is a 32-story hotel tower on Adams Street completed in 1997. It stands 398 feet.
Is Gage & Tollner still open?
Yes. The restaurant was founded in 1879 and operated continuously until it closed in 2004. It returned to its historic dining room at 372 Fulton Street on April 15, 2021, as an oyster and chop house, with the Sunken Harbor Club bar upstairs.
What is at MetroTech Center?
MetroTech Center, rebranded Brooklyn Commons in 2022, is a 16-acre pedestrian superblock built in 1992. It houses the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the headquarters of the Fire Department of New York. Brookfield Properties bought it in 2018 and announced a $50 million renovation.

Some booking links on this page earn Ethos a commission at no extra cost to you.

Connected pages

Nearby

Same region