Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Architectural Voyeurism: 11th Street's Scape






















As part of the IMBY Corps. Mental Health Regimen, I started a virtual runners club for Agraphobics confined in the South Slope. We usually get together to work out mornings using the touchscreens of our new iPads... Thanks to Google's Streetscapes, our Index Fingers Running Club recently completed our first 5k without ever leaving the security of our respective homes.

Hard Dogleg Left

Three quarters through the virtual run, my Middle Flexor Digitorum Superficialis started to act up, so I zoomed in on a nearby stoop to sit down and stretch through the pain. Surprisingly, I found myself on my old block.

I once lived on 11th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues for 5 years back in the later part of the 20th Century before satellite imagery became readily available to the public. The street has not changed much. Zooming out for a moment so as to take in my familiar surroundings, I discovered the 14.17' wide house behind me was actually built on a lot only 61.92' deep, and that an adjoining three story brick building makes a concealed left turn behind this row of little frame houses down through the block's interior.
This is extraordinarily odd even for Park Slope South, where there are many curious shaped lots due to it's more industrious past. An interesting find nun the less.
*click on any photo to enlarge*









Commercial Garage entrance on 11th Street.  This building runs behind the row of two story frame houses.











1 comment:

onemorefoldedsunset said...

Was in the very same spot yesterday. http://onemorefoldedsunset.blogspot.com/2010/05/blog-post_20.html
Years back someone told me that the brick building was once a dairy. I thought this was a bit odd, but I had no idea how the building was configured ... ie was much bigger than it seemed. Any idea about its history? That aerial picture is great!