Dalton Rooney

Photograph by Dalton Rooney

I’ve been wanting to take a photograph of this building for quite some time now. A few interesting historical notes about the Litchfield Villa: it was the home of real estate and railroad tycoon Edwin Litchfield, condemned by the city in 1868 (an early case of eminent domain) to make way for Prospect Park. The building now houses the headquarters for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Once upon a time, Litchfield’s property ran all the way down to the Gowanus Canal, and also included the now-landmarked building at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street in Gowanus.

Link: The New York Times story about the renovation of the Litchfield Villa in the 1980s. I don’t think the stucco renovation ever happened—at least from my observation, it’s still brick.

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