Each day from now until May 21st you can help save some of Brooklyn’s historical landmarks with one simple click. 40 nominees throughout NYC are vying for big grants with the Partners in Preservation program. The program will award $3 million in grants and we’ve got a few landmarks in Brooklyn that need your votes!
Weeksville Heritage Center is one of the nominees. What makes it so special?
I visited Weeksville for the first time this last weekend and cannot believe that I didn’t know that such rich history existed… and right in my own borough! Weeksville Heritage Center is the historic site of the 19th century free African-American community whose residents worked tirelessly to establish schools and churches.
Four of the wood frame Hunterfly Road houses still remain.
My son Aiden and I visited the Center for their “Bring in the Spring” open house. I have a terrible sense of direction and so I was a bit disoriented as Aiden and I were walking along the block where Weeksville is located. In fact, I nearly walked passed it. That is, until one of the kind workers asked me if I needed help. (I did.) She directed us to the entrance where we were greeted with warm and welcoming smiles. Talk about family-friendly and fun!
The afternoon was filled with garden games, art workshops, and tours of the historic houses.
There was also live music by ManchildBlack and Aiden had a ball dancing on stage!
During the tour, I learned that Weeksville is one of the few remaining historical sites of the pre-Civil War African American community. Family-friendly, the Heritage Centers tries to encompass the entire community by offering tours, arts and crafts, literacy programs, and preservation programs for the neighborhood public school students.
Since being active in the abolitionist movement, the Weeksville Association has worked to preserve the history of the free African American community of Weeksville.
Weeksville Heritage Center is currently working to build a 19,000-square-foot performance and educational program space, which will be located right at the site. Not only will this new performance space help them reach their mission of hosting 50,000 visitors annually, but it will also include a cafe and a library for neighborhood children and their parents.
These days, Weeksville’s primary goals are to reuse the existing 1930 shed structure for environmental and food-growing museum exhibits and program spaces, and to recreate a root cellar in the already-existing 1870 house known as 1698 Bergen Street.
How exciting is it that these additions will extend Weeksville’s offerings to a broader spectrum of the community!
It would mean so much to the community and surrounding neighborhood to see these goals come into fruition. Let’s make it happen! Please vote online to help them through the Partners in Preservation program!
Details:
Weeksville Heritage Center
1698 Bergen Street
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Tel: 718.756.5250
There are several ways you can vote:
- You can vote for your favorites on Partners In Preservation’s Facebook page
- Vote online once a day until May 21
- Check in on Foursquare for a “Preservation Nation” badge
- Follow @PartnersinPres and @AmericanExpress on Twitter (Partners in Preservation is a partnership between American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.)
A Child Grows in Brooklyn has been enlisted to help get the word out about three of the Brooklyn nominees- especially the ones that might interest you as parents. We already told you about The Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge No. 79 and Tugboat Pegasus and Congregation Beth Elohim. Today, we wrote about Weeksville Heritage Center. All four desperately need repair and preservation help.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the Partners in Preservation program.