Marine Park - The neighborhood - continued
By the 1630's, the first European settlers, Dutch farmers, were looking for fertile land
to support the new Dutch West India Company's trading outpost of New Amsterdam (on the island of
Manhattan). Northern Brooklyn was not well-suited for farming since the land was hilly, and the
soil was quite rocky. However, southern Brooklyn was much more appealing to the Dutch farmers.
In the 1650's Dutch settler, Johannes H. Lott settled in what is now present-day Marine Park. In fact,
his landholding was quite extensive. It is believed that the Lott family owned land extending
west from Flatbush Ave. up to Ocean Ave. And, Kings Highway south to Gerritsen Creek and
Sheepshead Bay. In 1800, a larger house was built and owned by Hendrick I. Lott.
This house still stands today at 1940 East 36 Street. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the
Lott's sold off portions of their land. The above photo (circa 1920) is the Lott House:
you are looking southwest, at the east and north sides of the house. Notice the stone kitchen
just left of the house and the barns to the right. Note: The dirt road in the foreground is
Fillmore Avenue.
To download a large map (245Kb) of the area click here -
Lott House Photo and Map. Be Patient.
The Lott House 1900 and 2001
During the 1920's, the southern part of Brooklyn was being transformed -- due to construction
and the area's growing population. In the late 1920's, Marine Park was divided into its current
street pattern of alphabetized avenues and numerical streets. Electrical, phone, water, and
sewer lines were installed. By 1930, the Lott farmstead was reduced to its current size of
three-quarter acre of land. Notice the two pictures below: the left picture shows the Lott's Stone
Kitchen around 1915. However, city officials ordered its destruction, about 1926, because it was in the path
of the new street (East 36 Street) and sidewalk to be constructed. The photo on the right shows the
foundation of the Stone Kitchen in 1998. The Lott kitchen was excavated in 1998 by the Brooklyn
College Archaeological Research Center (BC-ARC). A project, I was proud to be apart of -- see a
photo of me at the excavation on the first page of Marine Park.
Photo Sources: De Boerenwoning - Hendrick I. Lott Preservation Association and Mr. G