Open House New York: Brooklyn!

This weekend a number of buildings and monuments that are usually closed were opened to the public. John and I visited two sites:

Soldiers and Sailors Arch at Grand Army Plaza
This arch was built to honor the Union Armies after the Civil War. It was built between 1889 and 1892. It's just up the street from where we live. We were able to climb up the top and see the views from it.





Here are some pictures of what it looked like inside the arch.


The views were really lovely as well. On the left a view toward the entrance of Prospect Park. On the right a view toward Manhattan. You can see the line of people waiting to get in.


We were able to get a close up view of the Quadriga on the top of the arch. It looks a lot like the one on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.


Montauk Club
This social club was built in 1889 and was a place for influential people (men, really) in Park Slope to meet and discuss business. It was modeled after the Ca' d'Oro, a famous building in Venice. It's also in walking distance from our apartment.





The architectural detail on the building includes many references to the Montauk Indians, a tribe that lived in New York. John would look good in a feather headpiece like the snarling guy in this capital, I think!