297 Dean Street, NS, PS

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Originally Colony House Settlement, now Colony South Brooklyn Houses, Inc.
Address: 297 Dean Street
Cross Streets: Nevins Street and 3rd Avenue
Neighborhood: Boerum Hill
Year Built: 1928-1929
Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: The settlement movement in New York City began in the late 19th century in the slums and immigrant communities of the Lower East Side. Settlement houses, like the Henry Street Settlement, founded in 1893, had a leadership role in social reform in the city. They were private charitable houses established to aid primarily women and children with such basics as food and shelter, and later acted as community centers where children were organized for play activities and when they got older, job training.

By middle of the first decade of the 20th century, there were settlement houses all over the city, including several in Brooklyn. Their mission was to work with the poor, and most of their activities revolved around the immigrant communities they were located in. They were non-sectarian, and had the support of Christian and Jewish leaders.

The Colony House Settlement was founded in 1916 by members of the Brooklyn Chapter of New England Women, an upper-class women’s club. Mrs. John Lansing Swan was the founder of Colony House, along with other prominent club members. They rented four rooms at 555 Atlantic Avenue with the idea that they would be helping factory girls by providing a refuge for them.

The factory girls did not appear, but local mothers and their young children and babies did, seeking food, temporary shelter, and medical help. Within two years, the four rooms were totally inadequate, and the Colony House Settlement, now officially the Colony House Guild, bought a row house at 496 Atlantic Avenue, between Nevins Street and 3rd Avenue. That building, as shown below in 1928, is no longer standing.

By the mid-1920s, that building was now itself way too small. Colony House was serving over 23,000 children annually, in various programs. The row house had no place to put gym facilities, or much else. Many of Brooklyn’s leading citizens were on the board, or donors to the settlement, and word went out that they were building a new center. Land had already been purchased two blocks away, on Dean Street, also between Nevins and Third. This part of town was considered to be Red Hook, at the time.

The newspapers reported that Manhattan had fewer children than Brooklyn did, in 1928, yet had over 60 settlement houses. Brooklyn only had ten. This new center was to be placed in a community that was not well served by other organizations or agencies, and had the support of Brooklyn Children’s Services, the courts and religious leaders. It would be serving a community of mostly Italian, Polish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Dutch and Armenian children, although their charter mandated that any child of any race, creed or color was welcome.

The fundraising for the $150,000 building was successful, and the cornerstone of the building was laid in 1928, and the building had its dedication in 1929. The new facility, a large two story Colonial Revival building, had classrooms, a gathering hall and gymnasium that could also be used for dining or banquets as well as meetings and sporting events. They had boxing and other athletic programs for boys, and sewing and homemaking programs for girls. They also had adult education programs for mothers, where they were taught nutrition and health. Although the center catered to mothers and their children, many fathers were also active in fund raising and family programs.

During the Great Depression, the center provided much needed help for poor families, and received federal help in the person of WPA staff. Food and clothing was distributed to those in dire need. In the summer, the Settlement arranged trips to Coney Island, and to summer day camps. Each child had to pay one cent to attend events. I found many activities for the group between 1929 and 1965. The last newspaper account I found was in the NY Times, in 1965, as the Settlement held their annual fund raising ball.

I thought they disappeared, as so many groups did in the 1960s and ’70s. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that that was not true. The building today is still owned by the Colony House Settlement, now known as the Colony South Brooklyn Houses, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. They now help welfare recipients transition to jobs, teach job training skills, and provide social services, as well as recreational and educational programs for kids. The times have changed since 1915, but the needs have not. The Colony House Settlement is still going strong.

(Photo: Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark)

GMAP

496 Atlantic Ave, 1928 Brooklyn Public Library
496 Atlantic Avenue, 1928 Brooklyn Public Library
Photo: Scott Bintner for Property Shark
Photo: Scott Bintner for PropertyShark

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