Closing Bell: Walking Tours of Bushwick, Bed Stuy and Atlantic Yards

Now that spring is almost here, the Municipal Arts Society is organizing tours of three very different Brooklyn areas —Prospect Heights/Atlantic Yards, Bushwick and Bed Stuy. First, preservationist Joe Svehlak will explore historic row houses and churches as well as new developments, like Rheingold Gardens, in Bushwick. The tour will discuss potential landmarks and Bushwick’s history as a German community known for breweries.

Then journalist Norm Oder, who’s behind the Atlantic Yards Report, will explain the politics, design, and decade-long controversy behind the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project. He’ll also touch on part of the nearby Prospect Heights Historic District and retail changes in the area.

Lastly our very own Montrose Morris columnist, Suzanne Spellen, will lead a tour of Bedford Stuyvesant with preservationist and real estate agent Morgan Munsey. Attendees will learn about the history and culture of Bed Stuy. Expect a healthy dose of architectural history and insights into buildings designed by some of Brooklyn’s finest 19th and early 20th century architects.

The tour of Bushwick will take place Sunday, March 22 at 11 am, followed by the Atlantic Yards tour at 2 pm. The Bed Stuy tour will happen on Sunday, March 28 at 2 pm. Each tour costs $20 or $15 for MAS members, and tickets can be purchased through the MAS website.