7. Arlington Place is one of the city’s few one block streets

Arlington Place brownstones in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Arlington Place brownstones.

The one-block Arlington Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn consists of the work of only three architects, Isaac D. Reynolds, George Chappell and Amzi Hill, lending to its picturesque charm. Reynolds had his office at 263 Fulton Street and is best known for his row houses around Brooklyn. Reynolds, like Hill, gained fame for his Neo-Grec homes, which grew out of the Italianate style. They are brownstone houses but are characterized by their linear ornamentation incised into the flat panels of stone. Hill, who worked nearby at 1161 Fulton Street, worked with his son on many Neo-Grec and Queen Anne-style homes in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights. Chappell, who also designed a number of homes in the neighborhood, was also a journalist who wrote for Vanity Fair and published over a dozen architecture books.

The block only features about two dozen brownstones, each of which has its own unique character. Arlington Place is one of the neighborhood’s most popular bed and breakfasts; it was the setting for the family home in Spike Lee’s movie “Crooklyn” and opened in 2015. Arlington Place was also a favorite of Charles Lockwood, the author of Bricks and Brownstones. The New York Times selected it as one of the most beautiful small blocks in the city in 2014.