2. Carroll Gardens is also named for the large front gardens of its brownstones
The “gardens” of the name comes from the large front gardens of the neighborhood’s brownstones, especially within the Carroll Gardens Historic District. The district consists of 134 residential rowhouses built between the 1860s and 1880s, many two or three stories tall. The buildings are mainly in the Neo-Grec and late Italianate styles, all with fenced front yards and landscaped gardens. The homes are also set farther back from the street than those of most Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Surveyor Richard Butt planned gardens in front of the brownstone homes when developing the neighborhood in 1846. There was actually a law passed that required buildings between Henry Street and Smith Street to have 33 feet and 5.25 inches between the building and the street for “courtyards.” Many newer brownstones built in the late 1800s came about following the draining of swampland around the Gowanus Creek to build the Gowanus Canal.