New street signs will soon point the way to Ridgewood‘s latest historic district.
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which had unanimously approved landmark designation of central Ridgewood in December 2014, will officially unveil the signs marking the area as a historic district on Friday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m.
LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan and LPC Foundation Chair Christina Davis will be joined by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association (RPOCA) President Paul Kerzner, at the corner of 70th Avenue and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood for the celebration.
The Central Ridgewood Historic District covers 990 buildings which consist “mostly of brick row houses, and represents one of the most harmonious and architecturally distinguished enclaves of working class dwellings in New York City,” according to the LPC.
Back in the 19th century, Ridgewood was mostly open farmland, but improved transportation contributed to the neighborhood’s evolution and expansion into a bustling community in a growing New York City.
Most of the houses in the district were constructed between 1906 and World War I by German-Americans and German immigrants, the LPC said. The detailing of the buildings are mainly Renaissance Revival Style, mixed with other styles such as the Romanesque Revival and neo-Grec.
Streets within the new historic district include 69th Avenue, Madison Street, Catalpa Avenue and more.
Roughly a third of the 2,982 Ridgewood buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places have received landmark status from the city. The RPOCA has campaigned for years to have all buildings on the register to be declared city landmarks.
