Senator Street Historic District

Report: National Register Nomination Report

Map: Historic District Map

Senator Street Historic District, Brooklyn, NY

The Senator Street Historic District is located in Bay Bridge on Senator Street between Third Avenue to the west and Fourth Avenue to the east. It consists of 40 buildings, 38 of which were designed by local architect Fred W. Eisenla of the firm Eisenla and Carlson and were built between 1906 and 1912 in the Renaissance Revival style. They are all 3-story, bow-front brownstones with a high stoop and garden entrance. The façades include carved forms such as garlands, heraldic emblems and other foliated details, most notably in panels located beneath the parlor floor walls. The brownstone stoops leading to the main entries have low brownstone side railings. A lion’s head is carved into the stone at the top of the railing on every house in the district.

Senator Street derives its name from Henry C. Murphy (1810-1882). Henry Murphy was Mayor of Brooklyn, Ambassador to the Netherlands, U.S. Congressman, owner of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and finally New York State Senator, for which he is most remembered in Bay Ridge. Henry Murphy was instrumental in changing the town’s name from Yellow Hook to Bay Ridge following the yellow fever epidemic of 1848-1849 to improve the area’s image. The grounds of Senator Murphy’s estate, later the Bliss estate and today’s Owl’s Head Park, are located at the beginning of today’s Senator Street.