WHERE: Some of the western part of Bushwick and a bit of Ridgewood, Brooklyn
START: Jefferson Street subway station (L train)
FINISH: Seneca Avenue subway station (M train)
DISTANCE: 1.4 miles (2.25 kilometers)
Photographs by Michael Cairl. Maps courtesy of Google Maps.
Route of this walk, going from left to right.
This was a spur-of-the-moment trip following most of a route I mapped out some time ago. The western part of the Bushwick neighborhood is an old industrial and warehousing area that still has a lot of those activities and has been discovered by artists and (I loathe this term) “hipsters.” For starters, I wanted to say hello to my friends Paul and Sarah, who are the creators of Kings Kolache at 321 Starr Street, at Cypress Avenue. Kolaches are Czech breads; Paul and Sarah make them with a Texas twist. Find out more at https://www.kingskolache.com/. They weren’t in but their associate Colin let them know I had been by. Undaunted, I walked a few blocks to the VanderEnde-Onderdonk House, a Dutch farmhouse built in 1709, on Flushing Avenue. This little museum, maintained by the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society, is fascinating and well worth a visit. The VanderEnde and Onderdonk families lived here for over 200 years. It used to sit on a farm of some 50 acres (20 hectares). The house is open only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons but do go for a fascinating look at a piece of Brooklyn’s history. More information is at https://onderdonkhouse.org/.
Three views of the VanderEnde-Onderdonk House, part of one of the exhibits, and the parlor of the house.
Will of Paulus VanderEnde dated January 17, 1722, written in Dutch, witnessed by his neighbors on what is now Flushing Avenue.
From there I walked east on Onderdonk Avenue, a residential area with small shops at several intersections.. I came upon another cathedral for the common people, St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, at Stockholm Street. Serving a diverse congregation, this busy church offers Masses in English, Polish, and Spanish.
A few blocks farther on is a much simpler but very attractive church, the Safe Haven United Church of Christ, at Grove Street. I ended the walk at the elevated Seneca Avenue subway station.
Safe Haven United Church of Christ, and the view of Seneca Avenue from the subway station platform, with the towers of Manhattan in the distance.
Profile of this walk.
This wasn’t a long walk but it was a rewarding one, in an area in which I’ve done very little walking but will happily do more.