WHERE: The Seeley Street viaduct at Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn
NEAREST SUBWAY: Fort Hamilton Parkway station (F and G trains)
Photographs by Michael Cairl except where noted. Map from Open Street Maps.
Location of Seeley Street stairs (highlighted)
A year ago I thought I had tackled all the stair streets in Brooklyn (there aren’t many). Not long ago my friend Cindy Vanden Bosch at Turnstile Tours (www.turnstiletours.com) pointed out that I had missed the stairs on either side of the Seeley Street viaduct in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood. Windsor Terrace is nestled between Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery. On this cold day I finally went over there to descend the 25 steps on the west side of Prospect Avenue and ascend the 25 steps on the east side.
The Seeley Street viaduct was built around 1903 and crosses over Prospect Avenue, which is in a small valley between the two halves of Seeley Street. It is a graceful concrete arch with a very low clearance, making it impossible for trucks to pass underneath. A report in 2018 (https://bridgereports.com/1385265) noted the viaduct’s condition as poor. In the intervening few years it has not improved.
Seeley Street viaduct looking south, 1932 (New York Transit Museum) and looking north, 2022.
The stairs are in poor condition, with wooden treads over the original concrete. The stair risers are at a comfortable height. The original metal handrails are not continuous and are set too low, and are supplemented by temporary wooden handrails on the north side of both stairways.
Art work on the viaduct superstructure; stairs on the west side looking east.
Stairs on the east side of the viaduct, looking up (east) and down (west).
The Seeley Street viaduct and its stairs need a total reconstruction, not replacement with a modern highway structure. This is a residential area. Neither Seeley Street nor Prospect Avenue has a high volume of traffic. The viaduct needs to be made safe and structurally sound, and the stairways need to have continuous railings at a comfortable height.
Withal, I’m glad Cindy pointed out these stairs, giving me a walk not too far from home on a raw day. For my posts on Brooklyn’s other stair streets, see the pages entitled “The Bay Ridge Duo,” “Cypress Hills Part 1,” and “Cypress Hills Part 2.”
STAIR COUNT: 25 down, 25 up, total 50.