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Park Slope and Prospect Park Self-Guided Tour

Updated: September 20, 2022

Brooklyn is a place of tree-lined streets and beautiful homes, as well as grittier industrial neighborhoods being converted into residential/artists communities.

There are so many things to do in Brooklyn, such as visiting its diverse neighborhoods.

Park Slope, a popular neighborhood in Brooklyn, contains many brownstones that are a living depiction of 19th-century Brooklyn.  

Currently, this is a self-guided tour and it can be booked as a private guided tour.  Come back soon for our launch of public guided tours of Park Slope.

Click here for our full list of free self-guided New York tours as well as our Guide to New York on a Budget.

Click on the map for a larger image or click here for a movable map.

Park Slope and Prospect Park Tour

Your Tour begins at the monument to General Lafayette at the 9th Street entrance to Prospect Park.

Walk Through Prospect Park

Prospect Park is considered Calvert Vaux’s and Olmstead’s masterpiece. It rivals Central Park in beauty and execution.

The Long Meadow one of the features of the park is over a mile in length; on our stroll over toward the Grand Army Plaza, we’ll explore a portion of the Meadow. 

At the Picnic Pavilion, you can take a short restroom break.

Litchfield Villa

This beautiful home, which sits on the edge of Prospect Park West was restored and now houses the Park’s department offices.

Edwin C. Litchfield’s originally built it for his wife Grace. The Litchfields were one of the earliest developers of Park Slope.

The house was known to locals as Grace Hill, it overlooked NY Harbor. From his perch on the roof, Mr. Litchfield could monitor his far-ranging real estate interests.

Grand Army Plaza

Vaux and Olmstead’s grand vision for the entrance to Prospect Park. The Grand Arch commemorates the sacrifice of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

On weekends, Baily’s fountain, just beyond the arch, becomes one of the busiest photographic backdrops for weddings. There is also a bustling farmers market in the Plaza.

Montgomery Place

Considered to be one of the most beautiful streets in New York City.  It is lined with homes built by one of New York’s foremost architects, Cass Gilbert.

Gilbert later went on to design some of the most famous mansions on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, many of which still stand today.

Montauk Club

Ornately detailed and rich in history it was built in 1889.  It’s facade features a wonderfully detailed bas-relief depicting the Montauk tribe of Native Americans,

Sterling Place

In 1960 two commercial airliners collided over the Park Slope, and one plunged into the neighborhood near Sterling Place, causing vast devastation in the area, some houses that were struck still bear the wounds of that day.

Fifth Avenue

Park Slopes restaurant row: you can stop for a coffee break at one of the many restaurants along 5th Avenue.

Old Stone House & Washington Park.

The earliest battles of the Revolutionary war were fought in Brooklyn, beginning in August of 1776.

These battles were the largest, conflicts of the Revolution. The Stone House is a replica of the Cortelyou estate which was originally a farm that became a battleground during the war. 

Later it was used as a clubhouse for a baseball team that would become the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Old Bath House

In 1908, bathhouses were a common fixture in the city. Very few of these structures still exist. It laid abandoned for many years and now houses a performance space known as the Brooklyn Lyceum.

Gowanus

Formally, a gritty industrial neighborhood that is transforming into a residential/artists community. The Gowanus Canal, known by the locals as Lavender Lake is in the process of being revitalized and restored.

Monty’s Restaurant 

One of Brooklyn’s first Italian restaurants, it became a haunt of Frank Sinatra and the Ratpack where one night Sammy Davis stood up and did an impromptu performance for the astounded patrons.

Gowanus Canal

We’ll cross this canal via the Carroll St. bridge built in 1889 which is one of only four retractile bridges remaining in the entire country.

It spans the Gowanus Canal and leads us into the Carroll Gardens neighborhood, our final stop.

We’ll take a brief walk along Smith Street, which is lined with new exciting restaurants. The tour ends at the Bergen Street subway station where you can connect with the F & G line.

About The Author

Stephen Pickhardt

Stephen is the CEO of Free Tours by Foot and has overseen the transformation of a local walking tour company into a global tour community and traveler’s advice platform. He has personally led thousands of group tours in the US and Europe, and is an expert in trip planning and sightseeing, with a focus on budget travelers. Stephen has been published and featured in dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Yahoo, Washington.org, and more.
Updated: September 20th, 2022
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