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WEEKS of MARCH 15 & 22, 2004
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“You Are Here”

by Jeffrey Stanley

“What makes a landmark? We’re surrounded by them, they’re all around us,” said 4th grade teacher Seth Flicker. “The Brooklyn Historical Society, the interior of Gage & Tollner, the Schermerhorn Meeting House. Brooklyn Friends School may become a landmark one day, too.” Flicker walked briskly with his students, clipboards in their hands, toward Borough Hall where they would take a tour as part of their social studies project, “You Are Here: The Landmarks Project,” overseen by Flicker and 4th grade teacher Emily Zucal.

For the project, each student chose a Brooklyn landmark. In addition to researching and visiting the site, the students drew the landmarks. With the help of art teacher Roz Sommer, the drawings will become linoleum prints, to be made into greeting cards. The prints will later be auctioned off as part of the BFS Spring Gala, and some of the greeting cards will be sold at the Brooklyn Historical Society to raise money for community projects.

Borough Hall has been designated a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission because it’s Brooklyn's oldest standing building. Designed by Camaliel King in a porticoed Greek Revival style, it was built between 1846 and 1851. The present cupola was added in 1898. Originally Brooklyn’s city hall and the office of Brooklyn’s mayor, today it houses the offices of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Before entering, the students studied the building’s facade and filled out a Landmark Analysis Worksheet created by the 4th grade teachers. The students listed the materials used in construction, as well as any special qualities they noticed about the building.

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE

Seth Flicker recently co-taught two sections of a full-day professional development workshop, “Becoming a Historian: Strategies for Teaching With Primary Source Documents and Artifacts” for the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS). The course explored ways teachers can incorporate class projects using primary source materials and artifacts into their teaching of history. His co-teachers were representatives from the New York Historical Society. “We had an impressive array of teachers from some of the top indie schools in New York City and beyond,” said Flicker, who has been teaching at BFS for three years. He received his masters in education from Bank Street College of Education, and has previously conducted workshops on using primary sources at the National Council for History Educators Conference.

Soon they were met by their tour guide, Sarah Kaufman, who led them upstairs into the columned rotunda overlooking Cadman Plaza. She explained Greek Revival style to the students. “It brings us back to the style of ancient Greece—the columns, the marble,” she said. She pointed out that the whole building is not Greek Revival, however. For instance, atop the cupola, “there’s a beautiful, gold lady. She’s Beax Arts style,” a tradition which emphasizes ornamentation and large scale.

Paul Lazar, father of student Jack Lazar, came along on the field trip and was amazed by the building’s hidden treasures. “I'm really excited myself, because I’ve walked by here every day taking Jack to school and I’ve always wanted to see the inside,” Lazare said.

The crown jewel of Borough Hall is its courtroom, with its ubiquitous, ornately carved wooden molding, cast-iron columns painted to resemble wood, and domed ceiling. The room is breathtaking, and is recognizable as a shooting location for the TV show Law & Order and the Jennifer Lopez movie The Chambermaid. Today the courtroom is only used for special events.

“We’re trying to get a sense of the history of the buildings around us,” said Flicker. “Some buildings are kept for a reason.”

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