Erasmus Hall Academy
This building signifies the growth of the area. The school was built in 1786 as a Dutch school, but from the late 19th century until the spike in immigration during the Roaring Twenties, the amount of students exceeded the space available. Starting in 1904 and lasting until post-World War II, the school expanded. The view of the academy from Church is of a great, pale sand-colored Gothic building, with gargoyles and a large gate that promised a fairytale, not a school. The look contrasts the red-brick buildings surrounding it, the bright lime-colored signs, and even the cars that drove by.
Food
Food is all over, from restaurants to groceries. Yet on a cold winter day, one cannot smell a thing. From Kennedy Fried Chicken to Church Fruit Farm to Fisherman’s Cove to Checkers (a place that hasn’t grasped the concept of small cups), there are a variety of places to choose from.
Sound
Some parts of Church are silent—unless one is eavesdropping on another’s conversation. One finds mostly English-speakers. The real variety is in the music. Some stores, like the small shop Weekend, had calypso playing. Others had on the much more North American tunes of Justin Bieber.
Touch
Although we didn’t, something in abundance to touch is cloth. Various stores offers cotton tees, colored jeans, crisp dress shirts, and one sparkling gold bustier. These can be found in what Doyle Murphey of the Daily News would refer to as “trendy” stores, yet these places weren’t big name chains like Abercrombie and Fitch, or Hot Topic. No, stores like Weekend and Get Set, tailored towards club wear, party outfits, and urban styles. They were thus for the trendy young newcomers of Flatbush, yet still were private enough to be unique to the area.
