Life on Montague Street

Montague Street is the main shopping street as well as the center of the Brooklyn Heights community. Brooklyn Height’s lively and bustling street is full of anything you could want from shoe stores, to laundromats to restaurants. Packed with residents of Brooklyn Heights, visitors, and the nearby workforce, Montague Street is a great place to spend a day or an evening.

The Changing Face of the Stores on Montague Street

This area is filled with one-of-a-kind neighborhood shops and cafes but it also has many well-known commercial branches.  The real estate prices on Montague Street are going sky high making it very difficult for some “mom and pop” businesses to succeed. Many feel the high prices are the reason many large branches such as MAC, Banana Republic and Aerosoles are buying out the small neighborhood companies.  Many vacant lots line Montague Street giving off a feeling of emptiness on the block. This came from a few coincidental real estate deals leaving signs like “Sorry we’re closed” or “This Gap store is closed permanently”. Many fear that Brooklyn Heights is transforming into “new Brooklyn,” a place that disappointedly resembles Manhattan. The newest store is the ice cream chain Tasti D-lite that filled the vacant lot at 91 Montague. The owner of this ice cream parlor decided to open up on this busy street because, simply put, “It’s a cute neighborhood.”

The People of Montague Street

The most unique feature of Brooklyn Height’s Montague Street is the mix of tranquility and liveliness. A block away, one can see the quiet streets of residential Brooklyn Heights. Perpendicular to Montague Street is the Promenade where you can take in a breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline. Right down the block one can see the striking spires of the old Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity.

During the day Montague is a vibrant and busy street filled with many people who work around the area. At night, the street quiets down and you will find many bars and restaurants open to visitors and residents alike. You can find a restaurant serving whatever kind of food you are craving at the moment. As a customer accurately stated, “It’s just a friendly area.” Whether in search of a good meal, a dentist, or a night out on the town, Montague Street is definitely the place to find it. Visible from Montague Street is one of Brooklyn Heights’ most recognizable buildings, the large St. George Hotel.

The St. George Hotel

The St. George Hotel, located at 51 Clark Street, was once one of the largest hotels in the United States and currently one of the oldest. This massive structure measures 200 x 400 feet, towering over nearby buildings and taking up most of the block between Hicks and Henry Streets.  The St. George is a complex maze of nine individual buildings built between 1885 and 1929, which had between 2,600 and 2,800 hundred rooms.  It was the largest hotel in the United States until the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, with more than 5,000 rooms, was built.

This classic 1920’s hotel is located in the heart of scenic Brooklyn Heights and conveniently located one subway stop away from Manhattan.  The St. George was known for celebrities and athletes who came to the hotel to celebrate weddings, anniversaries, and other parties in the hotel’s enormous ballroom.  The Brooklyn Dodgers frequently came by the hotel to celebrate wins.  Its biggest attraction, however, was its indoor salt-water pool.  This gigantic salt-water pool, which was the largest in the United States, and its mirrored ceiling, attracted flocks of people.  It was so well known that part of the Godfather was filmed in the St. George.  The Hotel St. George achieved popularity because of its prime location, indoor pool, and spectacular view of lower Manhattan.

The high point for the St. George came during and immediately after World War II.  Later on, however, changing times and the economy took their toll on the building.  Eight of the nine buildings were converted for residential use and two of those building remained vacant for years.  The buildings became homes for vagrants despite efforts to board up the entrances.   The nine buildings were interconnected via the basement, where some homeless found themselves situated.

The St. George is most notoriously known as the site of one of the largest fires in Brooklyn.  On August 27, 1995, a man using a blowtorch started a fire on the ninth floor of the Clark Street building.  The fire rapidly spread to two others, the Grill and Tower buildings. The interior of the Clark building eventually collapsed.  It took more than five hundred firefighters to suppress the flames.   

Presently, The St. George hosts over eight hundred interns and college students attending schools in the New York City area. Its location is just mere footsteps from the shopping and restaurants on Montague Street and only a short walk to the Brooklyn Promenade overlooking the breathtaking view of the city. The forlorn yet quaint look that the St. George exudes is still appreciated for its nostalgic associations and aesthetic beauty.

The History of Montague Street

Brooklyn Heights is an historical landmark. Therefore, the Montague storefronts cannot be changed and must comply with regulations for storefronts set by the New York City Landmarks commission. Montague Street also has a history; many writers lived around the upscale neighborhood in the 1950's and 1960's. Novelist Norman Miller and Truman Capote who wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “House of Heights” lived in Brooklyn Heights. Arthur Miller, Pulitzer-prize winning playwright and his wife used to live at 62 Montague Street. Montague Street was also a place for musicians where live music made Brooklyn Heights a destination for those seeking lively nightlife. Bob Dylan in his song “Tangled up in Blue” sings of the street’s lively cafes and air of revolution:

I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafes at night
And revolution in the air
(Tnagled Up In Blue / Blood On The Tracks / 1975)

The Brooklyn Heights Association and the Montague Business Improvement District make sure the landmark rules are followed while the street still thrives. Plans for the future include adding more retail stores that appeal to teens and children.