Fort Greene
Neighborhood Intelligence

Fort Greene is named for the Revolutionary War fort built here in 1776 under General Nathanael Greene. Fort Greene Park, redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1867, is the neighborhood's centerpiece and holds the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument, designed by Stanford White and dedicated in 1908 to the prisoners who died aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor. Around the park stand blocks of brownstones and rowhouses protected by the Fort Greene Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a New York City historic district.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music, with its Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater, anchors a cultural district that has its own historic district and draws audiences from across the city. The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower at One Hanson Place was the tallest building in Brooklyn until 2009. Brooklyn Technical High School, the Brooklyn Hospital Center, Commodore Barry Park, and the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church are among the area's other institutions, and Flatbush Avenue links the neighborhood to Downtown Brooklyn.