Montague Street

Montague Street and the brownstones

The Brooklyn audio-guided tour takes you to Montague Street, the main street of Brooklyn Heights. Like the other streets of the district, it lines up its brownstones, those brown houses that make Brooklyn's reputation and whose colour often intrigues visitors.

The secret of the brown sandstone

The brownstones owe their particular colour to the composition of the sandstone used to build them: this stone, very rich in iron, takes on a brown-red hue recognisable among all. It was at the beginning of the nineteenth century that these houses began to appear in Brooklyn, but also in some parts of Manhattan. It was then much cheaper to build in sandstone than in marble or limestone, which explains their wide spread.

What there is to see

Montague Street is also a lively shopping thoroughfare, lined with cafés, restaurants and shops that make it the living heart of Brooklyn Heights. Looking up, you admire the brown sandstone façades, their stoops and their sculpted details. It is the ideal place to grasp the atmosphere of the district, between local shops and nineteenth-century architecture.

Practical information

Montague Street crosses the Brooklyn Heights district, in Brooklyn. This shopping street can be walked freely at all hours and on the level. Its cafés, restaurants and shops follow their own opening hours.

Why are the brownstones brown?

Because of the sandstone used to build them, very rich in iron, which gives the stone its characteristic brown-red hue.

When did the brownstones appear?

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, in Brooklyn as in some parts of Manhattan, because sandstone cost much less than marble or limestone.