Avenue of the (Great) Americans

Photos by Brooklyn Beat

Maybe it is a reflection of the creative and generative powers of builders and architects, such as Ayn Rand's Howard Roarke in "The Fountainhead" who was willing to destroy a building he designed rather than have it, and his pride of creation, spoiled by "the committee."  We are accustomed to seeing the naming of buildings, whether egocentric, i.e.,  "Trump/Babel" or whimsical "The Glenwood" on a treeless street in Manhattan.

But on Avenue K and East 13th Street in Brooklyn, the buildings bear the names of some great Americans. Was it a builder or designer who took great pride and pleasure in the possibilities offered in the United States?  Or a former history teacher from nearby Midwood or Murrow who came into some money years ago and decided to erect some buildings, and in doing so decided to honor the names of Great Americans of the past?  Anyone's guess. But the memories of Lincoln, Grant and Franklin loom large on Avenue K near Coney Island Avenue.

--Brooklyn Beat