Clinton Hill, Historic residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, United States
Clinton Hill is a residential neighborhood in central Brooklyn with red and brown brick houses standing in long rows along streets shaded by old trees. The buildings range from narrow row houses to large detached mansions with porches and gardens, and among them sit multi-story apartment blocks from later periods.
The area developed from the 1850s onward as a residential district for wealthy families after streets were laid out and lots were subdivided. In the 1930s larger rental apartment buildings appeared alongside the older mansions and remain today.
The name comes from DeWitt Clinton, a governor of New York State in the early 19th century, and many streets still carry their original designations from that time. Today the neighborhood combines residences with studios and workshops where artists work and display their projects in public exhibitions.
Walkers can explore the neighborhood easily by following the avenues that tend to have wide sidewalks with shade. Cafes and small shops are mostly found on the ground floors of buildings along the larger streets such as Myrtle Avenue.
Several of the large stone houses today host embassies and consulates from African countries that have set up offices in the former living spaces. Old cast-iron manhole covers still emerge from some sidewalks bearing the names of long-vanished utility companies from the 19th century.
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