Bedford-Stuyvesant

On Saturday I took a long walk through the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn.  I was curious to see the architecture, but I also wanted to find the home of my great-grandparents, who lived at 101 Hancock Street.   This was the house that my maternal grandfather grew up in.  His parents were Henry Nelson Meeker and Clara Jones Meeker.  The house was originally owned by my great great grandfather, one John Wesley Jones, who was known as a photographer in the mid 19th century.
And there it was; nothing particularly distinctive, looking just like the neighboring houses, and without even an identifying number. But interesting for me to think that my grandfather, whom I knew when I was a child, grew up there. He was born in 1889.
Here is the house:

After that, I went wandering through the neighborhood, which has all kinds of beautiful homes, including a historical district.  Bedford-Stuyvesant is a predominantly African-American community; it was known in the 60's and 70's as an area of great poverty and frequent racial conflicts.  It is now slowly gentrifying, with a more affluent population, both black and white,  moving in, and many of the older homes being restored.   Here is a selection of photographs of buildings in the area.  (Click to enlarge)

Two churches:

A former movie theater:

More houses:

and things in need of restoration: