History & Culture
The source of Park Slope’s name, Prospect Park, opened in 1867, designed by the same team behind Manhattan’s Central Park: Frederick Law Olmsted and partner Calvert Vaux. Though the park would generate interest in the area, it would take some time before development took off in earnest. The opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, in 1883, accelerated the pace. The grandest homes were built along Prospect Park West and facing, or at least close to, Grand Army Plaza.