Where is Clumber Corner? Dog owners are probably familiar with this place. The answer is after the jump below.

 Clumber Corner, Brooklyn, 4/2007

Clumber Corner
1.46 acres

This grassy, sloping corner, popular with dog-walkers, takes its name from the Clumber Spaniel, also known as the “retired gentleman’s shooting dog” for its slow gait and remarkable talent for finding birds. Spaniels date back to the 1300s when they were first bred by the Spanish. The Clumber was created by combining old spaniel breeds with other dogs, giving it its present physical characteristics. The long, low body comes from the Basset Hound, while the heavy head comes from the Alpine Spaniel. The Duc de Noailles of France was the first to breed the Clumber, although he had to send his spaniels to England when the French Revolution came. They were housed in the kennels of the Duke of Newcastle at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, thus earning their current name.

Clumber Corner is located near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, or BQE, which was constructed under the direction of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) between 1946 and 1964 at a cost of $137 million. Built to relieve congestion on local streets and to aid industry and business by shortening transportation time between the boroughs, the six-lane, 11.7 mile long BQE received Federal, State, and City funding. After repeated reconstruction projects in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the BQE will receive a $240-million, 4-year rehabilitationfrom the New York State Department of Transportation, scheduled to be completed in 2004.

Clumber Corner is located in Brooklyn Heights. The urbanization of Brooklyn Heights began in 1814 when the neighborhood received an important boost from Robert Fulton’s steam ferry, which allowed businessmen to commute to and from work in Manhattan on a regularly scheduled basis. Hezekiah Pierpont, a merchant, recognized this as an opportunity and advertised his property in Brooklyn Heights as “the nearest country retreat” for businessmen in lower Manhattan. The area developed as a fashionable suburb of Manhattan, largely between 1830 and 1890, and the result is one of the most architecturally diverse neighborhoods in the city. The area changed in the 1950s with the construction of the BQE, which destroyed many buildings but also provided an esplanade, called The Promenade, which boasts spectacular views of the lower Manhattan skyline.

In 1965, Brooklyn Heights became the first designated Historic District in New York City, in recognition of its varied architectural past. In the time since, Brooklyn Heights has regained its past cashet, in large part for the reasons that made it successful in the first place: the easy commute to Manhattan and the beautiful setting.

City of New York Parks & Recreation
January 2001
www.nyc.gov/parks

 Clumber Corner, Brooklyn, 4/2007

 Clumber Corner, Brooklyn, 4/2007

Clumber Corner is also a popular sledding location when it snows.