A group of professors took a walking tour of Crown Heights Friday in hopes of bringing back history and culture to their classrooms.
Architectural historian Francis Morrone led the New York City College of Technology instructors. They began at the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway and wound their way through the neighborhood. Morrone pointed out that Ebbets Field, the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, was a major attraction until fan turnout dropped and the team left the borough.
The group also took in the brownstones, art deco and Mediterranean buildings that were home to some of Brooklyn's wealthiest residents during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The area was also home to an early settlement of black property owners. Crown Heights currently boasts a diverse population of Hassidic Jews, West Indians, Latinos and Russians.
Many professors say the tour will help them better relate to their students by seeing the neighborhood they come from.