Windsor Terrace - A Safe and Close Knit Brooklyn Neighborhood

Old timers in Windsor Terrace speak of the days when Irish Catholic families were so large that they filled entire pews at Holy Name Roman Catholic Church on Prospect Park West and the church had to hold multiple Masses just to accommodate the large numbers of families in its congregation.

Although Windsor Terrace families are smaller today and new ethnic groups have moved in, the same close knit feeling still exists whether it's on Halloween when parents are comfortable letting their kids trick or treat on their, in the summer when kids play until twilight on a cul-de-sac in front of their houses, or in the spring when Little League games at the ball fields on the Windsor Terrace end of Prospect Park are followed by backyard barbeques.

Windsor Terrace began its development in the 19th Century, and the early 1900s brought newly constructed row houses to Prospect Park Southwest; later in the century apartment houses were developed. Two-family homes were, followed by two large apartment, stores, and single-family houses. In the 1980s, as housing prices began to rise in Park Slope, many families turned to Windsor Terrace for more space in charming single family homes, row houses, and co-ops at affordable prices. But what was once affordable in the neighborhood seems pretty pricey today.

Windsor Terrace borders the south side of Prospect Park, which is one of the neighborhood's greatest assets. The 585-acre jewel was designed in the 1860s by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park, and in the last 25 years has been restored to its original grandeur by a dedicated group of administrators, government officials, volunteers, and donors.

Another attraction is Kensington Stables. The stable offers boarding, riding lessons, and trail rides in Prospect Park on a 3.5-mile bridle path through scenic and varied terrain beginning at the Park Circle entrance and continues alongside the Lake to the Long Meadow and the Midwood.