Dreaming of a landmark
Campaign to landmark demolition-bound Grand Prospect Hall heats up
BY BEN VERDE
A pair of Brooklyn teens are
leading the charge to save the
historic Grand Prospect Hall,
as its new owner races to demolish
it.
Solya Spiegel, 16, and Toby
Pannone, 18, are spearheading
the grassroots campaign to
landmark the Victorian dance
hall, launching an online petition
and putting in a formal request
for the Landmarks Preservation
Commission to review
the premises before the wrecking
balls swing.
“Why would we give this
away?” said Spiegel. “This is
such an amazing part of Brooklyn,
it’s incredible.”
The ballroom on Prospect
Avenue near Fifth Avenue was
listed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1999, but
is not landmarked, meaning it
can potentially be demolished.
Developer Angelo Rigas purchased
the building from the
Halkias family in a multi-property
$22 million deal in July of
this year, and almost immediately
COURIER LIFE, A 10 UG. 27-SEPT. 2, 2021
fi led yet-to-be-approved
demolition permits, as Brooklyn
Paper fi rst reported. Rigas
could not be reached for comment.
The National Register describes
the hall, fi rst built in
1892 and rebuilt in 1903, as the
best example of a Victorian ballroom
that exists in the country.
After a fi re in 1900, it reopened
in its current form, redesigned
by architect Ulrich J Huberty,
a prominent architect who
also designed the landmarked
Prospect Park Boathouse and
Tennis House. The hall is also
home to one of Brooklyn’s earliest
elevators, which was installed
when the building was
built and still operational when
the wedding venue closed for
business at the start of the pandemic.
“In addition to its signifi -
cance as an outstanding specimen
of its architectural type
and period, Prospect Hall is an
important example of the large
ethnic social/cultural/entertainment
facility, a building
type that existed in large urban
immigrant neighborhoods
nationwide at the turn of the
20th century,” read National
Historic Register documents on
the hall.
The venue lay dormant for
many years of the 20th Century
before being purchased
by the Halkias family in 1981,
who restored the property and
became local celebrities thanks
to their constantly-airing lowbudget
commercials with the
“we make your dreams come
true!” tagline.
Spiegel and Pannone have
a personal affi nity towards
the historic hall, similar to
ones forged by thousands of
Brooklynites over the years,
whether through attending
weddings at the hall, attending
a concert there, or just seeing
their commercials on local
television.
Spiegel’s connection to
Grand Prospect Hall was
formed through Goldenfest,
a yearly brass music festival
that transforms the sprawling
venue into a bumping Balkan
hoedown. Spiegel, a Kensington
resident, ended up playing
violin in the kids’ band at the
fest after attending with her
family for years.
“It’s super important for
me,” she said. “I go every day
that I can when it happens. I
spend hours and hours there
just hanging out with my
friends, it’s such an important
place to me.”
The previous owners of Grand Prospect Hall. File photo
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