Photos: How Brooklyn Has Changed in the Last 100 Years
- Courtesy Matthew Scarpa, Postcard History Series: Bay Ridge, Arcadia Publishing, reprinted with permission
In the early 20th century, much of Bay Ridge, the neighborhood tucked into Brooklyn’s southwest corner, was still rural in character; my grandmother could remember from her childhood a pond where today there’s an abandoned gas station. But then came the subway, extended down Fourth Avenue ultimately all the way to 95th Street, bringing with it more residents and development; the shoreline was extended with landfill and a parkway built along the waterfront. Last month, Arcadia published the latest volume in its Postcard History Series, Bay Ridge, edited and written by local historian Matthew Scarpa. Here are four images from the book, paired with contemporary photographs of the same or comparable locations to show how much Brooklyn has evolved in just 100 years.
Bay Ridge by Matthew Scarpa is available from the publisher online at arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.
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