Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names
Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names
Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names
Ebook345 pages3 hours

Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

How the places in Brooklyn got their names--complete with vivid photographs and maps

From Bedford-Stuyvesant to Williamsburg, Brooklyn's historic names are emblems of American culture and history. Uncovering the remarkable stories behind the landmarks, Brooklyn By Name takes readers on a stroll through the streets and places of this thriving metropolis to reveal the borough’s textured past.

Listing more than 500 of Brooklyn’s most prominent place names, organized alphabetically by region, and richly illustrated with photographs and current maps the book captures the diverse threads of American history. We learn about the Canarsie Indians, the region's first settlers, whose language survives in daily traffic reports about the Gowanus Expressway. The arrival of the Dutch West India Company in 1620 brought the first wave of European names, from Boswijck (“town in the woods,” later Bushwick) to Bedford-Stuyvesant, after the controversial administrator of the Dutch colony, to numerous places named after prominent Dutch families like the Bergens.

The English takeover of the area in 1664 led to the Anglicization of Dutch names, (vlackebos, meaning “wooded plain,” became Flatbush) and the introduction of distinctively English names (Kensington, Brighton Beach). A century later the American Revolution swept away most Tory monikers, replacing them with signers of the Declaration of Independence and international figures who supported the revolution such as Lafayette (France), De Kalb (Germany), and Kosciuszko (Poland). We learn too of the dark corners of Brooklyn“s past, encountering over 70 streets named for prominent slaveholders like Lefferts and Lott but none for its most famous abolitionist, Walt Whitman.

From the earliest settlements to recent commemorations such as Malcolm X Boulevard, Brooklyn By Name tells the tales of the poets, philosophers, baseball heroes, diplomats, warriors, and saints who have left their imprint on this polyethnic borough that was once almost disastrously renamed “New York East.”

Ideal for all Brooklynites, newcomers, and visitors, this book includes:
*Over 500 entries explaining the colorful history of Brooklyn's most prominent place names
*Over 100 vivid photographs of Brooklyn past and present
*9 easy to follow and up-to-date maps of the neighborhoods
*Informative sidebars covering topics like Ebbets Field, Lindsay Triangle, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
*Covers all neighborhoods, easily find the street you're on

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 1, 2006
ISBN9780814791493
Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names
Author

Leonard Benardo

Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss are husband and wife and the coauthors of Brooklyn by Name. Their writing has been published in The New York Review of Books, New York Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, and elsewhere. They live in Brooklyn, New York, with their son and daughter.

Related to Brooklyn By Name

Related ebooks

United States History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Brooklyn By Name

Rating: 3.8333333 out of 5 stars
4/5

3 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Brooklyn By Name - Leonard Benardo

    %]ebook_preview_excerpt.html|YrɖV~$3)j2Mf LqPddep@{Q%t$W/,x_/njeYmV,MjߌL^̷۵R_~_~SylY|[WMqUmo*֙#kd0vۆCUG.]ܤYh-R7lauɟí;Ȋi9̤;<0ʖY綪WYiHp"=2nc\8rUg6iZr[ ỳVztl2[gdX3 p'/Ft59re|Z܀M*E3vm)W{gd9{,*dEiLQ>v32I7my8d,M3YŨ jK5ʗa6{K0&20>|viferú-0E#iWjۯŇzK`P|lV;Fqm!l=P/fQ58-Ws_OMX[Kj*#Vg5?u5~co|_C#rٲibfXbXaSР ᄋjlȊ,9Яy7a*Zh<Pm@E\C/pn][ M(sZOY#j7k$>3lꩇXlϙC]<{} mWD!>cChŊQ0uh>485_Epr#`n l;̤.O!Q1USKB`&:`ʺ7 8 HB[54B&nUUmфYPOkWf.o1?M[J͵e٨z f9ao1Wdl r~ ^rT4mtP"¹0U[nlȩ8x" ; Nsf LX(qG.g6+„y%)l!{k묒cڱ9u4":$ęêU,7 JA[gZM#?In(RxvK?X.wŎ`Mk:w00fz6)X+55 VB\ViawAoarJaQ|%.7Wcٶ5yHK C]~ (S$>o=0*V.:0w<*7=) /  Z sYoݭL.|82M/lj.79/x:Ӆ?ǁ+3[q< <ug\\]]ǫ)1FM[G-uzKaݤ'1G N JivIAέڝg9 09KG{Ibe |bx$!Ӟt炔i7K r@ߟ]۵t~|&sOo 6;f\NgHJ)H?f۶WIg^v<DҸB=P0&HO\;( \Jqh`߽B`NT1Fv84N=l*iuTRt>T0Xͥov0Ow)&YwN$oa;%|P1Mݏ~?s{[ {+f$p+l3>;gk#k'cF{{ )c|Kߓ{^Ў'דCg ‹dub^?kN_7w7/|gS1NWsz͛~k T٘$Kjj< S96aYۥKbZIŚd2Xri )F"#d ?3[Ƽ6K<7寄.~~b$ARf `4[ybk]sq6Xzjj<s'0~$G`OC猠I-$Pj&ftS~b~}s^ 'dדЭ|=9==/?=ssW@_qyq۹9?F9OS.FŹ862O?M.16f^_bzy}&3eL.//0%>cW맋k|e;;2ߗ/+rd.Ggh>MGRyw2/:=xqy7t6![O&iÍ+p,|x:0g6c0 F:j)xGKiNk3xF@)~>_Et22kӋGFa4/ן\g;|@<4 'g'BPr.}<{{p Sߡە`֋9NΏ D\.');O&ogKhm3*BE9N?#tjO@gd0P2}G-Ğ\Eqݮz=+[8Qě*kz6)pkXWi%WZбӫ%rkt$կ &P.SxdIqgsV7N=N”Is$2bH6bvhkͮ'xSD x' -KOsk$}#sRY9op9sUrVs uų+=17SJdIAw򐚉N1UgX#w{̊X|KIH*]>7r=LՂZ_p*uzjPeE' z۬_C"Ul{\z l/ $L2d Aȋ-[L le&(i;;IJFy.6"n!W_+5֘1ǨRt-, ڕf=&xQ {RgEd@f'ei4>5!$9 -y *]QBo*Y%džr-L@w;wu8kkppM3d+ b&-CHR AvI8ٵ4LnD=L9C Pv"bxp ?9D(KO2װjKQL&`x@iP#{k܈C*W>'! kܢ{ԭl./5YZzCdKFY6FeF, 9n5b*u\\@:}+C,V!i8%&l亄9ܶ-away{8ULfaEjQjdj2؂| vD'Y0NN]ϦǑUn/n-Ί')ZeU EJap_[ *s8"WÌw 9+mYTZea.rqAo= [yu*oa@ڕΚ }G; J6)&IJCV'm-<1 zanNj5k&M l% {AZ!˂8X0|GUx|cͯv3A P*Hl#yN8+c\]Qkw} C5ǚ 扣+ʡ%n$c \L]T{ڂH7@-U Fi4-vÀi $YS)wձd|ؚI_حrڱ9n| Aʳp&꙯QME_8c^A*s 2 P;2hS;c*L_'CjOw4sLX-YSkX!3% +oQH@+ޤX`onZS 7SȂGZgil$S/m|rn}.P>!_P? %2!0a;d5׏_{l;}8VƷ]:6RbsJ nSDF@utBD=$N.=~Yd;̅sTHQ m/@4v[?X^(5Q]TE ӳEКdK -{tXZ>dNbOEiǀeYUlXҪIUVw[SX Ħ*W{&e|s Yq# XfOf>%`(!{BݮXsx@m=jv&1גmh\ڼ\U3I-Fb `W6_); ^#6KW#j-]Q'iB'AsVQN;N@aZ@t]|AiغA:=¯ ^b1nm|ܟIZ- asl^)B6J!dO *Hz]ZuRɼB*xQ,J\|ˣV0NYb[[-EEUab n8u1⨗W/[ݜZ*,(' dKTӬZ~yd24ZGu7 1$FT!%46.Qҋ9uJd>џ5oSi ](r@Z"A_ZvflDz" $p3rSK;O$fk*C#b, |ɚV)A]Cm!H: FACa ILRE bxО($rn!!.}qv0?CESP,a'E,P ،Ć{s;R8:.@A誻DlDCm( v>k6l RtlE#a~l#l>@­~[w6,ǨbOw&"WA"I2{.dKNX|2wj2~ֲ-<&2:EX(Zt̔h8[(<:!4[0O涙c:I/dz\hMX[++Qw6=Yh߀>B \VMLu*}$GQԉL&Kh^$`VU!#VP:wZz mԶ"dޮdl|$b?̭ҿupqB+Fn6kuh)䅂࠘붘e8.A:VH֙9:'%~}%jQ2i1G#D6e'T;ٕxSMk\5Hg:.HjDW7B!QۧuE&풤"X|^@d!Hb;-^Kӈ\Hj&$G)]:HϪ.{2i%"Onyq'̥(pb@J kdžKdE6GZj3+ 1SQ zjS i罡pM:[F4WiK/2]F_7털%8()s `5\m:?Y@AR0ednhhjoc@U߈Pzv8ye ˱2hm?}O@*B;@IV9DYbN %U+`;v-3^ .7YSZ4^Rx.@wFl.`>l: {l4N=+-޹\ttN! nCcSr6_(` %r1BsСvE_,,Uj]F+]p^ I9ZսnK`nBG T`ZAr6'l[A'L_?]R}mIi.o ~).r. PUZW7nl+̝ -vPF:̀ 5{uֽ[Hoe| akf~w{Qh\1*ʏbäk 6!}">$Hb&Ҵ{۩2<뉄-!ēB!7tRKمP/{*{jr}ow#"ow)\p>y[>H>e 6F؊ I$ҦT ik~$6rћt2.[WFr}C^Cc0vlސςxm+_^>:I wԵ@Ww77q \K z/Op6"$g݋C? 24.pAQ+S!VҌb4‹ x04ji0Cb絯\¨69>r+b`_QZ`/d~D)0םV+o7d*(DzaIFk;!ȏՒd+1}s԰bfZJkRZuPܸn5Qw62^ Y9W“8hMr̗hoq A%y d T
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1