Then and Now: Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

It's been a long while since I posted up some Then and Now photos. This isn't quite Sunset Park, but it's close, and the photos are both pretty darn cool.


Vicariously_Me uploaded the above photo to the Best View in Brooklyn photo pool, and it gives me the perfect excuse to share the photograph seen below. According to Tony, who sent this photo to me many months ago, the shot was taken around 1963, while the Verrazano was under construction. He says, "the cables had just been completed and the roadway support wasn't put in yet. The opening of the bridge in 1964 caused the closing of the ferry line" on the 69th Street Pier.

Then and Now: 5th Avenue and 36th Street

I love this photo. It was taken on September 4th, 1916 and looks at the southeast corner of 36th Street and 5th Avenue.

According to Tony, my guru of historical photos of Sunset Park, the building used to be a railroad storage yard, trolley barn, and repair shop. You can see the elevated railroad along 5th Avenue (who knew?!) on the right side of the photograph. The railroad split less than a block farther down 5th Avenue. The left turn-off went towards Coney Island on the Culver line, and the right turn-off went along 3rd Avenue to 65th Street, the last stop.


Today it's the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot; it's the same idea with a different application. The Green-Wood Cemetery's wrought iron fence now cages in the opposite corner. Obviously, the elevated railroad is gone. The building is less than aesthetically pleasing, and I'm partial to the brick and windows of 1916. Now you have to go down to the East River to see anything reasonably similar. Enjoy.

Then and Now: Looking at St. Michael's from 40th Street

St. Michael's tower is probably the most immediately recognizable part of Sunset Park, at least from afar. However, the story behind these photos is the change in 4th Avenue. The medians look lovely, don't they? Much nicer than the skinny, concrete "waiting areas" we have now. There were also gas lamps along the side of the street, and buildings didn't crowd the street with just the sidewalk to separate them from the street. Much healthier for whatever air gets in your window from our modern day traffic, I'd say.

The BPL photo doesn't have a year listed in the description, but judging from the other photos that do have dates attached to them, and the telephone lines seen on the street, it's probably from the early 1900's - 1910-ish? Anyone want to chime in with a more accurate guess?

Then and Now: PS 94

PS 94 was once called the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow School, but in 2007 its name was changed to the more utilitarian School of Diverse Languages and Cultures. Appropriate enough, since it is the only school in Brooklyn with a dual-language Chinese program (it also has a dual-language Spanish program). Check out more current information about the school here. Somehow, however, it's a bit depressing to think about names changing; I guess history is lost to many cultures when progress attacks.

The above photograph is from January of 1908. It has weathered its centennial well, and despite losing some decorative elements under the fifth floor windows, it looks shockingly similar. The trees in front of the school are new, obviously, and the window gates on the first floor protect the children and equipment from escape.


I'm looking forward to casting my vote for the next United States President in this building.

Then and Now: 44th Street Looking Towards 4th Avenue

This photo was taken in 1952 on 44th Street. The two story building on the left side of the photo was torn down a few years ago to make way for the new Lutheran Medical Center's Sunset Gardens. This was one construction project that didn't seem to have too many complaints about it. (Unlike the new condos on 42nd Street that ruined several 43rd Street backyards.)

The lack of trees in 1952 allows us to see the types of cars that parked on the street. Very cool. A photo from the same vantage point at the 1952 photo shows just car doors and treetops, so I settled for the same area but a different point of view.

Then and Now: Greenwood Heights Reformed Church

This church was once called the Greenwood Heights Reformed Church, located on 45th Street and 7th Avenue. It's facade was really beautiful.


The white trim of the curving shape and the windows is still there. The GHRC was built in the 1800's and disbanded in 1972. Now it is the United Methodist Christ Church, and it houses a Head Start. The surrounding trees kept me from getting a solid shot of the entire building, but it's clear that not much has changed - other than the signs that don't fit in with the building at all.

Then and Now: Finland Congregational Church

Established in 1912, the Finnish Golgotha Congregational Church still sits at 733 44th Street, but now it's called the Brooklyn Baptist Church. The doors have recently gotten new handles (the beautiful old doors went a while ago), the stained glass has protective plexiglass - or something similar - to protect and dull the windows, and the prototypical message board adorns the outer wall, but otherwise it looks shockingly similar. Almost 100 years, and still lovely.