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Brooklyn By Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names
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
*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
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
*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
- GenresNew York
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 17, 2017
I picked this up because my grandmother's family is from Brooklyn. It was interesting to read about the origins & history of neighborhood & street names. A good book for research & reference.
October 10, 2010
I read this at work this week. As you can guess, most stuff in Brooklyn is named for real estate peeps, Revolutionary war heroes and politicians, and Anglicized Dutch words, but it's nice to know for sure what the backstory is.
March 8, 2012
More of a reference book than anything else -- and honestly, I'm not 100% sure where some of these neighborhoods are -- but a fun (if esoteric) read. And it confirmed my notion that Putnam Ave in Bed-Stuy was named for my great(x7)-uncle, Israel Putnam!
July 13, 2007
This is more of a reference book than anything else. It's more fun to browse sections. I did learn about lots of street names and Brooklyn trivia.
August 17, 2008
Ok, it's not a 'page-turner', technically, but it is so incredibly fascinating. A history of our great borough through the politics of naming. Highly recommended.
August 22, 2008
Terrific for geography dorks like me, especially ones who live in Brooklyn and ever wondered just who the hell Schermerhorn actually was.
July 11, 2010
Saw this one on the library shelf a few days ago while looking for a nearby book; it turned out to be more interesting than I'd expected.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews