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Flashback: Brooklyn, 1936
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 5, 2010
Modified Feb 5, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 5, 2010
Modified Feb 5, 2010
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These photographs were all taken by Berenice Abbott in the same area of Brooklyn in 1936 (two of them on the now non-existent Talman Street). The clapboard houses were part of what was called Irishtown, which was under the anchorage of the Manhattan Bridge (this area is now called DUMBO, of course). According to this book, back then it was "a slum of pre-Civil War houses renting for $15 per month. Lacking cellars, central heat, hot water, toilets, and bathtubs, many of the houses had been declared uninhabitable by the city. Talman Street was the remnant of an old cow path with an ice cream factory at one end and empty lots at the other."
In the 30s, Irishtown began attracting African-Americans, with little resistance or racial tensions. But by the 50s, the entry ramps of the BQE cut through the area and the houses, along with Talman Street, are now gone. However, the ice cream factory building still stands! (Check out all of Berenice Abbott's photos of a changing New York, here.)
Tagged
1936
berenice abbott
brooklyn
dumbo
flashback
manhattan bridge
Talman Street
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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