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January 22, 2004 22:35:45
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History of Bushwick
One of the original Dutch towns of the borough. Peter Stuyvesant named it Boswijck, Dutch meaning "town of the woods". Originally, it included Greenpoint, Williamsburgh and Ridgewood. Today it is bordered by Flushing Avenue, Queens County, the Cemetery of the Evergreens and Broadway. It was an agricultural community that housed factories as well. The 1840s brought a large influx of immigrants, who brought with them their proficiency for brewing. For nearly thirty years there were over ten breweries operating within a fourteen block radius. However, the need for automation, in combination with the decline of the area, caused the last of these breweries to close its doors in 1976, ending the era of Brooklyn beer.
In the early 1900s, The Eastern District of Bushwick supported many of the city's best playhouses and, at that time, it was considered to be somewhat of an alternative to Manhattan's Theater District. The end of the Great Depression brought a new influx of immigrants to the area, as did the end of World War II. This is an area that has undergone, and continues to undergo, rapid change.
Served by Community District 4
Zip Code: 11221
Claims to Fame:
Some splendid examples of Brooklyn's urban architecture can be seen along Bushwick and Myrtle Avenues and Decatur Street. Twenty blocks of town houses and mansions remember the days when wealthy industrialists made their homes there. Streets, such as Chauncy, are lined with rows of trees and beautiful brownstone facades.
Historic churches, including The Reformed Church of South Bushwick (15 Himrod Street) and St. Mark's Lutheran Church and School (626 Bushwick Avenue) are well over one hundred years old.
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