Brooklyn Public Library, ca. 1908. The original building of the library seen in this circa 1908 postcard was built in 1896 for the Bay Ridge Free Library. That institution was established in 1880 by the Bay Ridge Reading Club. In 1901 the library became a part of the Brooklyn Public Library system. The building presently seen on the site was constructed in 1960. (Isn't it obvious?)

Aftermath of a deadly crane collapse and and landslide during construction on the BMT Fourth Avenue line in Bay Ridge, June 23, 1914. During a routine summer workday, the derrick supporting a crane suddenly gave way. The New York Times reported: “One man was killed and two others were injured, probably mortally, when a thirty ton crane broke through the soil of the subway cut,” adding “the sandy soil in this district had proved very treacherous, and it had been necessary, after the cut was opened, to strengthen the shoring on two different occasions.” The house partially visible at far right (with men on the porch) is No. 7604 Fourth Avenue. That house is still standing, but the two houses at center were demolished between 2007-2011.

The Bay Ridge Theatre ca. 1939 7120 3rd Avenue Designed by Robert T. Rasmussen, 1915 Bay Ridge once had many theaters, but like most of the others, the Bay Ridge Theatre ceased to function as a theater in the early 1960s. The building, however, has retained much of its ornament, including arched windows, fluted pilasters, and the theater’s name carved below the dentilled cornice.

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, January 28, 1913. The building at 7420 Fourth Avenue was originally located at the corner of 68th Street and Third Avenue where it served the congregation of the Christ Episcopal Church. That parish moved to a new site and the little church structure was moved a few blocks for a new congregation. Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard had their first services on March 17, 1910 to celebrate Easter.

Public School 102 ca. 1914 Designed in the Italian neo-Renaissance style of brick and limestone, P.S. 102’s architectural gem is its 71st Street façade, whose decorative details include a dentilled cornice, wreath medallions, bracket lintels, arched windows and an arched doorway with columns and a triangular pediment. This site was previously home to the Bay Ridge District School No. 2, a red frame Queen Anne style schoolhouse built in 1883.

Union Church of Bay Ridge, June 23, 1963. The Union Church of Bay Ridge was established in 1918, following the merger of two Ridge Boulevard Churches, the Bay Ridge Reformed Church (which occupied the Union Church’s current site) and Bay Ridge United Presbyterian. The current church was completed in 1931.

Built in 1865, no. 131 is a neo-Georgian mansion that features a grand semi-circular porch with columns. The home is known as the Warbasse–Thomas house and sources suggest that this home may have been moved from near present-day 77th Street and Colonial Road.

Bay Ridge Theatre, c. 1915. Built in 1915 and designed by Robert T. Rasmussen, the Bay Ridge Theatre was one of a number of movie houses in the neighborhood. Hubert Selby Jr., author of "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Requiem for a Dream," grew up across the street from the theatre and set one of his short stories there. The theatre was closed by the 1960s and for some time housed a bingo hall. The current uses of the building include a McDonald's, a Rite Aid, and a New York Sports Club gym. (The reuse of historic buildings, particularly theatres, as gyms is not an uncommon occurrence around the city.)

Facade of Bay Ridge of Brooklyn Public Library, ca. 1905.

Christ Church Bay Ridge - Ralph Adams Cram & Bertram Goodhue, 1908–10 The congregation of Christ Church was estab- lished in 1851 at 67th Street and 3rd Avenue, but later moved to its current location at 75th Street and 4th Avenue. The Gothic Revival building was donated by Eliphalet W. Bliss, who also donated his estate for the future Owl’s Head Park. The old building, whose wood frame was stuccoed in the 1960s, was purchased by the congregation of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, which still operates there.

View of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from 77th Street and Ridge Boulevard, Bay Ridge, June 23, 1963.

7200 Ridge Boulevard ca. 1941 Designed by Ernest Flagg, this 422-unit, six-building complex contained architectural features that were avant-garde for its time, including reversible fans below the windows and exterior window shades, both now removed, as well as innovative uses of concrete as finished ceilings and for a vaulted auditorium. Its most pronounced exterior feature is the pendant Carpenter Gothic cornice at the eighth floor. The complex was socially innovative, as well, as it included a tea room, auditorium, swimming pool, bowling alley, tennis and handball courts, and a nursery school to allow the building’s mothers three hours of daily free time.