Norwegian Evangelical Free Church, January 5, 1959. The Norwegian Evangelical Free Church was established in 1897, serving a congregation of immigrant laborers and dockworkers from a church at Fourth Avenue and 15th Street. In the opening decades of the 20th century, the congregation shifted to Bay Ridge, prompting the church’s relocation to 66th Street. The cornerstone of the new church was laid in 1928, not far from the eventual route of the Gowanus Expressway. The Bay Ridge church was spared by the highway project, but was replaced with a new, two-sanctuary structure in 1962. At the time, the church still conducted some services in Norwegian, and the second sanctuary was built to facilitate services in both English and Norwegian. Today, the second space is used as a gymnasium.

Rear view of No. 610 Ovington Avenue, from 71st Street; June 10, 1962.

On this sloping vacant site next to (what was then) a railyard, architect Raymond Hood built a strikingly modern showroom for the appliance chain Rex Cole in 1931. The Fourth Avenue frontage consisted of a triangular-shaped single story rendered in plate glass to provide passersby with a good view of the merchandise. On the backside, an open atrium sat above the showroom. The whole looks seemed to be that of a "conning tower of some modernist submarine," according to architectural writer Christoper Gray. At the very top stood a 15-foot replica of a GE model refrigerator.

Public School 170, Bay Ridge, June 10, 1962. The school, built in 1913, was renamed in memory of School District 20 superintendent Ralph A. Fabrizio in 2009.

If you were young (or old or in-between) and looking for fun in Bay Ridge in the 1940s, here are some of the local spots you might have frequented! 🍹💃🏿🎥

457 Ovington Avenue, 1959. Built in the early 20th century by a local developer named Arthur Constant for himself and his family, the brick house retains many of its original features. Last on the market in 2015, the house listing noted pocket doors, mantels, stained glass, built-ins, chandeliers and sconces, and a conservatory.

Bay Ridge United Methodist Church ca. 1939 The Bay Ridge United Methodist Church (originally named the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church) was built in 1899. George W. Kramer, its architect, designed the church in the Romanesque Revival style. Built with green serpentine stone, the church had a crenelated clock tower and a sunday school was added in the late 1920s. Though the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, it was demolished in 2008 after the Landmarks committee declined to schedule a hearing on its behalf.

North-facing survey photograph of Fourth Avenue at 64th Street, October 17, 1912. The Zion Norwegian Lutheran Church is visible at upper right. The cornerstone of the one-story church was laid in October 1910, two years after the congregation was founded. A new church was built on the same site in 1937. Since then, southern Brooklyn's once-prominent Scandinavian population has dwindled. The final service at Zion was held in January 2014, by which point the congregation numbered in the teens.

Long Island Railroad tracks, viewed from the Fourth Avenue bridge, June 25, 1962. Today, this cut is covered by the eastern building of the Towers of Bay Ridge complex, and its associated parking facility.

Brick house, identified as the home of H.C. Denman, M.D.; January 12, 1959. A wedding announcement for Dr. Denman and Amelia Malone ran in the March 21, 1934 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, identifying Denman as a graduate of Long Island College Hospital, President of the Brooklyn Society of Internal Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and Surgeons, whose father resided on 58th Street in Sunset Park. For her part, Ms. Malone is named as a graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Art and the daughter of parents residing in Park Slope.