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?)

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.

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 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.

Purchased by the Dutch East India Company from the Nyack Native Americans in 1652, this area was originally called Yellow Hook after the yellow clay found in the soil. Recurring yellow fever epidemics in the mid 19th century caused the name to lose favor and it was changed to Bay Ridge in 1853—a nod to its location by the bay and the terminal moraine created by receding glaciers thousands of years ago along what is now Ridge Boulevard. During the Revolutionary War, British troops utilized Bay Ridge’s Denyse Ferry Wharf for their landing on August 22, 1776 to fight the Battle of Brooklyn a few days later, and for their evacuation at the end of the war in 1783. Built by a Dutch landowner who ran a ferry to Staten Island, remnants of the landing still stand today just south of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge overpass. After the Civil War, the magnificent views overlooking the bay inspired the construction of extravagant mansions, which transformed the neighborhood into one of Brooklyn’s wealthiest suburbs by the end of the 19th century. Shore Road, which makes up the westernmost point of Brooklyn and profits from the best views, was particularly exclusive. On the current site of Fort Hamilton High School stood the Crescent Athletic Club, the center of Brooklyn’s fashionable society at the turn of the century. Completed in 1892, it featured athletic fields, tennis courts, a golf course, boathouse and magnificent Shingle Style clubhouse with a glass-enclosed dining room overlooking the bay. Visitors included Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, and aviators Wilbur and Orville Wright. Due to the arrival of the 4th Avenue subway in 1916, the population of Bay Ridge doubled between 1910 and 1924. To accommodate this growth, many of the mansions were replaced with apartment houses and blocks of rowhouses. Commercial thoroughfares on 86th Street, 3rd Avenue, 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue transformed the neighborhood into a thriving urban community. In the early 19th century, the population was largely made up of Scandinavians and Italians. Over the years, Bay Ridge has also become home to Irish, Greek, Arab, Chinese and Russian communities, as well, rendering it a fantastic example of a neighborhood that thrives on different cultures living in close proximity to one another—a hallmark of the New York City experience. Today, the richly varied architecture of Bay Ridge tells its story. The neighborhood is made up of vibrant commercial districts, uniform rowhouse blocks, historic wood frame farmhouses, Victorian mansions, magnificent places of worship, pre-war apartment buildings and quaint cul-de-sacs. It also benefits from several scenic parks, including Owl’s Head Park at the northwestern tip of the neighborhood, which commands views of the Bay. At the opposite end of Bay Ridge, on its southeast corner, lies Fort Hamilton, New York City’s only active military base. Named after Alexander Hamilton, the Fort functions as a military induction center and is home to more than 1,500 military personnel. In 1990, the Bay Ridge Conservancy was established to preserve, protect, and enhance the built and natural environments of the area. Their recent work includes the beautification of Third Avenue, one of Bay Ridge’s four commercial thoroughfares, as well as seeking landmark designations for a variety of public buildings, State & National Register of Historic Places listings for its cul-de-sac blocks, a National Scenic Byways designation for Shore Road, and advocating for the responsible renovation of the Belt Parkway, constructed in 1940.

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.

65th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues, 1922.

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.

View of the 65th Street Yard, west of the Third Avenue bridge, January 12, 1959. Since 1972, the portion of the yard between Third Avenue and the Belt Parkway (the elevated roadway pictured) have been covered by one of two Towers at Bay Ridge co-op high rise development, and associated parking.

"#221-225 68th Street, Brooklyn. #221 at left, 1958."

Construction work on the Gowanus Expressway approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, June 25, 1962. The Belt Parkway elevated roadway is visible in the middle ground, with the Brooklyn Army Terminal in the background. The buildings at right would soon be demolished.

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.

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.