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.

"Cat on Steps of Tunis Bergen House, ca. 1905." Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd was a Brooklyn ophthalmologist and amateur photographer whose collection of lantern slides is housed at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Lloyd, who died in 1969, spent much of his life in Brooklyn, and was an avid photographer of historic 17th, 18th, and 19th century houses. One can imagine that Lloyd was likely also a cat lover as there is a large selection of cat photographs, though most do not pinpoint the location beyond the neighborhood. This feline photo is credited as being taken at the Tunis Bergen House, a 18th century homestead on 58th Street, in what is now called Sunset Park.

59th Street and Fourth Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn; June 25, 1962. Outside the Central Restaurant (No. 5824, center-right) is an entrance the the 59th Street station of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line (N/R). The Gowanus Expressway is visible in the distance, at left.

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.

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! 🍹💃🏿🎥

65th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues, 1922.

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.

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.