Mechanics at the 39th Street Garage, 1939. During the 1930s the Brooklyn Bus Company, a subsidiary of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation and the holder of a franchise for all Brooklyn bus service, used two large structures on Third Avenue between 37th and 39th Streets as their garage. Here mechanics are working on the frames and shells of their rolling stock.

"ONE OF THE LARGEST WAREHOUSES IN BROOKLYN- Bush Terminal, recently taken over by the U.S. Government, 1918." Bush Terminal (now called Industry City) is a series of large warehouse buildings on the waterfront in Sunset Park. The buildings and additional infrastructure were constructed over a 30 years period. (The warehouses were built circa 1892–1910, the railroad from 1896 to 1915, and the factory lofts between 1905 and 1925.) The intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex was originally referred to as Bush's Folly as most railroad officials would not ship directly to Brooklyn. But Irving Bush persevered and started some of his own shipping and warehousing businesses to prove the usefulness of his massive complex to prospective tenants. By 1918, Bush Terminal owned 3,100 feet of waterfront and covered 20 waterfront blocks. The complex included seven piers and had more than 20 miles of railroad tracks. In 1918 (as noted in the original caption for this photograph) a large section of the terminal was commandeered for use by the U.S. Navy.

"157-159-42nd Street, north side, between First and Second Avenue, showing at the right the frame home of Louis Capponi in 1923."

146 41st Street, 1918. The following is the first paragraph in an advertisement for Great Bear Spring Water in a 1901 Brooklyn Medical Journal: "The importance of pure water as a factor of health, and of a water which by its wholesomeness invites copious drinking, is daily becoming more fully recognized. Distilled water is insipid, and the best medical authorities pronounce it unhealthful." The rest of the ad touts this water as "ideal drinking water" and offers five-gallon glass jugs for 50 cents delivered straight to your door.

Bus on lift at the 39th Street Garage, 1939. This American Car & Foundry Company bus was operated by the Brooklyn Bus Company and serviced here at at the 39th Street Depot. Buses manufactured by ACF began service in Brooklyn in 1930 and continued until 1960. The model in this photograph looks to be the ACF Model H-17-S. In 1938, 35 of these buses were delivered to the Brooklyn Bus Company.

B. Manischewitz Company was founded by Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz in 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are well known for producing matzo and kosher wine. In the 1930s the Monarch Wine Company which produced Manischewitz wine arrived in Manhattan. By 1939 they had moved into a 20,000 square foot space in Sunset Park's Bush Terminal. Fifteen years later they occupied a 100,000 square feet in the Terminal. In 1954, seven million gallons of Manischewitz wine were being produced here a year! (No wonder the wine vats are SO HUGE.) Bush Terminal was the perfect location for this operation as its extensive rail connections provided easy transportation for the concord grapes to arrive from upstate New York and allowed for efficient shipping to international consumers via its waterfront. Alas, in the 1980s Monarch sold the company to new owners who moved the facility upstate.

View from 39th Street and Second Avenue, looking southwest, Building 19, 1957.

Buffalo Bill's West West show brought the frontiers of America to the shores of industrial Brooklyn. William "Bill" F. Cody, a.k.a. "Buffalo Bill" was a real-life American Cowboy who's fantastical (and fictional) antics led him to a career on the stage. The first of his shows opened in Omaha, Nebraska in 1883, at a time when outdoor shows had reached peak popularity. The semi-authentic shows replicated real battles fought between White Americans and Native Americans, sometimes using performers who had participated in the original battles.

In honor of the New York Transit Museum's annual Bus Festival, we've put together a collection of vintage bus photography to go along with our vintage bus fleet. These historic images look back on a time when green and white buses crisscrossed Brooklyn and double deckers stopped in Washington Square Park. Hop on! Don't forget to try out the Urban Archive photo recreation feature and tag your #thenandnow photos @nytransitmuseum and @urbanarchiveny

For centuries, New York City has been known as a city of opportunities and prosperity. People from far and wide have made the trek to this booming city in search of financial and societal gains. With its prime location on the water, America’s financial leaders in Lower Manhattan, and global cultural ties due to immigrants, New York City is the city for one to begin their business empire. This story explores the business endeavors of Irving T. Bush whose Bush Terminal Company’s success created the Industry City business park in Brooklyn that is still thriving today.

Buildings 19 and 20, looking northwest from the corner of 42 Street and Second Avenue, 1941.