The Lutheran Hospital was opened in 1881 and closed in 1979. It served the community of East New York for almost 100 years. An article from the New York Times in August 1979 chalked up its closure to an outstanding debt of two million dollars. According to the executive director, "the hospital was receiving $168 a day per patient...while others were getting an average of $225 to $250." On August 15th, 1979, the hospital was forced to close abruptly, leaving hundreds of staffers and professionals demanding their final paycheck. The hospital was demolished in the 1980s. This 113-bed hospital was forced to close abruptly, transferring 28 patients to nearby St. Mary's and leaving 300 employees out of work.

Brooklyn, like any bustling urban center, is (and has always been) home to a diverse variety of venues constructed and operated with the express purpose of entertainment: from theatres to pools to baseball fields. In the late 19th and early 20th century, vaudeville theatres were constructed in the most populous areas of Brooklyn, bringing popular entertainment to the working-class masses. In the early decades of the 20th century, the changes in technology altered the way Brooklynites were entertained. Vaudeville waned in popularity as moving pictures were introduced. Some of the early theatres evolved with the times, adding a movie screen and changing their operations, others closed and were razed in the boom of the building that overtook the borough in the first half of the 20th century. This massive development growth meant the former sleepy rural areas of south Brooklyn were becoming vibrant communities. New movie theatres, often designed by well-known architects, popped up everywhere, offering cheap entertainment (and snacks!) to generations of first dates and family outings. As technology once again evolved in the second half of the 20th century and television allowed for similar entertainment within one's home, theatres suffered. In the financially depressed years of the 1970s, many movie theatres closed or transitioned to more "adult" entertainment. Very few of Brooklyn's early 20th century venues remain operating movie theatres today. Those structures—not an inconsiderable number, particularly in South Brooklyn—that survive have largely been re-purposed as music venues, big-box retailers, churches, and is a popular conversion for these large spaces, as fitness centers and chain pharmacies. If you keep your eyes open, the architectural features of the old Brooklyn theatres occasionally pop out from the streetscapes, hiding behind Rite Aids and Walgreens.

The Gotham Theatre, seen here at the far right, was originally the William Bennett's Casino, an entertainment hall at the corner now referred to as Broadway Junction. After a construction collapse during the initial building phase, the Casino opened in June 1890, only to be destroyed by fire in 1893. Rebuilt and opened in 1896 as the Brooklyn Music Hall, a vaudeville house, the business struggled and closed a few years later. By 1901, the building was the Gotham Theatre and unlike many of the other theatres, it banned smoking in the lobby and the auditorium. It was billed as a family venue with the advertising slogan "Clean Shows in Clean Houses." In the 1920s the venue switched from live shows to silent movies. The silent movie house lasted less than a decade. It attempted to open again with sound films in 1932 but closed in 1934 and was demolished before 1940.

"Gotham Theatre, East New York, Brooklyn, N. Y." Mae West once performed on the stage of the Gotham as part of Hal Clarendon's Stock Theater company.

The building on the far right of this 1922 photograph is the Tyrian Temple. Built between 1905 and 1907, it was the home of Tyrian Lodge #618, an organization of Free Mason. The lodge was established in 1867 and originally met in some rooms on Atlantic Avenue. This sect of the fraternal organization had over 400 members by 1900 and as such this more substantial building was constructed as their headquarters. Pennsylvania Avenue was one of the major thoroughfares in this neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century. It was lined with large, fine homes as well as important civic and social institutions, such as police stations, post offices, banks, and social clubs. The membership of this particular social club was a well-heeled group of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and real estate developers. The building remained the social club until at least the 1940s, and it maybe have been used as a factory at some point after that. In 1971 the surviving #618 trustees sold the building to the Prince Hall Masons, an African-American Masonic body, which certainly reflected the demographic shift in the neighborhood. Though it still bares the name of that Masonic group, it has been owned by another organization and used as a community center since 2012.

The Piel Brothers Brewery was founded in 1883 by four brothers. They purchased Landser Brewery and began brewing a German pilsner - which Americans were partial to at the time over heavier English ales. Michael Piel, the brewer of the family, had already made a name for himself in Germany by inventing a centrifuge for processing honey. With a keen eye and a knack for innovation, Michael prompted the family's investment in the brewery in East New York. Its access to the softer waters of Long Island made it a premier location for brewing pilsner beers. Utilizing modern refrigeration to brew their beer, the Piel brothers were wildly successful. Prior to prohibition they hosted various experts and scientists who were interested in Michael's work. The Piel's company eventually expanded to encompass the entire block between Georgia and Sheffield, north of Liberty Avenue. The plant closed in 1973, after Americans began to favor brands stronger flavored beer.

Bushwick Avenue at Eastern Parkway, May 3, 1929. The view is northwest up Bushwick Avenue, toward Williamsburg. The BMT Canarsie Line emerges from its tunnel as it climbs toward Broadway Junction station, just out of frame to the left. The large church at center-left is Our Lady of Lourdes, on Aberdeen Street between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue. The 1897 Roman Catholic Church — which included a "replica" grotto commemorating the 19th century visitation at Lourdes, France — was destroyed by a suspicious three-alarm fire in November, 1975.