Before it was known as Fulton Street, the strip was a path established by Munsee-speaking Canarsee Indians. European settlers widened it into a wagon road and, in 1809, it served as a toll road to Queens, known as the Brooklyn and Jamaica Turnpike. When the west end became an established ferry port, the road was dubbed Ferry Road and, in 1817, after more name changes, it became Fulton Street, intended to be a continuation of Manhattan’s street of the same name. Both Fultons are named after Robert Fulton, who is credited as having invented the first commercially successful steamboats, an invention that evolved into the Fulton Ferry service that ran between Brooklyn and Manhattan from 1814 to 1924. With its direct connection to the ferry landing, as well as Kings Highway to the east, Fulton Street became a main artery of Brooklyn, and, consequently, a prime location for business. The towered Fulton Ferry house in this picture was partially burned down and then fully razed in 1925. Today, the Fulton Mall spans Fulton Street from Boerum Place eastward to the junction of Flatbush Avenue Extension and Nevins Street. In late-Victorian Brooklyn, the shopping district included the same area, but extended northwest up Fulton Street toward the ferry landing, ending around Tillary Street, and, until the late 1880s, shied away from Flatbush Avenue, beyond which was considered (by some) untamed, unfashionable, and difficult to reach.

Today's Fulton Mall is easily accessible by public transportation, but prior to the 1880s there was neither bridge nor subway to deliver the people. Those traveling across the East River could arrive only by ferry. Upon reaching Brooklyn's shores, commuters would find stables, livery coaches, track-born horsecars and, later, electric trolleys. In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened with much fanfare, creating a vital connection between the cities of New York and Brooklyn. Initially, many Brooklyn business owners feared the bridge would lead shoppers away from their doors, but they found that the bridge expanded their clientele. Modernity struck again in 1888 when the “first train of flimsy wooden cars” rattled down the Fulton Street Elevated Line behind a “round-bellied boiler with a stovepipe belching smoke.” These major advancements in mass transportation allowed the shopping district to grow eastward and even instigated the once-scandalous relocation of the beloved department store Abraham & Straus. Neither the tracks for the horsecars nor the elevated line remain. Brooklyn's trolley system was removed over the course of the 1930s and '50s, and the elevated line was demolished in 1940.

When heading eastward from the ferry, the first encountered of these highlighted businesses is Gage & Tollner. In 1879, Charles M. Gage opened Gage’s “ladies’ oyster house,” selling “none but the choicest” pickled oysters at 302 Fulton Street. In 1884, Gage partnered with Eugene Tollner, a cigar salesman, and thus the seafood and chop house Gage & Tollner was born. In 1892 it reopened at its (mostly) permanent location at 372-374 Fulton Street (between Red Hook Lane and Smith Street), becoming a fine dining fixture. The lowering of the ornate gas lamps for the nightly lighting became a hallowed ritual. In 1894 the Liquor Dealers’ Association attempted to curtail women’s access to alcohol along the Fulton Street strip, stating women “staggered” out of restaurants from overindulgence. Gage & Tollner and the Silsbes, fellow Fulton restauranteurs, came to their customers’ (and their own reputation’s) defense. “It is simply sour grapes,” stated an unnamed member of “the firm” of Gage & Tollner. “In my ten years’ experience I have not seen a woman in that condition in any of the dining parlors on Fulton street, and I am pretty observant.” He went on to defend women’s right to drink what they wanted (provided they also ordered a meal), alone or chaperoned. Gage & Tollner closed its doors to much dismay in 2004, becoming, alternately, a jewelry shop and a fast food chain. However, in 2021 it was resurrected and reclaimed its status as a beloved and exemplary Brooklyn icon. Both the exterior and the interior of the building are landmarked.

Up next is the New Park Theatre. In February of 1875 “Colonel” William E. Sinn opened Colonel Sinn's New Park Theatre at 383 Fulton Street (between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street). A colonel in nickname only, Sinn had already successfully launched theaters in several other states, in addition to a winter circus and the traveling German Opera Company. While many theaters flanked Fulton Street, including the Shubert Theatre (305 Fulton), Holmes Standard Museum (434 Fulton), and the Orpheum (473 Fulton), these theaters typically catered to adult male audiences. The New Park Theatre distinguished itself from the others by offering “Unobjectionable Family Entertainment.” These “unobjectionable” acts were available for as little as 10 cents and included such performances as the levitating magicians Professor and Madame Herrmann, tightrope-walking Harry Leslie, “grotesque and fancy” skating by Austin and Hess, and serio-comic vocalist and danseuse, Alie Drayton. According to Sinn's own advertisements, his shows were “a continuous flow of triumph! The people delightfully amazed!” It seems the critics agreed. On June 11, 1892, The Standard Union declared that the New Park Theatre had "one of the most successful seasons since it was built. . . The attractions presented have been uniformly of the very best. . . Brooklyn is rapidly becoming a theatrical town." However, in June of 1895, after 20 years of business, the New Park Theatre lowered its curtain for the last time. Colonel Sinn went on to open the Montauk Theatre at 585 Fulton at the start of the next theater season that September. No architectural aspects remain of either theater.

In 1865 Joseph Wechsler and Abraham Abraham opened Wechsler & Abraham, a dry goods, shawl, and cloak emporium, at 285 Fulton Street. Fulton was already a fashionable address and the business, which catered to Brooklyn’s immigrant population, excelled. In 1881, Wechsler & Abraham scandalized clientele and businessmen alike when they announced they were relocating eastward to 422 Fulton Street (between Gallatin Place and Hoyt Street), to a building known as “Wheeler’s Folly,” the folly being developer Andrew Wheeler’s for constructing his building too far from the crowds. It was far from the Fulton Ferry landing and precariously close to the unfashionable Flatbush Avenue. However, Abraham had successfully predicted that the forthcoming Brooklyn Bridge and, later, the Elevated line, would drive business eastward. In 1885 Wechsler was replaced by the Straus brothers (whose family already owned Macy’s), and in 1895 Abraham & Straus debuted at the renovated Wheeler building, reborn as an architectural showstopper. The 2,000+ employees enjoyed a staff-only roof deck, in-house medical care, and complimentary Thanksgiving turkeys. Shoppers and window shoppers were treated to the latest in seemingly every genre of ware, from Mackintosh fashions to doll fashions, nickel heaters to solid gold spectacles, hand saws to bonbon dishes. In 1908 Abraham & Straus established its own subway stop on the IRT (now connected to the 2/3 Hoyt Street stop). In 1995, after various brand evolutions, the name was replaced with the more widely-known Macy’s, which still operates out of the 422 Fulton Street location. Although the building is not landmarked, much of the original façade remains.

Just across Hoyt Street stood another department store, A. I. Namm's. Adolph I. Namm, a Polish immigrant, began his upholstery and embroidery trimmings business in Manhattan before relocating to Brooklyn in 1885 and opening A. I. Namm’s at 286 Fulton Street. His business expanded into a successful department store - and rival of Abraham & Straus - specializing in housing decor. By 1887, he had relocated to 335-337 Fulton Street, where he was arrested in January 1888 for, as the New York Times put it, “selling mats made by convict laborers, and failing to label them properly.” Namm paid the $50 fine and his business carried on as usual, including the third annual Namm Ball, a social event for his employees and friends. In 1891, a fire ravaged the store and Namm temporarily moved across the street to host “the greatest fire sale ever in Brooklyn, open Monday,” where bargain hunters could find “rugs slaughtered at 25c(ents),” “embroidery and linens damaged by water only,” and “lambrequins, linings only damaged, at 35c(ents).” Starting anew later that year, Namm reopened the store further east at 452 Fulton Street (between Hoyt Street and Elm Place) where, according to The Standard Union, shoppers would find “a colossal emporium…where everything needful for human comfort and happiness can be procured.” The building was described as being three stories tall where “every department in the establishment is a store in itself.” In 1910, Namm retired and his son, Benjamin Harrison Namm, took the helm, altering the name to A. I. Namm & Son. Under his guidance, the store thrived through numerous expansions, even acquiring (albeit briefly) the esteemed Frederick Loeser & Co., another famed Brooklyn department store, in the 1950s. In 1957, following a decline in revenue, the flagship closed its doors for the last time, but the building is landmarked.

Just across Elm Place stood yet another immense department store, the aforementioned Frederick Loeser & Co. In 1860, German immigrant Frederick Loeser opened Frederick Loeser & Co. at 277 Fulton Street. It claimed to be the largest trimmings shop in Brooklyn, selling, in addition to trimmings, kid gloves, whale bone, sewing silk, finished embroideries, and more. Thriving on the purse strings of dressmakers and the general public, Frederick Loeser & Co. moved to an even larger location at 289-291 Fulton Street. Mourning fashion culture reigned supreme in the wake of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and Queen Victoria’s resolute observance of Prince Albert’s death (1861), a trend that was reflected in Loeser’s wares, including: veils in black and colored chenille nets; black crape sleeves and sets; “white mourning goods, such as sleeves, collars, collarettes, ruffs, jabots, etc., etc., in endless variety.” In 1887, following a reorganization of who comprised the “Co” in Frederick Loeser & Co., the emporium reopened in a grand, five-story building at 484 Fulton Street (between Elm Place and Bond Street). Crowds thronged the building’s exterior on opening day, admiring the ornate window displays and awaiting admittance to the overfull interior. The Brooklyn Citizen noted that “both sides of the street were lined with carriages which were continually arriving and departing.” The business held its own as a beloved mainstay amongst the Fulton Street shopping district for nearly one hundred years. In 1952, following new owners and a resignation of Loeser’s president, the business shuttered. Its closing sale crowds were on par with those of opening day. The Loeser name lived on briefly, carried by neighbor Benjamin H. Namm of A. I. Namm & Son, who merged the two declining titans of Fulton Street. Namm-Loeser’s lasted just five years, closing in 1957. An extension of Loeser's, built in 1899-1900, remains at 25 Elm Place.

Fulton Street was once bursting with photography studios, including Manning (227 Fulton), S. B. Duryea (253 Fulton), Gardner and Co. (276-278 Fulton), and Searing’s (296 Fulton). In 1872, Alva A. Pearsall opened his own photography studio and art gallery at 597-599 Fulton Street (between Flatbush and Hudson Avenues). Pearsall had served as the principal photographer under famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady for fifteen years. Pearsall’s four-story-high studio and gallery had been built specifically for “the photographic arts,” and received rave reviews from local newspapers, including The Brooklyn Union, which announced that “the necessity no longer exists of going to New York city for a first-class picture of any description.” Taking advantage of its corner location, the building’s two street-facing walls were lined with windows. More light flooded the space through “one of the finest skylights you ever saw.” The lighting conditions enabled particular clarity of photography, and provided the opportunity for “Rembrandt photos,” which utilized dramatic light and shadow. Portrait sizes ranged from miniatures to life-size headshots known as Alvagraphs, a crowd-pleasing technique invented by Pearsall himself in 1881. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle declared that “Pearsall has achieved distinction” with his invention. Pearsall’s business held its high-quality reputation through his death in 1893 at the age of fifty-three. Following his passing, the business was possibly managed by his brother, G. Frank Pearsall, who was himself the owner of successful photography studios at 298 Fulton Street and 1227 Bedford Avenue. The last newspaper advertisement for Alva Pearsall’s ran in May 1901 and by 1904 Sol Young, another photographer, had taken over the vacated address. It is unclear when the building was razed, but it is certain that nothing remains of it today.