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March 14, 2008
Bigger than a Breadbox
In 1936, the Brooklyn Edison Company put out a report entitled the Brooklyn Market Survey. The aim of the document was to evaluate the "economic life and living habits" of the borough and I must say that it is one of the more comprehensive groupings of Brooklyn data from that era that I have seen in a while. Though it was really to illustrate (and promote) the use of electricity, the Brooklyn Market Survey also provides excellent maps that show the size, age and distribution of households in twenty-eight Brooklyn neighborhoods, as well as the number and types of businesses.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the report, aside from the illustrations of Reddy Kilowatt, Your Electric Servant, is the section on the twenty-eight communities of Brooklyn, which breaks each one out, describes it in a few sentences, and provides some basic demographic data. sound a little boring? Maybe. But the descriptions also offer a comparison category, referred to as "Larger than." Check this out. They make for good trivia.
In 1936, My Neighborhood's Population was Bigger Than...
- Greenpoint is larger than Cedar Rapids, LA
- Williamsburg is larger than Hartford, CT
- English Kills is larger than Lowell, MA
- Brooklyn Heights is larger than Decatur, IL
- Fort Greene is larger than Saginaw, MI
- Stuyvesant (as in Bedford) is larger than Fort Wayne, IN
- Bushwick is larger than Norfolk, VA
- South Brooklyn is larger than Wilmington, DE
- Park Slope is larger than Albany, NY
- Eastern Parkway is larger than Reading, PA
- Brownsville is larger than Worcester, MA
- Highland Park is larger than Peoria, IL
- Sunset Park is larger than Fall River, MA
- Borough Park is larger than Schenectady, NY
- Kensington is larger than Lansing, MI
- Flatbush is larger than Cambridge, MA
- Holy Cross is larger than Binghamton, NY
- Bay Ridge is larger than South End, IN
- Bensonhurst is larger than Canton, OH
- Gravesend is larger than Waco, TX
- South Springfield is larger than Hammond, IN
- Flatlands is larger than Elmira, NY
- Mill Basin is larger than Annapolis, MD
- Canarsie is larger than Appleton, WI
- Spring Creek Basin is larger than Boise, ID
- Sea Gate is larger than Battle Creek, MI
- Neck Road is larger than Jackson, MI
- Coney Island is larger than Dubuque, IA
I'll scan the map when I get a chance.
Posted by callalillie at March 14, 2008 7:02 AM | History
>>>Bay Ridge is larger than South End, IN
South Bend, no?
www.forgotten-ny.com
Posted by: Kevin Walsh at March 14, 2008 5:49 PM
yipes, thanks for the catch :)
Posted by: corie at March 18, 2008 1:52 PM
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