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August 1, 2006
Why Your Basement Floods
Similar to its neighbor across the river, sections of Brooklyn�s geography are very man made. A great example of this is the borough�s waterfront and surrounding land, particularly in the Red Hook/Gowanus areas.
While doing some research for a new project, I stumbled upon an 1896 Brooklyn Eagle article entitled "South Brooklyn, Old and New." The news piece features an excellent hybrid map that is quite informative. A 1776 water and tide diagram serves as an overlay on a then present day street map, enabling readers to see just how much of South Brooklyn was under water or marshland. Above you can see that overlay adjusted for 100 years later.
[Note: I am no cartographic expert-- this was a guestimate overlay and the original map was hand drawn]
In the 1830�s, Court Street was brought down to grade and until the early 1840�s, the Brooklyn Eagle states that one could not see more than thirty buildings south of Atlantic Avenue. This quickly changed. In 1848, J.S.T. Stranahan & Carmichael were contracted for what was known as the "Bergen Hill Improvement." The hill, which is said to have been a popular "resort for sport and mischief," was surrounded by woods and required a nearly 130-foot cut to bring it down to the level of Court Street. The land was then used to fill in sections of the Red Hook marshland from Harrison [Kane] Street south to Hamilton Avenue, including Columbia Street.
Stranahan, who was also responsible for the Atlantic Basin and later had his fingers dipped in Prospect Park planning and the Brooklyn Bridge, then filled in the majority of Van Brunt Street, whose point had, until that time, only been accessible via boat because of the tide waters. A few cottages were built in the area however, upon the opening of the basin and more available land, the area was inhabited quite quickly. An additional peak was leveled west of Van Brunt Street closer to Red Hook Point. This area, bounded by Ferris, Coffey, Conover Streets and the river, was a popular beach spot and, according to the Eagle, comparable to Coney Island. It rose nearly seventy-five feet above the current (current meaning 1896) grade.
Those of us who live in Red Hook are not strangers to basement flooding. Our building's half-hearted pump keeps part of the lower level dry, though it is not uncommon to step down into puddles after an intense rain. It is interesting to think that at one point our home would have been under water, or at best a marshy swamp.
The industrial and residential development of Red Hook and its waterfront continued throughout the 1890�s. While the Eagle applauded these changes as progress, not all citizens shared its view.
When asked his feelings regarding the rapid transformation of the area between the 1840�s and mid-1890�s, one old time resident replied, "The water front has been ruined."
Damp basements and development tension. Some things never change.
[Source: "South Brookyn, Old and New." Brooklyn Daily Eagle; April 19, 1896, p.13]
Posted by callalillie at August 1, 2006 1:24 AM | History
And it might be under water again, in fifty or so years...
Posted by: sven at August 1, 2006 1:02 PM
an informational tidbit:
union street was nearly renamed stranahan street after he died in the 1890s in honor of his accomplishments in the planning of park slope and prospect park.
obviously, the movement failed.
Posted by: arsenal at August 1, 2006 1:59 PM
The map is awesome!
A constructive suggestion- you might want to move everything a block to the west and you'll find that it lines up a little bit better. in the south of red hook that pier between the two round basins should line up with present-day columbia street. And the stream in the center of the wetlands in gowanus should line up with the present-day canal
Posted by: mfs at August 1, 2006 4:58 PM
yes, good idea. i had a lot of problems doing the overlay because the original map was oriented differently. sizing it was kind of hard. i'll take a look tonight and see if i can line it up better.
Posted by: corie at August 1, 2006 5:01 PM
they have maps showing all original land masses, streams and swamps upon which all of NYC was built at NYPL map room. You can see the original stream (that's still there - though currently imbedded in a culvert) that runs under 14th street area.
How did you make the map? I tried to make one this afternoon using a fancy GIS program and got a sharp pain above my left eye.
Posted by: j-yo at August 1, 2006 9:30 PM
I love the map room at the NYPL. I did it the unscientific way...did a screen shot from Google maps then created a photoshop layer from the old map and fiddled until it kind of lined up.
Posted by: corie at August 1, 2006 9:33 PM
It's impressive that you got the two maps to line up so well.
I'm not sure of my geography, would Bergen Hill have been over present day Carroll Gardens?
Posted by: Joe at August 1, 2006 11:03 PM
Posted by: dismal at August 3, 2006 7:36 AM
