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Information About

Gowanus




In 1636 , Gowanus Bay was the site of the first settlement by Dutch farmers in what is now Brooklyn.

In 1776 , American troops retreating from the British during the Battle Of Brooklyn , crossed the Gowanus Creek, located in Gowanus.

In the late 19th and early 20th century the area was largely home to immigrants, then arrviving from Ireland , Italy and Germany . The area consists of mostly Frame Housing in contrast to the Brownstone homes found in neighboring Park Slope.

The areas residental prospects have been defined by city zoning decisions:

Some of these include:
  • Sanitation department located on 2nd Avenue and 11th Street (1900)

  • Construction of elevated 9th Street train station (1940s)

  • The Hamilton Avenue Expressway (1940s)

  • Heavy industry around Gowanus Canel (since 1700s)

  • The decline of shipping out of Red Hook (1940s)

  • 10-acre Post Office Lowes on 2nd Ave. (1900)

  • Hamilton Ave shopping Center- Pathmark (1980s)

  • Closing of Park under 9th Street train station (1990s)


To make way for the 9th Street train station, the Hamilton Avenue expressway, and for rezoning that took place in the 1950s, hundreds of residential homes were razed. This has lead to the area containing a majority of commercial properties with a small residential community.

The neighborhood of Gowanus is not widely known, perhaps on account of many residents of Gowanus identifing themselves as residents of the larger areas that border it. For example, South Slope is sometimes used for the areas that border Park Slope, which are technically part of Gowanus.

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