Life is good in this circa-1930s postcard depicting The Narrows, the shipping lanes that mark the entrance to New York Harbor.
This must be Bensonhurst—or maybe Bay Ridge? One missing landmark: the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which won’t be built for another 30 or so years.
The Belt Parkway hugs the shoreline. The back of the postcard calls it “the most scenic motor road in all New York City.”
Tags: Bay Ridge, Belt Parkway, Bensonhurst, New York Harbor, Shore Road, The Narrows, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Ephemeral New York 
May 20, 2009 at 12:40 pm |
Definitely Bay Ridge. Lovely!
May 20, 2009 at 1:38 pm |
Beautiful! At least it’s the New York Atlantic Ocean…
May 20, 2009 at 2:04 pm |
Definitely Bay Ridge. It still looks that way, except that the park between the highway and Shore Rd is in very poor shape, although parts of it have been fixed recently.
I hate how the highway dominates this area. It is unnecessary to have three lanes in each direction here, because this small stretch without any entrances and exits actually begins and ends as two lanes- making it impossible to ever require three-lane capacity. Just another one of Robert Moses’s boondoggles.
May 20, 2009 at 2:47 pm |
Thanks for the input! Would be great if that brown house was still there.
May 20, 2009 at 3:00 pm |
here’s what it looks like today:
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qs1vpw8tx642&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=2149925&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1
May 20, 2009 at 3:14 pm |
Thanks. It sure looks prettier in the postcard.
May 21, 2009 at 12:10 pm |
That was drawn from Robert Mosses’ imagination
May 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm |
[…] A postcard of the Narrows from the 1930s looks strangely reminiscent of the “Broadway Project.” [Ephemeral New York] […]
May 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm |
Actually here it is today, Shore Rd. at 86th St. That puts the bridge site behind the viewer:
Aerial: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qs3xjq8twz0n&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&scene=2141965&encType=1
Street view: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=brooklyn,+ny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.569986,71.279297&ie=UTF8&ll=40.625716,-74.040674&spn=0.002801,0.004351&t=h&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.625697,-74.040494&panoid=UWzo4MyPlEhqbz0-nIL5lg&cbp=12,10.15,,0,-7.54
May 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm |
This is terrific, the house still stands. Thanks for your research!
May 24, 2009 at 6:21 pm |
Интересная тема, Спасибо!
April 1, 2022 at 8:03 pm |
[…] 1930s Vintage Postcard “The Narrows”, Belt Parkway and Shore Road, Brooklyn, N.Y.Ephemeral New York“Taking a drive along the Narrows”May 20, 2009https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/driving-beside-the-narrows/ […]