Captain Nels Helgesen during his long career which began in 1918, commanded every ship of the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Line. The home port of the steamship line was in Red Hook's Atlantic Basin. Starting around the 1920s their ships...
How the Hamilton Avenue Ferry got started, 1846
The Hamilton Avenue Ferry was established in 1846. It was run by the Union Ferry Company, who also ran the Fulton Ferry at that time. A major destination was a new upmarket cemetery. The ferry offered a “direct approach by way of the Gowanus...
Oral History: Ralph Packer: 2016
Ralph Packer is a Martha's Vineyard old-timer who coyly won't reveal his age because he doesn't want to retire! Interviewed while taking a break on the Vineyard Haven pier of his Packer Fuel company, Ralph offers a historical perspective on...
Ira S. Bushey
Ira S. Bushey started his work life driving mules on the Erie Canal in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. By 1895 Bushey began repairing boats, settling up shop in Brooklyn in 1905. His shipyard was located at the foot of Court Street, on...
Oral History: John Gladsky, marine salvage, the demise of the Todd Shipyard. 2005
John Gladsky is the definition of a colorful old salt. He is a marine salvor and the principal of Gladsky Marine and has an old-time Long Island accent. His oral history expresses nostalgia for the Todd Shipyard and criticism of public policy that...
New York and Puerto Rico Steamship Company advertisement, 1917
The New York and Puerto Rico steamship company's ships traveled between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Pier 35, Atlantic Basin in Red Hook. The SS COAMO, SS BRAZOS, and SS CAROLINA were all ships that took vacationers to Puerto Rico, but their lasting...
The Rich Leave the Waterfront, 1899, "The Atlantic docks have killed the Heights"
According to the The New York Press in 1899, the Atlantic Docks made the surrounding area of Columbia Heights less desirable for the well-to-do. They left for more "artistic" places, leaving in their wake lower rents for "a cheaper class of...