Brooklyn in the 1930s: These Photos Offer a Glimpse into Brooklyn’s Daily Life and Landscapes during the Great Depression

Brooklyn, a cornerstone of New York City’s cultural fabric, has weathered numerous storms throughout its history. The 1930s presented a myriad of challenges for the borough, as it grappled with the Great Depression while also experiencing cultural and architectural evolutions.

The Great Depression’s Grip

The 1930s were marked by the shadow of the Great Depression. With unemployment rates soaring, Brooklyn’s industries, especially its waterfront docks and factories, felt the weight of economic stagnation. However, amidst adversity, community spirit blossomed. Soup kitchens and local aid initiatives sprang up throughout neighborhoods, reflecting Brooklyn’s undying resilience and the tenacity of its residents.

The Birth of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel

Amidst economic challenges, infrastructure projects provided a glimmer of hope. One of the most notable undertakings was the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, initiated in the latter part of the decade. Connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan, this project not only facilitated transportation but also generated employment, offering a beacon of progress in trying times.

Art Deco’s Ascent

While the 1930s were economically challenging, they were also marked by aesthetic innovation. Brooklyn embraced the Art Deco architectural style, with structures like the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, completed in 1929, standing as a testament to this trend. This iconic building, with its intricate designs and ornate details, symbolized Brooklyn’s undeterred ambition to reach new heights, literally and metaphorically.

The Cinematic Boom and Loew’s Kings Theatre

The 1930s also marked a golden era for cinema, and Brooklyn was at the heart of it. Loew’s Kings Theatre in Flatbush, which opened its doors in 1929, became a palace of entertainment. In its opulent interiors, Brooklynites sought solace from daily struggles, immersing themselves in the magic of motion pictures.

Do you have family stories or historical insights from Brooklyn in the 1930s? We welcome you to share your reflections. If this journey through a pivotal decade has resonated with you, kindly share this post with fellow history enthusiasts and New Yorkers.

#1 Lower Manhattan from foot of Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, 1932

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#2 Warehouse district, Water and Dock Streets, Brooklyn, looking west under Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan, New York City, 1936

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#3 Entrance View of Ebbets Field Baseball Stadium, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#4 Pedestrians Walking on Brooklyn Bridge,1930s

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#5 Brooklyn Bridge at Night with Manhattan and Brooklyn Skylines, 1930s

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#6 Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Skyline View from Brooklyn, circa 1930

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#7 Crowd Gathering Around Stanavo Single Engine Plane at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#8 Painters Starting Work on Brooklyn Bridge, circa 1930

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#9 Downtown Brooklyn View from Hotel St George, circa 1930

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#10 Northward View Along South Street with Brooklyn Bridge at Center, early to mid 20th century

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#11 Brooklyn Heights Skyline View across the East River, early to mid 20th century

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#12 Ferry Leaving for Coney Island, circa 1930

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#13 Bread Line Beside Brooklyn Bridge, early 1930s

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#14 Crowd of Swimmers at Coney Island, 1931

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#15 Crowd of Swimmers at Coney Island, 1931

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#16 Crowd of Swimmers at Coney Island, 1931

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#17 Cruiser ‘Houston’ Passing Under Brooklyn Bridge, January 24, 1931

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#18 Funeral for Giuseppe “Joe The Boss” Masseria

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#19 Cleaning Brooklyn’s Famous Suspension Bridge, June 2, 1931

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#20 Drum Bridge in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1932

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#21 Bailey Fountain in Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, May 13, 1932

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#22 View of Manhattan Skyline from Hotel St George Roof Terrace, Brooklyn, circa 1933

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#23 Man Arrested During Unemployed Protests Outside Home Relief Bureau, Brooklyn, April 28, 1933

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#24 Brooklyn Museum Main Facade, late 1930s

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#25 East River Reflections with Brooklyn Bridge, 1934

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#26 Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges, circa 1934

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#27 Snow-Covered Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, February 27, 1934

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#28 Man Pushing Carriage of Headless Dolls in Brooklyn Toy Factory, November 19, 1934

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#29 Lincoln Savings Bank on Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, mid 1930s

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#30 Union Organizer Urging Longshore Workers to Join, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#31 Early Spring Scene on Brooklyn Street, circa 1935

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#32 Sands Street Navy YMCA View from Gold Street, Brooklyn, circa 1935

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#33 Tugboat Approaching Brooklyn Pier Under Brooklyn Bridge, circa 1935

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#34 Cherry Blossom Trees in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, circa 1935

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#35 Annual Police Field Games at Gravesend Avenue and King’s Highway, Brooklyn, circa 1935

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#36 People outside a fishing tackle shop on Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#37 Traffic before Brooklyn Borough Hall on Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#38 Exterior view of the Brooklyn Music School and Playhouse on St Felix Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#39 View through the girders of Fulton Street Station, on the Fifth Avenue Line elevated railway in Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#40 The Beecher Garden with a statue of Henry Ward Beecher in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#41 Cranford Rose Garden in Brooklyn Botanic Garden surrounded by wooden trellis panels, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#42 Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges over the East River linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, circa 1935.

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#43 Elevated railway near Brooklyn Borough Hall on Fulton Street, Brooklyn, circa 1935.

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#44 Elderly woman eating lunch with other sunbathers on Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, 28th June 1935.

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#45 Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan skyline across the East River, circa 1930s.

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#46 Opening day at Ebbets Field with the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn, 1939.

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#47 Man stacking barrels at a shipping yard in Brooklyn, circa 1936.

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#48 Editors of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper working on graphics, Brooklyn, circa 1936.

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#49 Men working in a shipyard in Brooklyn, circa 1936.

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#50 Men stacking barrels at a shipping yard in Brooklyn, circa 1936.

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#51 Fourth Avenue, No. 154, Brooklyn, 29th October 1936.

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#52 Scene of a robbery outside Abraham Kaufman’s jewellery shop on Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, 24th April 1936.

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#53 View towards Manhattan from rooftops in Brooklyn, 8th May 1936.

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#54 Dick Merrill and Harry Richman prepare for transatlantic flight from Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, 2nd September 1936.

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#55 Children observe Capuchin monkeys at the Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn, circa 1937.

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#56 Heywood Broun leads a picket line outside the Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn, circa 1937.

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#57 Heywood Broun talks to a police officer during the strike against the Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn, circa 1937.

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#58 Women protest against high meat prices in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, circa 1937.

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#59 The Hindenburg floats down Brooklyn moments before its disastrous explosion, date unknown.

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#60 Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan waves during a parade after landing in Dublin, Ireland, 5th August 1937.

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#61 Floyd Bennett Field, 7th August 1938.

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#62 Crowd at Bennett Field in Brooklyn welcomes Howard Hughes, 14th July 1938.

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#63 Entrance arch to Prospect Park, one of the largest municipal parks in Brooklyn, circa 1930.

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#64 Tinker looks over his shoulder while tying a box to his wagon in Brooklyn, circa 1936.

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#65 Coney Island in Brooklyn can have 400,000 visitors on a weekend day, circa 1933.

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#66 Aerial view of crowds at Coney Island in Brooklyn, 4th July 1936.

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#67 Christening of the Nautilus submarine at Brooklyn Navy Yard, 23rd March 1931.

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#68 Worker at Robins Dry Dock plant in Brooklyn, circa 1937.

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#69 Children Playing Khing Cong Board Game at Vacation Playground 189, Brooklyn, 1933

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#70 Fourth Avenue, No. 154, Brooklyn, 1936

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#71 Williamsburg Bridge Rising Above 8th Street with Homes and Businesses, Brooklyn

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#72 Two-Story Wood Frame Houses with Towers at Ends, Next to ‘Would You Want to Live in a Churchless Nation?’ Sign

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#73 Percussion Students at Central Brooklyn Music Center, 1938

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#74 People Promenading on the Boardwalk at Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1938

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#75 Crowds at Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, 1938

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#76 Summer Day at Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, 1936

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#77 Brooklyn’s Docks Stretching into the Harbor, 1935

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#78 Percussion Students at Central Brooklyn Music Center, 1938

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#79 Walter Coffin Hardware Store, 1930s

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#80 Union Organizer Urges Longshore Workers to Join Union, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#81 Willow and Poplar Street, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#82 Luna Park in Early Evening, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#83 View of Manhattan Bridge Across East River from Brooklyn, 1930s

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#84 First Air Express Service from Los Angeles to New York at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#85 Brooklyn Bridge, 1934

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#86 Red Hook Housing Project, Brooklyn, 1939

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#87 Bread Line beside Brooklyn Bridge, early 1930s

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#88 American Cruiser USS Brooklyn, 1930s

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#89 Night Lights at Amusement Park Entrance, Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#90 Court Street, Brooklyn

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#91 Bank of the United States closes in Brooklyn following Wall Street crash, December 11, 1930

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#92 Court Street at Borough Hall Showing Trolley Car and Cars, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#93 People Riding Cyclone Roller Coaster at Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1930s

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#94 African American Woman and Two Children on Talman Street, Brooklyn, ca. 1936

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#95 Brooklyn Bridge, 1930s

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#96 Manhattan Bridge connecting Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn

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#97 Brooklyn Bridge Span Above South Street, 1935

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#98 Brooklyn Bridge, 1930s

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#99 Cobblestone Streets and Clapboard Buildings at Graham and Metropolitan Avenues, Brooklyn, 1937

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#100 Prospect Park Plaza, Brooklyn, ca. 1929

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#101 Skyscrapers Above Brooklyn Bridge, ca. 1937

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#102 Bathers in the Surf at Coney Island, Brooklyn, July 1938

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#103 Court Street, Brooklyn, ca. 1931

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#104 Bathers on the Sands at Coney Island, Brooklyn, July 1938

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#105 Billboards and Signs for Various Businesses

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#106 Brooklyn Skyline with Brooklyn Bridge at Far Left, April 12, 1938

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#107 Three Generations on Jay Street Stoop, Brooklyn, 1936

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#108 Casual Stroll over Brooklyn Bridge, April 6, 1938

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#109 Dudley Field Malone Marries Edna Louise Johnson, Brooklyn, January 29, 1930

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#110 Victims and Survivors of Morro Castle Disaster Docked in Brooklyn, September 14, 1934

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#111 Bags of Santos Brazilian Coffee at Brooklyn Docks, 1937

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