StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Brooklyn in the 1950's - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Brooklyn is a famous and the most populous area of New York State which is known as the city of churches from a long time, in every festive part of the year like Christmas, the neighborhoods of this area lit with fantastic display of enchanting lights…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.2% of users find it useful
Brooklyn in the 1950s
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Brooklyn in the 1950's"

?Brooklyn in 1950s: Introduction: Brooklyn is a famous and the most populous area of New York which is known as the of churches from a long time, in every festive part of the year like Christmas, the neighborhoods of this area lit with fantastic display of enchanting lights. Among these displays, some of the very best include those on 83rd and 84th streets. For the tourists nowadays a 3.5 hours tour shuttle is also offered whose name is “Tony Muia” This is what Brooklyn looks like at present times but in this article we’ll try to have a look about the outlook of Brooklyn as it was in 1950s. The main reference to the history of Brooklyn is a beautiful book by Colm Toibin named “Brooklyn”, it is basically a novel based on the life of Brooklyn in 50s. This novel basically depicts a sad life and gives an overview about the pattern of life in Brooklyn at that time. Geographical Location: In 1950s, Brooklyn had the same boundaries as of the Kings County which is now the 2nd most densely populated county of United States after the Manhattan County, if we go far behind in the past then Brooklyn was an independent city until it was included in New York in 1898, but still in 1950s, despite of the merger into New York, Brooklyn maintained its individuality in culture, art and its architecture and it has harbor different cultures in different areas. Downfall of Brooklyn: In the post war years, Brooklyn was the main supplier of the industrial goods to the whole of the country but by 1950 these industrial supplies began to diminish pertaining to the fact that the major industrial manufacturers started to move to other cities which appeared cheaper to them as well as the Brooklyn port also started to decline as larger ships came into scene which required larger ports having deep harbors which was deficient factor in the port of Brooklyn, at that time, economy was unstable and banks were providing loans for building houses on easy conditions so a large number of white middle class community left their native homes in Brooklyn and moved to other localities which appeared to have more prosperous future for them such as Staten Island and New Jersey. Whole of the Jewish community left their homes in Brooklyn and moved to other places such as Flatbush, Borough Park, Eastern Parkway and Brighton Beach. Most of the Italians also moved from Brooklyn and what could be regarded as a major blow was the incidence of Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles in 1957. This was quite significant as Dodgers symbolized Brooklyn for a very long time so it was a big setback for the residents of Brooklyn and the dodgers wee the unifying factor for the whole diverse ethnic groups residing in the Brooklyn. So everyone in Brooklyn in some way or the other was related to each other through the Dodgers. One such incidence which showed the significance of Dodgers was the defeat of New York Yankees by the Dodgers in 1955 which made their loyal fans felt proud and when this team suddenly became the Los Angeles Dodgers then it was also taken as a sign of the decline of the golden era of Brooklyn. Once all the colors of Brooklyn faded, the manufacturing power of Brooklyn also declined drastically and this can be shown by the fact that the Brooklyn Navy yard was closed in 1966. The Brighter Side: Despite of a large number of people migrating to other areas from Brooklyn, in 1950s there was an influx of a large number of Italians to this area resulting in the predominance of Italians in these neighborhoods and this dominance of Italians still persists in some areas of Brooklyn such as Bensonhurst which is also known as the “Little Italy” of Brooklyn. In 1950, one major event was the arrival of New York aquarium into the Coney Island. Though the abrupt voting of the Dodgers to join Los Angeles was the significant dilemma for the Brooklyn residents but event after that there were some leaders in Brooklyn like Galamison and Reverend Milton who continued the traditions of the activists to raise their voices against any injustice or any decision at the Government level which could be detrimental to the image of USA in the outer world. Brewing Industry: Among different industries in that time, brewing was one of the largest industries operating in the Brooklyn and when in 1950s all industries faced a decline the brewing industry suffered the same consequences but still managed to retain its legacy, though in following times, giants such as Anheuser-Busch and Miller captured the market but before and in early 1950s, Brooklyn was the major stake holder in the brewing industry. Memories of Residents: According to the people who lived there are so many wonderful memories of the fascinating places, restaurants, historic places as well as the sports event which took place regularly in the Brooklyn from time to time. The people used to walk on around in the localities in the hot and humid weather for their day to day activities. There were lots of bakeries who deserts were amazing and one of the best in the whole region and people loved to eat deserts in their recreational time. The price of everything was so economical that you can afford everything in a nominal price whether it is the matter of taking a candy for children or taking a desert for yourself. It was the ideal place for the kids who remained playing in the streets all day long irrespective of the weather. Pizza may be thought as the fast food of present days but in Brooklyn the pizza restaurants were present even in 1950s and were full of customers at the mid day and it was really hard to find a stool in the pizza restaurants even. If we summarize all this than we can say easily that there was a lot to cheer about in Brooklyn and the examples include music, food, gossip among people of different ethnicity like Italians, Americans and others and the people were so gentle that respect each other and give proper place for everybody to live. The people used to go on day camps especially in the Coney Island where they had eating, singing as well as fishing and all sorts of amusement were present there. Cinemas in 1950s: Now we’ll have a look on the cinema trends at that time, everybody loved in that time to go to cinema on weekends and the people were all curious about the new movies being shown in the cinema. The ticket price was too nominal to be affordable for everybody and there were separate sitting places for adults and kids in the cinemas and the children area was under the control of uniformed persons, the cinemas were air conditioned even in that time which provided the excellent environment for the customers and the thoughts of being in the cinema were too attractive that people sometimes used to see two movies continuously or sometime saw the same movie twice. This was the time long before the era of multiplexes, the capacity of these cinemas were about 1500 people and there used to be a separate balcony for the smokers to smoke. Before the start of the movie, cinema administration used to plat a light and pleasant music for the customers and there were present number of counters who used to sell popcorns at very economical rates. The people of all ages used to go to the cinemas whether they were children, young, middle aged or old. Drugs Trends: In those days people were used to have long plants of marijuana in their backyards and the sanitation department was very curious about their existence and one of such example is that the department destroyed about 40,000 pounds of the marijuana in the year of 1951 and still they said that they could not wipe it all out as the major quantity of weed was grown in the backyards of the residential areas where they were not able to have the continuous monitoring. One other reason of the large extent of the growth of Marijuana is the spread of its seeds through air to distant areas which could not be stopped. Transportation in Brooklyn: In the earlier days like in 1950s, the mean mode of transportation was bicycle as it was economical as well as convenient and did not need any energy source. But in 1950s, the town planners were planning to introduce the motor vehicles in the city of Brooklyn and the main thought behind this was to speed up the things and to lessen the time of travel. As a consequence of this, there were built a number of expressways to facilitate the automobiles movement and in the construction of these routes, a large number of pre existing houses were demolished. The Brooklyn Bridge was the main link between the cities of New York and Brooklyn in that time since it was built in the mid of eighteenth century, In 1950s, the municipal engineers planned to reconstruct and expand the utilities of the bridge so that it can support both the motor vehicles as well as the train/ initially there were just four main cables but then in the fifties, further horizontal stays were added to the bridge to make it more durable. Conclusion: So in the end one has to say there are too many memories of Brooklyn in the mind of the people who resided there in that time and spending their childhood over there. These memories are a blend of gloomy ones like the civil war effects or the Dodgers going for Los Angeles and the cheerful thoughts like being the pry of the community sharing their joys and having good times in day camps or watching Cinema. Brooklyn was great place to live so be the people of Brooklyn who were always there to cheer you up. References: 1. Welcome to Brooklyn. Brooklyn: City of Churches. 26thMarch. 2011. 2. The Sunday Times. Colm Toibin’s Beautiful Brooklyn. 26th March.2011. 3. Brooklyn Online. Brooklyn NY History. 26th March. 2011. 4. New York Public Media. History of Brooklyn. 26th March. 2011. 5. History of Brooklyn. 26th March. 2011. 6. BNET. Brooklyn celebrates long brewing history. 26th March. 2011. 7. Care2. I Remember Brooklyn, Memories!! 26th March. 2011. 8. Brooklyn Memories. 26th March. 2011. 9. Newser. Marijuana Grew like Weeds in 1950s Brooklyn. 26th March. 2011. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Brooklyn in the 1950's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412691-write-an-essay-about-brooklyn-in-the
(Brooklyn in the 1950'S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412691-write-an-essay-about-brooklyn-in-the.
“Brooklyn in the 1950'S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412691-write-an-essay-about-brooklyn-in-the.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Brooklyn in the 1950's

Biography on Abraham Lincoln

hellip; Robert Kennedy was born in brooklyn in the year of 1925.... Born in brooklyn Robert had to change many homes before ending up in Bronxville.... Patrick Kennedy was a businessman and a ward politician who had high contacts in Boston.... Joseph Kennedy was the son of Patrick Kennedy who married the daughter of Mayor Fitzgerald named Rose Fitzgerald....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Miller

The book The Crucible by Arthur Miller is not just a story that significantly reprises political tragedies in the 1950's but a reminder as well of the earnest social pressure that corrupts the individuality of man.... The great depression though brought closure to the family business and prompted them to move to brooklyn where Miller studied until high school....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Brooklyn Bridge, Joseph Stella, 1920

The study analyzes brooklyn Bridge by Joseph Stella.... The brooklyn Bridge was reproduced by Stella to present the most striking elements like pedestrian walkways, gothic arches as well as thicket of wires and cables.... The event that inspired Stella to do the painting was the brooklyn Bridge designed by John August Roebling; a German immigrant.... Painting Reflection Worksheet brooklyn Bridge, Joseph Stella, 1920 The brooklyn Bridge was reproduced by Stella to present the most striking elements like pedestrian walkways, gothic arches as well as thicket of wires and cables....
2 Pages (500 words) Coursework

The History of the Italian Mafia in America

The author examines a history of La Cosa Nostra and concludes that it continues to control a wide range of activities such as murder, getting money by threats, labor racketeering, trafficking in illegal drugs, political corruption, illicit gambling, and infiltration into legitimate business entities… America and Italy have had close historical links for centuries....
22 Pages (5500 words) Research Paper

Walter O'Malley Moves the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles

From the paper "Walter O'Malley Moves the brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles" it is clear that O'Malley's greatest achievement was designing the Dodger Stadium, one the finest baseball ballparks.... McLaughlin, President of the brooklyn Trust Company and a member of Robert Moses Triborough Bridge (and later Tunnel) Authority, was a friend of Walter.... The brooklyn Trust had many mortgages on properties whose value had depreciated during the era of the depression....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

Music in the Early Twentieth Century

For the duration of almost all of his life span, Charles Ives's musical compositions accrued in his barn George Gershwin grew up in Antavka Russia Gershwin remaining significant school in the age of fifteen to be a pianist demonstrating new music in a publishers salesroom George Gershwin ordinarily Collaborated along with the lyricist Ira Gershwin Porgy and Bess can be a(n) opera William Grant Continue to Troubled Island / in NY Each and every motion of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony is prefaced by traces from the poem by PLD Aaron Copland was born in brooklyn in 1921 Copland went to France, exactly where he was the 1st American to check composition with Nadia Boulanger In 1925, following Copland returned from France, American music intended Jazz In 1925, and for several many years afterward, Copland's music confirmed the impact of Jazz Appalachian Spring originated like a ballet rating for the good contemporary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham Alberto Ginastera, among by far the most popular Latin-American composers in the twentieth century, was born in Argentina....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Ceremony of Spring Composers and the Music of the Early Twentieth Century

Through nearly all of his life span, Charles Ives's musical compositions accrued in his barn George Gershwin grew up in Antavka Russia Gershwin still left substantial school with the age of fifteen to be a pianist demonstrating new tunes in a publishers salesroom George Gershwin normally Collaborated along with the lyricist Ira Gershwin Porgy and Bess is usually a(n) opera William Grant Continue to Troubled Island / in NY Just about every motion of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony is prefaced by strains from the poem by PLD Aaron Copland was born in brooklyn in 1921 Copland went to France, in which he was the very first American to review composition with Nadia Boulinger In 1925, following Copland returned from France, American music intended Jazz In 1925, and for a handful of decades afterward, Copland's music confirmed the impact of Jazz Appalachian Spring originated being a ballet rating for the good modern-day dancer and choreographer Martha Graham Alberto Ginastera, among probably the most outstanding Latin-American composers on the twentieth century, was born in Argentina....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Revolt in Music of the Mid-Twentieth Century

George Gershwin generally cooperated with the lyricist Ira Gershwin Porgy and Bess is a(n) show William Grant Still Tormented Island/in NY Each improvement of William Grant Still's Afro-American Ensemble is presented by lines from a poem by PLD Aaron Copland was imagined in brooklyn....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us